Durham College and Molecular Science Corp. announce partnership to advance cannabis education

Oshawa, Ont.Durham College (DC) and Molecular Science Corp. (MSC) are pleased to announce their signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to formalize their collaboration on professional and post-secondary learning, including opportunities for student experiential learning placements and collaboration on research initiatives related to the medical and recreational cannabis industry. DC is the first post-secondary institution to establish such an agreement with MSC.

“Strong partnerships with industry leaders such as Molecular Science Corp. are vital to the success of our students,” said Don Lovisa, president, DC. “With a particular focus on the identification and measurement of natural health products in cannabis, statistical data interpretation and analytical research and development in pursuit of quality assurance, the experience and expertise the MSC team will bring to the college’s ongoing development of leading cannabis-focused education will be invaluable.”

Under the agreement, MSC will provide scientific research context and methodologies to DC as new cannabis-related courses and programs are expanded to enhance DC’s existing educational offerings, including the new Cannabis Industry Specialization certificate program and two-day Medical Cannabis Fundamentals for Business Professionals course. DC will provide MSC with access to cannabis educational materials and expertise, students to fulfill internships as well as resources for their mobile lab platform.

The MOU will also see MSC support the college as an advisor on equipment acquisition and by providing guest speakers to address post-secondary and professional development-level students. A senior representative from MSC will also join DC’s Cannabis Industry Program Advisory Committee, members of which advise the college on a wide range of topics that directly impact the success of students and graduates.

“Durham College has established itself as a leader in cannabis education and MSC is very pleased to collaborate in areas of strategic value to both organizations,” said Ian Morton, chief operating officer, MSC.   “We see significant opportunity in terms of capacity building, talent recruitment, internships and integrated service offerings that will benefit both organizations.”

The partnership between DC and MSC represents the third major collaboration between the college and leading organizations in the cannabis industry. DC also has agreements in place with GrowWise Health Limited and Ample Organics.

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About Durham College

At Durham College (DC), the student experience comes first. With campuses in Oshawa and Whitby and a learning site in Pickering, the college offers more than 12,000 full-time post-secondary and apprenticeship students access to more than 140 full-time and eight apprenticeship programs in a number of different disciplines, enabling them to develop the skills required to meet the demands of today’s job market. The college is also set to launch its first four-year degree program, the Honours Bachelor of Health Care Technology Management, in September 2018.

The Oshawa campus features the state-of-the art Student Services building and will soon feature the Centre for Collaborative Education, a legacy project tied to DC’s 50th anniversary in 2017. The new facility will bring together local, Indigenous and global communities, providing a new home for several of the college’s most innovative and ground-breaking programs.

The Whitby campus features the award-winning W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, which includes Bistro ’67, a full-service, teaching-inspired restaurant, and Pantry, a retail store featuring food prepared by students in the college’s culinary programs. For more information, visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000.

About Molecular Science Corp.

MSC is a Canadian laboratory services company that delivers analytical testing and data-driven business intelligence to the growing cannabis economy. We are dedicated to providing enterprise and craft-level Licensed Producers and Licensed Oil Processors the tools and services they require to succeed through quality compliance.

Our brand new physical laboratory in Toronto will perform a series of analytical tests including potency, terpene profiling, pesticides, heavy metals and mycotoxins testing, as mandated by Heath Canada’s regulatory standards.

MSC has brought the industry’s first mobile lab to market, custom built to provide an onsite pesticide testing solution to customers and to enable an interactive educational platform for product safety awareness, assisting producers in making informed decisions about their cultivation practices. As an extension of our lab facility in Toronto, the mobile lab will employ a variety of scientific instrumentation with a focus on liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and will utilize a Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) to ensure seamless and efficient alignment of analytical results between our mobile lab, physical lab and our clients. For more information visit mscience.ca

For further information contact:


Melissa McLean
Communications and Marketing
Durham College
905.721.2000 ext. 2952
melissa.mclean@durhamcollege.ca                           

 

Tahir Kassam
Director of Marketing
Molecular Science Corp.
416.800.0479 ext. 205
tkassam@mscience.ca