Purpose
Building talent, skills and resilience for Canada's future
Sheridan is building on its longstanding mission of responding to the needs of industry and community by launching the Sovereign Hub for Innovation, Education and Leadership in Defence (SHIELD), a coordinated, institution-wide initiative that will support military-connected learners while strengthening workforce development, responsible innovation and strategic partnerships.
At a time when Canada's defence and security are evolving rapidly and creating new demands for talent and innovation, SHIELD will help Sheridan anticipate and respond to these emerging needs by:
- Supporting military-connected learners and their families through flexible and responsive education and training pathways that recognize their existing experience and skills.
- Developing future talent and upskilling existing workers in response to changing industry and workforce needs.
- Advancing responsible applied research and innovation by bringing together Sheridan's creative, technical and applied learning strengths with real-world challenges.
- Strengthening partnerships with industry, community and government to foster collaboration, knowledge exchange and economic and community resilience.
Areas of focus
SHIELD will bring together expertise from across Sheridan and connect it with emerging defence and security-related opportunities to create new possibilities for learning, responsible innovation, collaboration and community resilience.
- Advanced manufacturing
- Aerospace and space technologies
- Business operations and leadership development
- Creative technologies and human-centred design
- Cybersecurity and secure digital systems
- Health, human performance and medical support systems
- Robotics, autonomous systems and drones
- Supply chain and logistics
- Training, simulation and instructional design
How to engage
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Active Canadian Armed Forces personnel, veterans, and their families
- Education pathways and credential recognition
- Military-connected learner supports
- Transition-to-civilian-career initiatives
- Leadership and workforce development programs
- Military family engagement and support
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Industry partners and employers
- Talent recruitment and co-op pipelines
- Corporate training and upskilling
- Micro-credentials and customized learning
- Applied research and innovation partnerships
- Workforce planning and labour market intelligence
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Government partners
- Regional workforce development strategies
- Community resilience initiatives
- Economic growth and investment attraction
- Innovation ecosystem development
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Sheridan faculty and staff
- Curriculum and learning innovation
- Applied research and innovation projects
- Military-connected learner supports and services
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
Governance and collaboration
The initiative is supported by a Defence Professional Advisory Council (DPAC) composed of leaders from the Canadian Armed Forces, the veteran community, the defence and dual-use industries, public and non-profit organizations, business ecosystem partners, and research centres. The DPAC provides advice on workforce trends, learner needs, work-integrated learning opportunities, partnerships and emerging sector priorities.