"The Plant Needs to Be Thought of First"

Why It Matters

The course bridges a critical skills gap in controlled environment agriculture, accelerating adoption of indoor farming and supporting local agribusinesses in Canada.

Key Takeaways

• New CEA Fundamentals course launches at University of Manitoba’s Biosystems Engineering department.
• Curriculum blends system design, finance, and plant physiology for holistic learning.
• Hands‑on greenhouse projects teach students problem‑solving and crop management.
• Grower network provides ongoing business and technical support to emerging indoor farms.

Pulse Analysis

Canada’s indoor‑farming sector has struggled with a talent shortage, especially in integrating plant science with engineering. Trina Semenchuk’s partnership with Cormac Foster to launch a CEA Fundamentals course directly addresses this void. By structuring the syllabus around plant physiology first, the program challenges the common tech‑first mindset that has led many startups to fail. Students will learn to size equipment, run financial projections, and evaluate facility types while keeping the crop’s needs at the core of every decision.

Hands‑on learning is a cornerstone of the new curriculum. Students will spend time growing real plants in a greenhouse, diagnosing nutrient, temperature, humidity and pest issues, and iterating solutions in real time. This experiential approach cultivates patience, problem‑solving acuity, and a deeper appreciation for biological variables that pure engineering courses often overlook. Graduates will emerge with a balanced skill set—technical design competence paired with practical agronomy—that employers in the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) ecosystem desperately need.

Beyond the classroom, Semenchuk is extending the impact through a biweekly growers network that connects emerging indoor farms with seasoned mentors. The network offers business planning, financial modeling, and operational guidance, helping small‑scale growers navigate the capital‑intensive landscape of CEA. By coupling education with ongoing support, the initiative not only builds a pipeline of qualified talent but also accelerates the commercialization of indoor farming across Manitoba and beyond, positioning the region as a hub for sustainable, high‑tech agriculture.