Productivity and Innovation Centre
NAIT's front door for industry
At 17,650 square metres (190,000 square feet), the Productivity and Innovation Centre (PIC) is one of North America's largest innovation spaces focused on helping Alberta organizations become more competitive.
Located on the north side of Main Campus, PIC builds on NAIT's history of working with industry. It is an entry point – the doorway – to services and solutions available to business and industry. These include:
- Introducing new technologies to businesses
- Imagining, developing and testing new products, and improving existing ones
- Developing applied research solutions for issues facing industry
- Assessing and improving business practices
- Providing workforce education, with a focus on productivity
- Hosting conferences and events
Flexible workspaces
Workspaces are adaptable in size and functionality, ranging from private offices, café-style lounges and temporary workstations. Business clients and guests have access to kitchen areas and secure storage locations.
Education and training
PIC provides flexible space for client training and business innovation services. Second-floor classrooms have adjacent breakout rooms for convenient collaboration. A "model learning space" on the third floor includes 4 large monitors, 1 on each wall, to allow for breakout sessions and group work.
Cutting-edge applied research
The centre is home to NAIT's Centre for Oil Sands Sustainability and the Centre for Sensors and System Integration. PIC will provide future space for applied research focused on construction, water technologies, distributed energy and more.
LEED Certified Design
PIC was built to LEED certification standards, which recognize sustainability in design and construction. Photovoltaic panels installed above the glass canopy in the main foyer generate 58 kilowatts of electricity per hour and will be used in distributed energy research.
Funding for PIC was made possible through the Government of Canada's Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund.