Support from Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative will help college develop research partnerships with local businesses and companies

October 29, 2010

Oshawa, Ont. – Durham College announced today that it has been approved for up to $750,000 in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) under the agency’s Applied Research and Commercialization Initiative (ARC). The funding will enable the college to pursue additional research partnerships and agreements with local small- and medium-sized businesses in the areas of media design and production, green and renewable energy and health sciences.

“On behalf of Durham College, I would like to thank the federal government and Minister Gary Goodyear for recognizing our growing research agenda with its approval of this funding,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “The government is providing the financial means necessary to ensure our applied research initiatives with local businesses are successful. Initiatives such as the recent agreement between our Office of Research Services and Innovation and A.B.D. Solar Power Pool Tools to develop a pool debris skimmer/extraction device prototype, a project that was successfully completed this past September.”

Part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, ARC is a $15-million pilot initiative designed to address the gap between research and commercialization in southern Ontario. It aims to encourage collaboration between small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with pre-commercialization needs and post-secondary institutions with applied research expertise to accelerate innovation and improve the productivity and competitiveness of SMEs in southern Ontario.

Through the funding available through ARC, the college has the potential to collaborate with approximately 15 SMEs by March 2012, helping to strengthen their innovation capacity and commercialization of knowledge and the facilitation of pre-commercialization activities. In addition, the funding will enable the college to provide additional research opportunities to students, allowing them to gain work experience and better prepare for future employment opportunities.

Durham College’s Office of Research Services and Innovation is dedicated to building knowledge and advancing solutions to achieve Ontario’s productivity and prosperity goals. It is also part of the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation (CONII).

About Durham College
At Durham College, the student experience comes first, an approach it has taken for more than 40 years. Through a vast range of market-driven programs that are taught by exceptional professors with real-world experience, students develop the skills required to meet the ever-changing needs of employers and the job market. Moving forward, Durham College’s expansion plans will see its Whitby campus grow by 40,000 square feet. Phase 1 of the construction features an energy-neutral living laboratory for new technologies and education that will serve the growing needs of the emerging energy sector. Phase 2 of the expansion will create additional classroom and laboratory space to support new program development, and Phase 3 will be a food centre designed to house culinary arts programs; a food and agricultural component; a food processing centre and agriculture and science laboratories. Durham College has more than 7,000 full-time students, thousands of part-time students and more than 1,400 apprentices. For more information, visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000.

Media contact:
Michelle Roebuck
Communications, Marketing and External Relations
Durham College
905.721.2000 ext. 2197
michelle.roebuck@durhamcollege.ca

 

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