Leveraging college talent for agri-food commercialization in Southeast Alberta

The challenge: Breaking through barriers to growth in Southeast Alberta

Small agri-food producers in Southeast Alberta face significant hurdles when trying to expand beyond their local markets. One local company, ready to scale its operations, faced barriers to expansion, from limited market access and the absence of an e-commerce platform to a need for stronger digital visibility and licensing research for new provincial markets. Like many small producers with quality products, they had the ambition to grow but lacked the strategic resources to make it happen.

The solution: Connecting academic expertise with business needs

Medicine Hat College, through its Centre for Innovation, partnered with the agri-food company on what would become the college’s first-ever Mitacs project. A student from the School of Arts, Science and Education joined the business to develop and implement a comprehensive growth strategy. This student designed a holistic growth plan: developing a digital storefront, integrating data-driven marketing, and strengthening the business’ online engagement.

The partnership exemplified Medicine Hat College’s commitment to applied research and community-focused innovation. As Chelsey Ehresman, Manager of the Centre for Innovation, explained, “Mitacs has been a fantastic partner in helping us support small businesses here in Southeast Alberta. By connecting companies with talented students and applied research expertise, we’re able to co-create solutions that help local companies thrive.”

The outcome: A milestone and a business growth pathway

This inaugural Mitacs collaboration highlights how applied research meets entrepreneurship, where creativity, technology, and local insight come together to help small businesses grow sustainably. This milestone project created a foundation for future collaborations – delivering practical solutions that positioned the agri-food company for sustainable expansion while applying classroom knowledge to real business challenges,

Medicine Hat College now has a proven model for supporting local businesses through Mitacs partnerships, opening doors for more companies in Southeast Alberta to access student talent and applied research expertise. As Ehresman noted, “We’re excited to see more businesses engaging with us through these collaborative opportunities.”

Innovation in action: Building capacity in communities across Alberta

Medicine Hat College’s first Mitacs project demonstrates that innovation can thrive beyond big cities or research labs. Through its Centre for Innovation and academic departments, Medicine Hat College continues to empower students and local businesses to explore creative, applied solutions that drive growth across Southeast Alberta.

Mitacs continues to strengthen innovation capacity in Alberta and across the country while driving global competitiveness. By connecting post-secondary institutions with businesses ready to innovate, Mitacs supports hands-on, industry-responsive education that strengthens local economies and accelerates talent development.

This milestone project demonstrates the transformative power of bringing together academic expertise, student ambition, and entrepreneurial drive to help small businesses scale sustainably.

About Mitacs

For over 25 years, Mitacs has helped grow the economy and develop the workforce of tomorrow, connecting industry with academia and global partners to solve real-world challenges. We support business-academic research collaboration through internships, co-funded with businesses, for undergraduate to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

As a national innovation connector, Mitacs takes a talent-first approach to strengthen innovation capacity and drive global competitiveness. We serve as an essential research-commercialization bridge, accelerating market entry and growth for new products and services.

This is a critical time for Canada to think big and take bold action. Mitacs is ready to help build a strong and resilient Canadian economy, powered by ideas, talent and innovation.

Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon.