File photon of the entrance to Lethbridge College. (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge College receiving federal grant funding for applied research partnerships

Apr 5, 2022 | 11:23 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The federal government is providing a funding boost to colleges across Canada.

$46.9 million over the next two years will be used for 74 grants that will foster applied research partnerships between Canadian colleges, CEGEPs, and polytechnics, and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help these businesses grow and become more competitive.

One of the colleges benefitting from this announcement is Lethbridge College, which is receiving $900,000 on a two-year term for its Authentic Embodied Virtual Reality project.

The funding is being provided through additional investments announced in the 2021 Federal; Budget for the Applied Research and Technology Partnership grants, made available through the Tri-agency College and Community Innovation (CCI) program, managed by the Nature Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Through the partnerships, colleges, including Lethbridge College, will be able to help SMEs address real-world challenges in priority areas from machine learning and manufacturing technologies, to the environment and agriculture, by applying the latest applied research, technologies and knowledge and creating useful new products and services.

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Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, François-Philippe Champagne said, “science and innovation lead to a stronger and more resilient economy.”

“As a government we will always be there to support small and medium-sized businesses as they adopt new technologies, and our college sector plays a crucial role in supporting these businesses.”

Champagne continued, “today’s (April 5, 2022) announcement will see strong partnerships that will foster innovation and support the next big idea all while providing top notch training to Canada’s future generation of skilled workers.”

Additionally, the grants will provide training experience for future generations of workers.

A full list of recipients is available through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s website.