The Town of LaSalle hosted its annual Business Connect event at the LaSalle Landing Event Centre on June 17, 2025, bringing together community and industry partners to explore the intersection of innovation, entrepreneurship, and regional development.
Among the key participants was the Research and Innovation department from St. Clair College, which continues to serve as a vital connector between academic knowledge and community application.
The evening opened with remarks from LaSalle Mayor Crystal Meloche, who highlighted the importance of regional collaboration, followed by a keynote titled "Networking Isn't Just Networking" by Adam Castle, Director of Venture Services and Partnerships at WEtech Alliance. His address reinforced a critical truth: purposeful engagement goes beyond exchange it builds pathways for enduring change.
St. Clair College's involvement signals an ongoing commitment to applied research that not only addresses industry challenges but responds to the specific, lived realities of the Windsor-Essex region. By participating in regional forums, Research and Innovation strengthens its role as a community partner focused on aligning academic inquiry with public need.
"As St. Clair College's Main Windsor Campus borders multiple neighbourhoods and municipalities, we are aware of the unique responsibility we carry," said Dr. Karamjeet K. Dhillon, Director of Research and Innovation at the College. "Our location positions us to be more than a college we are a resource and a support system for the communities we serve."
Dr. Dhillon noted the ways in which the College becomes a space where young people find belonging and a foundation for their future.
"When minds meet with purpose, the individual grows beyond the limits of solitary thought," she said.
At the heart of Research and Innovation's work is the idea that applied research is most powerful when rooted in local context. Evidence-based projects emerging from the College aim to inform not only business and policy decisions, but also educational design, social services, and workforce pathways.
LaSalle Director of Strategy and Engagement Dawn Hadre and Coun. Terry Burns celebrate a collaborative SCC R&I and LaSalle project on IoT park bin sensors on June 17, 2025. (Karamjeet Dhillon/St. Clair College)
One of the projects presented by the College was a research collaboration with the Town of LaSalle's waste management services. (Smart Waste Management IoT Project - St. Clair College Research & Innovation)
Three researchers, along with three student researchers, incorporated a smart and data-driven approach to public waste bin management by introducing IoT sensors into the garbage bins.
These sensors collected data and sent it to a website dashboard accessible to the municipality. The data generated by the sensors made the collection of public garbage bins more efficient, resulting in a reduced carbon footprint, improved citizen health and safety, and less damage incurred to the public trails from the local municipality vehicles.
"Dialogical exchange is the heartbeat of social change it pulses through every conversation rooted in care, commitment, and collective inquiry," Dr. Dhillon said.
By integrating student researchers into community-driven initiatives, the College builds reciprocal learning environments. Research becomes a shared tool for inquiry, discovery, and impact.
"In shared spaces, collaboration becomes combustion ideas ignite, evolve, and inspire," said Dr. Dhillon.
This LaSalle Business Connect Event is the first in a series of events that will be held for local businesses.
Events like this are not just about visibility they are part of an intentional strategy to embed research within the fabric of the region. St. Clair College remains committed to expanding this approach, ensuring that innovation emerges from the ground up and carries the voices of those it aims to serve.
The College joined an impressive roster of participating organizations, including BDC Canada, Community Futures Essex County, FedDev Ontario, Invest WindsorEssex, the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, Workforce WindsorEssex, University of Windsor Research Partnerships, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Centre, Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, WEtech Alliance, Windsor Essex Chamber of Commerce and the Windsor Regional Employment Network.
Together, these partners reinforced the event's goal: to fuel collaboration, catalyze new partnerships, and support local business growth.
