Algonquin College receives $1.5M to launch research and development institute
Posted Oct 15, 2022 09:00:00 PM.
Algonquin College has received $1.5 million in funding in order to establish a Research and Development Institute (RDI).
According to a release on Friday, Oct. 14, the funding was provided by The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
The RDI will aim to support highly strategic applied research projects and grow applied research capacity within the College.
“The projects will reside in the College’s existing domains of research excellence, and they will address issues of national importance, working with local and community partners,” said the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Algonquin College, Claude Brulé in the release. “Topics include supply chain innovation, tools for online learning, intimate partner violence, wastewater for rural development and reduction of carbon footprint in biogas generation.”
The key strategy of the RDI, the college said will also focus on full-time professors, which is supported by college management, will ensure that research know-how stays within the college. This is a departure from historical practices in which part-time professors were contracted to lead applied research projects.
This will fortify Algonquin’s research culture and it will foster organic growth of research throughout the campus.
“The aim is to embed applied research in Algonquin’s cultural fabric and to ensure that it becomes self-sufficient, sustainable, and resilient to unforeseen changes in research funding and in society at large,” the release stated.
