Student uses skills from BBA program for internship with local business

Student Kaitlin Halickman helped predict the economic viability of a biodigester as part of her paid internship with the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program. 

Kaitlin applied her BBA skills in real-life while working for Balance Biogas as a paid intern with owner, Jonathan Osborne. Balance BioGas is a small Whitehorse-based company pursuing renewable energy technologies. One such technology is a biodigester: an artificial stomach of sorts which decomposes organic material with the use of microorganisms. These organisms produce methane, a greenhouse gas byproduct that can be used for heat and electricity generation instead of being released into the atmosphere. 

Kaitlin started with Balance BioGas as a small class project, which gradually evolved into a MITACS based project. In Fall 2021, with support from her BBA instructor, Dr. Lisa Kanary, Kaitlin created an economic model to help predict the cost of implementing a biodigester at a particular site. This model can be used to find the most cost-effective approach to operating a biodigester, lowering the cost threshold for accessing renewable energy. As the intellectual property of Balance BioGas, the model can be used as a tool for Jonathan to share with potential clients. 

Written by student communications assistant Naomi Dedon.