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To meet a range of changing industry, societal and educational needs, collaborations between post-secondary education institutions and their partners are becoming more sophisticated and intertwined. By providing valuable connections and focus, these partnerships serve as catalysts for innovation and productivity.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic has strong connections with employers, government and industry associations, says Dr. Larry Rosia, the school's president and CEO. "Partnerships are fundamental to polytechnics. Employers benefit from the hands on training that gives our graduates the tools that allow them to contribute from day one on the job," he says. "And in addition to enriching the learning experience for students and connecting them to industry, our applied research facilities provide our partners with R&D resources and solutions."

An example is the Saskatchewan Manufacturing Centre of Excellence that was established in 2014 in partnership with Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, says Dr. Rosia. Other organizations providing support include Athabasca University and the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program.

"The centre supports the growth of the manufacturing industry through a focus on productivity improvement, innovation, best practices, leadership and training," says Dr. Rosia.

"We've already begun to see benefits from the centre in a number of areas, which we anticipate will continue," says Tom Kishchuk, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Canada Ltd. and chair of the Saskatchewan Manufacturing Council. "We're developing current and future leaders, and creating awareness of the sector within broader trades groups that will help address labour shortage issues," Kishchuk adds.

Dr. Rosia explains that students learn about best practices in manufacturing through the LEAN certification training. "LEAN management is based on maximizing value and minimizing waste by optimizing flow and services across all technologies, assets and departments. This [model] isn't limited to manufacturing – it can also be applied to every business and every process across industry, government and health care," he says, adding that Saskatchewan Polytechnic's programs "touch every sector of the economy."

Another significant employer in Saskatchewan is the mining sector, says Dr. Rosia. He adds that a new Centre for Minerals Innovation at Saskatchewan Polytechnic, a partnership with the International Minerals Innovation Institute, provides research resources, supports high-quality training programs and facilitates innovation.

"This partnership will help ensure the minerals sector has access to leading-edge educational services, when and where they're needed," says Dr. Rosia.

The focus on finding real-life solutions is shared by Innovation Boulevard – a partnership between health authorities, businesses, industry associations, supporting organizations and four post-secondary educational institutions: the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Emily Carr University of Art and Design and the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

"They all support the vision that you can use technology advances to improve quality of care and address the challenges of our health-care crisis," says Dr. Ryan D'Arcy, professor at SFU and head of Health Sciences and Innovation at Fraser Health Authority.

Dianne Watts, CEO of the Health Tech Innovation Foundation, says Innovation Boulevard works to advance three health-related technology areas: medical devices, independent living and digital health. "[The process] is not about creating a piece of technology and then trying to get it into the market, it's the reverse. We identify key issues that need to be addressed and then come up with the technology that supports the change," she adds.

The resources – such as human capital, research capacity and companies keen to innovate – were already there, says Dr. D'Arcy. "All that was needed was connection and focus."

One key outcome is a streamlined process for turning a technology solution into a product. An example that set "a land speed record in terms of commercialization" was a medical simulation training app called PeriopSim, Dr. D'Arcy explains.

When Dr. D'Arcy learned that Conquer Mobile, a B.C. mobile digital computing company, was looking to work in health, he had a certain application in mind.

"We'd already done a lot of work with NeuroTouch," says Dr. D'Arcy, explaining that his team had been instrumental in creating a brain surgery simulator where surgical staff could do a complete virtual reality rehearsal before an operation on a brain tumour, for example. While this was an important breakthrough, he believed the solution could be applied on a larger scale.

"[Conquer Mobile] took this from idea to a product in less than six months. We connected the company with our best scientists and provided health, innovation and commercialization connections," says Dr. D'Arcy, adding that PeriopSim enables surgical staff to get familiar with a range of medical procedures.

"Simulation technology can enable better health-care training and treatment," says Dr. D'Arcy. "At Innovation Boulevard, everyone benefits, universities get to test their research in prime time and companies translate it into something useful. And health authorities gain innovative tools."

Watts, who is the former mayor of Surrey, B.C., where Innovation Boulevard has its headquarters, adds that in addition to providing tangible outcomes and practical solutions, partnerships have the power to promote regional growth.

Dr. Rosia agrees. Both the Saskatchewan Manufacturing Centre of Excellence and the Centre for Minerals Innovation will give industry partners "timely access to the support, training and best practices they need to continue creating jobs, stimulating investment and driving economic growth," he says. "We fuel the growth of our economy," Dr. Rosia adds.

This content was produced by Randall Anthony Communications, in partnership with The Globe and Mail's advertising department. The Globe's editorial department was not involved in its creation.