Government of Canada Invests in High-Quality Jobs and Growth
New research partnerships between colleges and companies boost marketplace innovation
(firmenpresse) - OAKVILLE, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 05/08/12 -- The Government of Canada will support 35 community colleges and cegeps that will be partnering with businesses to conduct research projects in the areas of information and communications technologies, environmental technologies, natural resources and energy. The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology made the announcement while addressing the Polytechnics Canada Annual Conference, hosted by Sheridan College.
"Collaboration between government, applied researchers and the private sector is vital to building an innovative economy," said Minister Goodyear. "The College and Community Innovation Program supports research collaborations between companies and colleges. It illustrates the importance our government places on creating the conditions for innovation and entrepreneurship to thrive in this country."
A total of 60 innovative partnerships between colleges and businesses will be provided more than $36 million over a period of up to five years through the . The announcement includes 14 new Industrial Research Chairs for Colleges to support the development of longer term business-focussed applied research programs at colleges. Three new recipients of College-University Idea to Innovation Grants were also announced. These grants support collaboration between Canadian colleges, universities and businesses to improve or extend existing company technology or commercial products. Both were first announced in Budget 2011.
The projects announced today were selected for funding following a peer-reviewed competition. This announcement follows other CCI investments announced in 2009, 2010 and 2011; bringing total program investments to date to over $160 million for 248 projects at 62 colleges and cegeps.
Sheridan College received over $1.1 million for a new NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges in Mobile Computing. The Chair will focus on delivering innovative mobile computing solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises throughout Ontario. The Chair will also be supported by industrial partners Research in Motion Limited, Cisco Systems Canada, TELUS Corporation, and Xtreme Labs Inc.
The CCI Program is managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in collaboration with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
"These investments provide colleges with access to the people, resources and tools they need to be at the forefront of innovation," said Suzanne Fortier, President of NSERC. "The ultimate goal is to create sustainable partnerships that will help sharpen our innovative edge and have a positive impact on the bottom line of our country and industry."
NSERC is a federal agency that helps make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for all Canadians. The agency supports some 30,000 postsecondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 12,000 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging about 2,000 Canadian companies to participate and invest in postsecondary research projects.
More information on this program and the 60 funded projects is available in the backgrounder.
Backgrounder
College and Community Innovation Program
The College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program is managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
There are six types of grants available through the CCI Program:
Including those projects highlighted in today's announcement, the CCI Program has awarded over $160 million in funding to date, to support 248 projects at 62 colleges and cegeps across Canada.
Projects are awarded funding through a rigorous peer review process that includes an assessment by the CCI Program Review Committee, which is comprised of select members of the Private Sector Advisory Board. These members are leaders from the Canadian academic and business R&D sectors. The 35 colleges and cegeps in this program round will receive a total close to $37 million for up to five years, from fiscal year 2011-12 to fiscal year 2016-17.
College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program, 2012 Funded Projects
1) Industrial Research Chairs for Colleges
Cegep de Jonquiere (Jonquiere, Quebec): The Cegep de Jonquiere's program is designed to address the challenges specific to northern environments, telecommunications sites, outfitters and isolated communities that are facing energy supply problems and associated high costs.
Project Partners:
Cegep de la Gaspesie et des Iles (Grande-Riviere, Quebec): The main objective of the Chair program is to promote and coordinate applied research projects on macroalgae. The program has three components-fisheries and natural resources, mariculture, and algal biomass conversion.
Project Partners:
Cegep de Saint-Hyacinthe (Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec): The research program of the Chair will address the R&D priorities of the Canadian textile industry-sustainable development; durable construction and reclamation; protection, safety and comfort; toxicity; and intelligent textiles.
Project Partners:
Cegep de Trois-Rivieres (Trois-Rivieres, Quebec): This Chair brings together the candidate's recognized proficiency in aluminum smelting R&D and the most comprehensive aluminum casting facilities in Canada.
Project Partners:
College of the North Atlantic (St. John's, Newfoundland): The Chair focusses on new process development and technology innovations in applied mineralogy, linking geology and characterization of ore deposits with recovery processes.
Project Partners:
College de Maisonneuve (Montreal, Quebec): Building on several recent studies and ancillary work in the field of agroforestry extraction, the Chair will focus on deepening our knowledge of chemical composition and on the need to develop technologies that facilitate the development of high-value-added agro-forestry products.
Project Partners:
College Shawinigan (Shawinigan, Quebec): The Chair's program will focus on the industrial bioproducts development process, working towards allowing for rapid diversification of bioproducts development and facilitate scale-up of products already under development.
Project Partners:
La Cite collegiale (Ottawa, Ontario): The Chair's research program will be aimed at furthering the development of applied research in bioprocessing and agri-food engineering, where transforming agricultural residues into value-added products-such as biofuels and food products-is a growing field.
Project Partners:
Lambton College of Applied Arts (Sarnia, Ontario): The work of the Chair will support local and regional industrial partners in industrial process optimization as well as automation, advanced process control and modelling.
Project Partners:
Niagara College (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario): The work of the Chair will focus on developing new technologies in precision agriculture and pursuing commercialization opportunities with several industries including fruit tree growers and viniculture.
Project Partners:
North Island College (Courtenay, British Columbia): The Chair will work to implement long-term monitoring of environmental conditions related to salmon aquaculture in order to improve the production efficiency of salmon farming practices in British Columbia.
Project Partners:
Seneca College (Toronto, Ontario): The work of the Chair will use open source software as building blocks to find solutions for the energy consumption, space, and cooling requirements of current data centre technologies.
Project Partners:
Sheridan College (Oakville, Ontario): The Chair's proposed program of research will focus on context-aware mobile computing and cloud-integrated mobile computing to assist SMEs to improve their competitive position.
Project Partners:
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (Calgary, Alberta): The objective of the Chair's program is to fill a technology development and transfer gap in the sports, recreation and wellness sector in Alberta and Western Canada, acting as a central resource in areas such as mechanical design, materials selection, prototype fabrication and testing.
Project Partners:
2) College-University Idea to Innovation (CU-I2I) Grants
Yukon College and University of Saskatchewan: Northern biochar for northern restoration
Project Partners:
Fanshawe College and University of Western Ontario: Advanced financial market simulation based on intelligent agents and cloud technology
Project Partners:
Olds College and University of Alberta: Use of genomic tools to improve feed efficiency in purebred Hereford cattle
Project Partners:
3) Innovation Enhancement Grants
Cegep de Matane (Matane, Quebec): The Innovations Matane: cinema, jeu video et geolocalisation 3D project involves the development of applied digital imaging technologies to support the growth and development of targeted companies.
Project Partners:
College Ahuntsic (Montreal, Quebec): The Impressions 2020 initiative consists of the development of high value-added innovative printed products with a view to sustainable development.
Project Partners:
Cegep de Thetford (Thetford Mines, Quebec): Creation of a technology platform for the development of value-added oilseed products for industrial applications.
Project Partners:
George Brown College (Toronto, Ontario): The Green Homes initiative will focus on novel building retrofit materials and methods and "Smart" building automation, sensor and control system technology development.
Project Partners:
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) (Edmonton, Alberta): Oils Sands Environmental Sustainability: Center for Green Chemistry and Engineering at NAIT.
Project Partners:
4) Technology Access Centres
George Brown College (Toronto, Ontario): Food Innovation Research Studio (FIRST)
Project Partners:
Camosun College (Victoria, British Columbia): Island Technology Access Centre
Project Partners:
Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), (Edmonton, Alberta): NAIT Nanotechnology Centre for Applied Research, Industry Training, and Services
Project Partners:
Holland College (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island): Canada's Smartest Kitchen
Project Partners:
College Edouard-Montpetit (Longueuil, Quebec): Avionics systems development service.
Cegep de Levis-Lauzon (Levis, Quebec): Establishing a scientific director and research manager position to accommodate the continued growth of TransBIOTech.
College d'Alma (Alma, Quebec): Establishment of a service to encourage innovation in local dairy production.
Project Partners:
Cegep de Victoriaville (Victoriaville, Quebec): Centre d'expertise et de transfert en agriculture biologique et de proximite (CETAB+).
5) Applied Research and Development Grants
The following institutions have received a total of over $895,000 in ARD Grants:
Contacts:
Michele Jamali Paquette
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Gary Goodyear
Minister of State for Science and Technology
613-947-2956
Martin Leroux
Media and Public Affairs Officer
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research
Council of Canada
613-943-7618
Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502
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Datum: 08.05.2012 - 19:30 Uhr
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