Centennial College receives $1.75-million grant to spur research into wearable healthcare technology

TORONTO, April 10, 2015 /CNW/ - Centennial College has been awarded a $1.75-million federal grant to establish the Wearable, Interactive and Mobile Technologies Access Centre in Healthcare (WIMTACH), which will contribute to the east GTA's innovation ecosystem in the rapidly expanding wearable technology sector.

Ed Holder, Minister of State for Science and Technology, visited Centennial's Progress Campus on Friday to speak about the need to spur more development of innovative technology in partnership with industry. The funding is part of more than $40 million in grants directed to 34 Canadian colleges for applied research provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) College and Community Innovation Technology Access Centre program.

WIMTACH will enhance the ability of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to become more productive, competitive and innovative by seeding exceptional learning opportunities for students and highly skilled jobs for graduates. Ontario has become a development hub for digital healthcare technologies that are wearable, interactive and mobile. It is home to 42 per cent of Canada's medical tech industry, which supplies world markets with a broad range of products and services in bio-informatics, diagnostics, imaging, mobile apps and e-health systems integration.

"Through the NSERC TAC investment, we can expand our capacity and proven expertise in delivering new technology development and commercialization services to businesses in this sector," says Trish Dryden, Associate Vice-President, Research and Corporate Planning at Centennial. "With our innovation partners' support we will engage our faculty, staff and student expertise from 120+ programs to provide breadth and depth to ensure WIMTACH's success in terms of economic prosperity and social innovation."

In addition to helping companies bring their new technology to market, WIMTACH at Centennial College will provide networking opportunities through various events to connect partners and clients. WIMTACH will have a dedicated web portal and social media presence to keep industry partners informed of the latest trends in the sector.

As one of Canada's top research colleges (Research Infosource Inc., 2014), Centennial College has a successful record of college-industry collaboration in innovative technologies with the help of talented faculty, staff and students contributing to projects managed by the college's Applied Research and Innovation Centre (ARIC). Over the past five years, Centennial has assisted in the development of 40 products in the healthcare market alone.

SOURCE Centennial College

Media contact: Mark Toljagic, Communications Officer, Centennial College, 416-289-5000, ext. 7142/[email protected]