JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

Food ProductionPeople will become more self-sustaining. Greenhouses attached tohomes and schools will become standard, as will rooftop gardens.Culinary students will become more familiar with the entire lifecycleof food, including planting seeds and butchering meat. Dietary issueswill decline as we get back to organics and whole grains and eschewgenetically modified foods. Restaurants will become more sustainable,using edible cutlery and tableware – your glass could be made of ice. In50 years, we will have eliminated food waste.Blair Lebsack (Cook ’98)Instructor, Culinary ArtsEducationIn 50 years, students will design their own education by mixing formallearning with experience. Students will choose NAIT as a partner tohelp them connect with careers and growth opportunities. Educationalinstitutions will be seamlessly integrated with workplaces andcredentials will be seen as nothing more than artificial barriers to fullycontributing to society. In their place, employers will lay out the skillsrequired, placing the onus on career-hunters to demonstrate that theyhave the qualifications to do the job.Dr. Paula BurnsProvost and Vice President AcademicAutomobilesMost of what we’ll see in the next five years is already on the market.The focus will be on advancing the technology – all with the goal ofhelping drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.We’ll see advances in automated parking technologies, voice command,mapping systems and heads-up displays. As for propulsion systems,expect to see extended range for fully electric vehicles with zeroemissions.Ron LavigneInstructor, Automotive Service TechnicianHomebuildingBuilding high energy-efficient homes is still in its infancy. Obviouslythere’s now more public awareness of environmental issues and climatechange, but to see a real mindset shift in the market takes a while. Thatsaid, the generation coming out of university is all into this. My feeling isthat towards 10 years, we’re going to see a new buyer who will demandmore of these kinds of homes as an option. And from there things aregoing to progress more dramatically.Dale Rott (Carpenter ’96)Managing Partner, Effect Home BuildersPhoto by leigh freypersonal ComputingTo get a computer to do anything, you once had to know codes. Nowthere’s software – click this and something happens. The evolutionof that is the natural-user interface: dragging with your fingers, forexample, like on an iPad. From there it goes to the all-voice command–like asking Siri to do things on an iPhone. Having computers interactwith you is what we’re headed towards.Steve ChattargoonChair, Digital Media and ITFinancial PlanningThirty years from now, financial planning will be seen as a professionat the same level as accountancy. It will require advisers to be lessfocused on product sales and more focused on process and advice. Itwill be much more holistic than it is now. The adviser of the future willnot just talk about financial assets, but will be a career adviser as peoplecontinue to work after 65.Hardeep GillAssociate Chair, Bachelor of Applied Business – FinanceAlternative EnergyWe’re starting to see integrated systems really emerge in the industry.And this is probably the next big achievement for alternative energysystems. We’ve been looking at individual systems, but a lot of theeconomics and the gains can be realized by hybridizing technologiesin a sensible way, such as using one system to supply both heat andpower. Probably within a decade, these hybridizations will becomequite significant.Dr. Jim SandercockChair, Alternative Energy TechnologyWeb ExtraVisit techlifemag.ca/alternativeenergy-future.htmfor Dr. JimSandercock’s predictions about thefuture of a variety of alternativeenergy technologies.Photo by leigh freyv6.1 2012 33