September 20, 2005 Source: University of Waterloo:
http://newsrelease.uwaterloo.ca/news.php?id=4588 Grants of $2.1 million will accelerate technology, knowledge WATERLOO, ONT. -- Federal grants totalling $2.1 million were announced today to accelerate the transfer of knowledge and new technology being developed in Canadian universities including Waterloo. The funding, announced by Industry Minister David Emerson and Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, is among 22 grants worth $17.1 million over three years for initiatives at universities, hospitals and colleges. The grants are intended to strengthen interactions among publicly funded research institutions through the support of regionally based networks and to expand the training of technology transfer experts required to increase the benefits to Canadians of public investments in research. One such network involves the so-called C-4 universities -- Waterloo, Guelph, McMaster, Western Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier and Windsor. The C-4 joint university initiative refers to coordination, co-operation, collaboration and commercialization and is intended to move the respective technology transfer operations forward. In addition, an internship program is also being established to include Brock University. The regional funding, from the federal Intellectual Property Mobilization Program (IPM), was announced today by Tony Valeri, MP for Hamilton-Stoney Creek and Leader of the House of Commons at an event at McMaster. The grants support the development and commercialization of research at the universities. "The University of Waterloo is a leader in transferring new technologies arising from scientific research for the benefit of society while advancing Canada's leading role in innovation," said Paul Guild, UW Vice-President, University Research. "This initiative by the federal government will help allow promising technologies to move from invention to commercially implemented innovation in a collaborative way in association with our partner universities," he added. The IPM initiative is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). The grants will further strengthen the ability of institutions to manage their intellectual property, attract potential users and promote the professional development of intellectual property personnel through a network approach. Janet Walden, NSERC Vice-President of Research Partnerships, said C-4 is a perfect example of what the federal granting agencies want to achieve from this program. "This concerted effort among academic institutions in Southwestern Ontario will increase the commercialization of research in the region through effective sharing of resources to manage and protect intellectual property, to encourage entrepreneurship and make industry more aware of the knowledge and technology resources at their disposal," she said. Some 40 per cent of the sponsored research in Canada comes from Ontario's 19 universities, while the C-4 makes up 35 per cent of Ontario's research dollars. Contact: Paul Guild, UW V-P Research, (519) 888-4889; guild@uwaterloo.ca Michael Dwyer, NSERC News Bureau, (613) 992-9001; michael.dwyer at nserc.ca Jim Fox, UW Media Relations, (519) 888-4444; jfox@uwaterloo.ca Release no. 205 -- September 20, 2005
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