CAWT receives funding through new College and Community Innovation Program
The Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT) at Fleming College will receive federal research funding through a College-University Idea to Innovation grant, part of the College and Community Innovation (CCI) Program.
The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State, Science and Technology, today announced a total of 20 partnerships among colleges, universities and businesses through the CCI Program. The Minister made the announcement in Cambridge, Ontario.
The CAWT, in partnership with Professor Bruce Anderson of Queen’s University, will receive $602,669 over three years from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), which manages the CCI Program in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
The grant will fund research into wetlands and other passive treatment systems to help the vegetable greenhouse industry to treat and recycle the water it uses. The results will be used by Aqua Treatment Technologies Inc., located in Grimsby, Ont.
“These investments provide colleges with access to the people, resources, and tools they need to be at the forefront of innovation,” said Janet Walden, Chief Operating Officer of NSERC. “The ultimate goal is to create sustainable partnerships that will help sharpen our innovative edge and have a positive impact on the bottom lines for industry and our country.”
“I am pleased to see that Fleming College, in collaboration with Queen’s University, will be a recipient of the College and Community Innovation Program (CCI). This program will allow Fleming to increase their capacity to work with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to spur innovation, support research, and develop new technologies,” said Rick Norlock, MP for Northumberland-Quinte West. “The Government of Canada is committed to supporting science and technology through programs such as the CCI. Initially launched by the Government of Canada in Budget 2011, CCI’s program budget was doubled this year and will be funded on a permanent basis by next year.”
For more information and the full list of recipients, please visit the NSERC website at http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/.
About NSERC
NSERC is a federal agency that helps make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for all Canadians. The agency supports 30,000 post-secondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced field studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding approximately 12,000 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging about 2,400 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.
About Fleming College
Located in the heart of Central Ontario, Fleming College has campus locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg and Haliburton. Named for famous Canadian inventor and engineer Sir Sandford Fleming, the college features more than 100 full-time programs in Community Development and Health, Continuing Education, Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Justice and Business, Skilled Trades and Technology, General Arts and Science and Visual Arts. Fleming College has more than 5,900 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and more than 65,000 alumni.
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For more information
Laura Copeland, Communications Officer at copeland@flemingc.on.ca or 705.749.5530 x 1370