Making Canada’s 2022 list of top 50 research colleges for the seventh year in a row, Aurora College ranked 42nd overall for its ongoing work in multiple fields of science at the Aurora Research Institute.
“Each year Aurora College continues to grow areas of research and encourages researchers from other parts of Canada and from international sites to participate in the North,” said Aurora College president Dr Glenda Vardy Dell. “The NWT has an incredibly vibrant and diverse research community with deep ties to Northern land, tradition, community and people.
“Aurora College will continue encouraging and supporting Northern research of high quality and relevance, as well as providing applied learning experiences to students as it transforms into a polytechnic university. It is essential that research completed in the North is for the benefit of its Northern people.”
Small colleges are defined as having an annual income of less than $75 million.
A number of factors go into determining the rankings. Research InfoSource Inc., which compiles the list, evaluates colleges based on their total research income, the number of staff dedicated to research, how many students participate in research projects, the number of research partnerships the institution has and the total of both completed and ongoing research projects.
Aurora College was 42 overall, but in funding specific areas of research Aurora Research Institute (ARI) is near the top of its field in Canada. The institute ranked third for both Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) research income and SSHRC research income as a percentage of total research income. The ARI finished 10th overall for how much of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and seventh for NSERC Research Income as a Percentage of Total Research Income. The NWT institute also ranked ninth overall for its allocation of Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Research Income and CFI Research Income as a Percentage of Total Research Income.
Lastly, when it came to how much research funding is allocated to actual researchers, Aurora College is nearly in the top half, ranking 28th place in research intensity.
Ongoing projects at both ARI and Aurora College include areas of physical sciences, social sciences, health, contaminants, biology, traditional knowledge and engineering.
The college continues to lead in research of permafrost monitoring; the effects of climate change on the Northern landscape, environment, flora, fauna and ways of life; air quality monitoring; renewable energy; Northern and Indigenous health care; soil safety; geographic information systems (GIS) mapping and monitoring; traditional uses of plant species; and various youth outreach projects in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Aurora College serves more than 3,000 students annually through 21 learning centres and four major campuses across the NWT. The institution is moving towards becoming a polytechnic university.