Young researchers will be provided with the training
opportunities necessary to help them transition from trainees to productive
employees in the Canadian workforce, therefore bringing their expertise to
fulfill private sector needs. The Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of State
(Science and Technology), was at McGill University today to announce funding
for new training initiatives in a variety of research areas, including
genomics, climate change in the Arctic, clean combustion engines, and wireless
technology.
“Our
Government will continue to support research that brings together academic and
industrial partners because we recognize that long-lasting returns can be
realized when academic research is integrated with private sector know-how,”
said Minister of State Rickford. “We remain committed to investing in the next
generation of innovators, whose work promises to keep Canada competitive on the
global stage and bolster our economy through partnerships with the private
sector.”
The
government will invest more than $24 million over six years in 15 initiatives
through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
(NSERC)’s Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) initiative to
help science and engineering graduates add valuable job skills necessary in
today’s labour market, to their academic achievements. Funded networks will be
led by teams of Canadian university researchers who will help students develop
leadership, entrepreneurship, communication and project management skills.
“This
team-based training is providing a valuable experience for students and
postdoctoral fellows to learn practical skills and to engage in cutting-edge,
multidisciplinary and, in some cases, international research,” said Isabelle
Blain, Vice-President of Research Grants and Scholarships at NSERC. “Exposing
our trainees to an innovative, collaborative training environment will enable
them to succeed in careers that contribute to the world’s top research.”
CREATE also
promotes student mobility between universities and other sectors nationally and
internationally. In 2011, an agreement was established with Germany to support
a bilateral training program. Two of the CREATE recipients will work with the
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, the German Research Foundation.
In its
first three years, CREATE has involved 58 teams of researchers and has
supported more than 2,400 students and postdoctoral fellows through funding and
training.
McGill
University received $1.6 million through CREATE to develop a multi-disciplinary
training program in the fields of physics, biology and medicine. The network
will provide internship, mentoring and training opportunities for the next
generation of medical physicists that will nurture collaboration while also
addressing the need to put new technologies into clinical practice.
Since 2006,
the government has provided nearly $9 billion in new funding for science,
technology and the growth of innovative firms. Of this amount, over $6 billion
is in support of science and technology activities at postsecondary
institutions, including increases in the budget of the Discovery Grants
program. This funding has helped to make Canada a world leader in postsecondary
education research and to create the knowledge and the highly skilled workforce
required for a more prosperous economy.
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 2,400 Canadian companies to participate and invest in
postsecondary research projects.
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