Goverment Pledges $1.6 Million for Queen’s Student Training

Published on: 2011/06/01 - in News

An investment by the Government of Canada will enable young university researchers across the country to develop their skills and help them move from the role of trainees in productive employees within the Canadian workforce. This was announced by the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), during a speech at Queen’s University.

The Minister affirmed that the government is focussed on what matters to Canadians — the economy and jobs. And to remain at the forefront of the global economy, they are committed to investing in the people and ideas that will produce tomorrow’s breakthroughs.

The projects announced today are funded through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)’s Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) Program.

The 18 selected projects will receive a total of $ 29.6 million over six years to assist graduates in science and engineering to add to their academic qualifications. The projects will focus on various areas of research, including neurotechnology, clean energy, conservation of freshwater and bionanotechnology.

Queen’s University will receive more than $ 1.6 million to provide postdoctoral and undergraduate and graduate training in advanced concepts of software systems of Ultra Large Scale Software. These are systems that process financial data and data on health care and network connections for millions of people worldwide. To meet the current and foreseeable demand in industry and academia, Queen’s University will establish a Canadian expertise in these systems.

NSERC is a federal agency that helps make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for the benefit of all Canadians. It supports some 30 000 post-secondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding more than 12,000 teachers every year and fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1500 Canadian companies to invest in the research of post-secondary institutions.

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Photo: Wikimedia Commons