Tech-Access Canada welcomes the announcement of five new Technology Access Centres

OTTAWA, Sept. 7, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Tech-Access Canada welcomes the announcement of five new Technology Access Centres (TACs) as part of the Government of Canada's latest round of awards for the College and Community Innovation Program and the College-Industry Innovation Fund.

Technology Access Centres are specialized applied R&D centres affiliated with publicly-funded colleges or cégeps. TACs help Canadian businesses – especially small and medium-sized enterprises – advance their products, processes and services by:

• offering objective advice and specialized technical services;
• providing training related to new types of equipment and processes; and
• conducting applied research and development projects focused on company problems.

TACs also connect companies to additional sources of assistance, testing, expertise and funding.

"The Technology Access Centre grant competition is extremely competitive within Canadian college applied research", said Ken Doyle, Executive Director of Tech-Access Canada. "The five new TACs announced today are a welcome addition to the high-quality Tech-Access Canada family, and greatly complement the capabilities and expertise of the other 25 members of the network."

The five new TACs announced today are:

Canadian Food & Wine Institute Innovation Centre (CFWI IC), Niagara College

The Canadian Food & Wine Institute Innovation Centre (CFWI IC) provides food and beverage companies in the Niagara region with access to an array of state-of-the-art equipment, expertise and services to support product innovation, process improvement and commercialization, all of which are keys to their success and growth.

Centre de géomatique du Québec (CGQ), Cégep de Chicoutimi

The Centre de géomatique du Québec is a college centre for technology transfer affiliated with the Cégep de Chicoutimi. The multi-disciplinary team at CGQ improves innovation and performance outcomes for local firms by developing and applying geomatics technologies through applied research projects, technical assistance, and specialized training.

Mérinov, Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles

Mérinov, a college centre for the transfer of fisheries technologies affiliated with the Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles, contributes to the sustainable development and competitiveness of Québec's fisheries, aquaculture and aquatic biomass valorisation industry through research and development, technology transfer, technical assistance and monitoring.

MEDIC Technology Access Centre for Digital Health, Mohawk College

MEDIC helps SMEs overcome the technical, regulatory and relationship barriers to market entry that often impede product and service development in the health innovation space. MEDIC works with SMEs and public and private sector organizations on developing innovations in health IT; digital health; mobile health; consumer and patient solutions; regional health authority solutions; personal health records; mobile applications; interoperability and more.

Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production, Olds College

The Olds College Centre for Feed Efficiency in Livestock is focused on meeting the needs of the Canadian livestock industry by providing access to new technologies that increase competitiveness. Industry is faced with increased pressure to minimize environmental impacts while improving animal health and welfare, and food safety.

"Every year research is conducted on new products, or on new practices that can really make a difference to the profitability of the beef industry." said Stephen Scott, Executive Director of the Canadian Hereford Association. "Unfortunately, the commercialization of research outcomes into new on-farm practices is a rare occurrence. The Technology Access Centre at Olds College will be a place for producers to bridge the gap between the newest science and implementation of these practices on their own operations. The centre will provide Alberta beef producers with the tools they need to remain competitive in a changing marketplace" added Scott.

Today was a great day as well for the colleges, cégeps, institutes, and polytechnics affiliated with Canada's TACs, as 75% of the College and Community Innovation Program and College-Industry Innovation Fund awards announced today went to an institution with a Technology Access Centre, demonstrating the applied research strength of the TAC-host colleges. These awards will reinforce the applied research capacity in these institutions with support for collaborative applied research projects, specialized tools and equipment, and applied research infrastructure.

Created in September 2015, Tech-Access Canada is the formal, national network of Canada's 30 NSERC-designated Technology Access Centres. Since each TAC serves a specific geographic area, with a focus on the industrial sector of significance to that region, Tech-Access Canada's mandate is to promote a cohesive identity for TACs that will foster greater external awareness of the centres' ability to serve industry, while enhancing individual TAC capacity to deliver effective applied research and innovation services for firms.

More information about Tech-Access Canada and our member Technology Access Centres can be found at: www.tech-access.ca and on Twitter: @TechAccessCDA

SOURCE Tech-Access Canada

Marie-Josée Lavoie, Director, External Relations, Tech-Access Canada, [email protected], 613-746-6626