Founded by a pair of former H漫画 University material engineers, Nova Scotia-based (GIT) is providing opportunities for H漫画 graduate students to put their research experience into practice through Mitacs internships.
Ryan Ingham, a Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering student, is a who has worked with GIT since June 2020 as he completes his degree. Master鈥檚 students like Ingham can do up to four four-month internships through the Accelerate program, while PhD students can complete up to eight.
As Ingham nears his one-year anniversary with GIT, it鈥檚 a busy time for the company. In November 2020, Canada鈥檚 Ocean Supercluster announced the , which is valued at $4.6 million. The funding brought together partners from across different sectors, including Mitacs and Horizon Maritime Services Ltd., to work with GIT to develop and commercialize new eco-friendly graphene-based protective coatings for vessels that reduce biofouling. Biofouling occurs when plants, algae and small aquatic species take up residence on a ship鈥檚 surfaces and negatively impact its fuel efficiency.
As well, in August 2020, GIT was awarded to investigate a new technology to help reduce the underwater noise and greenhouse gas emissions produced by marine vessels.
Making a contribution
Ingham has contributed to both projects during his internship. 鈥淚 am performing a life cycle assessment of GIT鈥檚 novel marine coating to evaluate and quantify its environmental impact on the marine industry,鈥� says Ingham. 鈥淕IT is manufacturing the latest developments in marine coatings to protect underwater assets from biofouling and corrosion without the use of toxic materials. My goal is to understand the coating鈥檚 performance and its impact on a vessel鈥檚 fuel consumption and maintenance schedule.鈥�
Aside from contributing to GIT鈥檚 long-term projects, Ingham has seen the advantage of getting out of research labs and into the field. 鈥淭he biggest benefit of the internship thus far has been the integration with a real-world environment,鈥� he says. 鈥淧rior to my master鈥檚 degree I had very little experience working with industry and different stakeholders. Since the start of my Mitacs internship, I鈥檝e been able to achieve this while completing all of my academic requirements.鈥�
Preparing people for the world
If a student is doing a master鈥檚 or PhD, there is a strong chance they will end up working outside of a university setting, says Marciel Gaier, GIT鈥檚 Chief Technology Officer and a H漫画 PhD graduate.
鈥淎 Mitacs internship prepares you for industry. We plan to hire almost everyone who鈥檚 worked with us, to build a bridge between academia and industry,鈥� says Dr. Gaier, noting that GIT is recruiting three PhD students for internships and hopes to have five H漫画 grad students working for the company by the end of the year.
Dr. Gaier points out the variety of work Ingham has done so far during his internship. 鈥淩yan is actively working in our Transport Canada and Ocean Supercluster projects,鈥� says Dr. Gaier. 鈥淗e鈥檚 learning a lot 鈥搕ime management, learning to write technical specs and briefings.鈥�
Dr. Gaier co-founded the company in 2017 with Mo AlGermozi, GIT鈥檚 Chief Executive Officer. GIT got its start in a H漫画 University Faculty of Engineering lab, but it is now based out of in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, a state-of-the-art facility that is also home to some of the province鈥檚 best tech entrepreneurs.
Positioned for growth
鈥淚n order to build a successful company, you need to find SMART money, this means strategic investors with a successful track record in the industry and also in high growth start-ups,鈥� says AlGermozi. 鈥淲e have leveraged the expertise and prior successes of our investors, comprised of executives from shipping companies, coatings distributors, and prominent business leaders for advice and direction when making strategic decisions.鈥�
The growing company plans to create 20 jobs by 2022 and continue to hire highly-skilled personnel from H漫画 and beyond. Helping contribute to worldwide efforts to reduce the shipping industry鈥檚 carbon footprint is important to GIT, says AlGermozi, who notes the company is positioned to bring its products to commercial markets as it pursues manufacturing and licensing agreements with industry partners.
For more information about GIT, and from Nova Scotia Business Inc. (NSBI).