CIMS 2019
We are now undeniably in 2019, and I have been working on this post for too long — over two weeks. Way too much time for something that is supposed to be spontaneous. But reflections on the past year and thoughts about this one have left me sort of… speechless.
Last year was transformative for CIMS. During the summer, we had over 70 students — undergraduate and graduate — working with us, as well as three post-docs and three staff. That was almost double the number in the summer of 2017. While this population explosion required a significant reorganization of furniture (thanks to our colleagues at Civil and Environmental Engineering for lending us some chairs) and computer hardware, it also put significant strain on our management structure. Our “central committee” — Danustan Alphonza, Josh Chartrand, Lara Chow, Michelle Duong, Martine Gallant, Katie Graham, Tyler Grunt, and Laurie Smith — did an extraordinary job in not only holding it all together but in exceeding what I ever imagined CIMS was capable of. I would invite you to look at the blog posts and social media from 2018, to see what I mean. This was topped off by two CanBIM awards in September — including the overall award for innovation. Thank-you to everyone who contributed to our success this year.
But that kind of growth, production, and accolade exacts a price — kind of like a farmer asking too much from the land. In scaling up, we discovered pinch points in our internal processes and also in processes at the University level. Like a private company, we needed access to capital in order to acquire the hardware and software that we needed to meet contract milestones and deliverables. But a university research centre — at least at Carleton — does not have access to a line of credit. This also affected our ability to have some of our research teams ready for the fall term. Additionally — and disappointingly — CIMS faced criticism from individuals in the private sector that accused us of venturing into market areas that were more appropriate for industry. It was clear that we had to rethink our management model and how we positioned ourselves within academia and the AECO community — both in Ottawa and beyond.
To these ends, in 2019, we are committed to solidifying our role within the AECO community as a secure and multidisciplinary research environment for the development and testing of innovative digital technologies for architectural rehabilitation and heritage conservation. We are not interested in competing with the private sector. Rather, we are interested in working with architects, engineers, construction managers, contractors, and conservation professionals to support them in becoming more competitive. Our review of existing academic and industry programs suggests that a collaborative research centre of this nature is unique in Canada. Our two training programs — the SSHRC sponsored New Paradigm New Tools for Architectural Conservation in Canada and NSERC sponsored Heritage Engineering — are currently addressing what many argue is the most pressing concern for the future of AECO in Canada — the availability of highly qualified personnel. We are now developing applications for federal and provincial funding — in association with national and international collaborators — to expand our research infrastructure. CIMS will be reaching out in the next two months to our partners and collaborators to discuss priorities and opportunities. CIMS also has access to programs that provide short term funding to help initiate new partnerships. Contact us if you would like to visit the lab, see what we are doing, and talk about how we might work together.
On behalf of everyone at CIMS, we hope your (good) dreams come true this year.