Building the Knowledge Economy Through Partnerships

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 21, 2013) - The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), visited Vancouver's Recon Instruments today, where he announced a $35-million investment by the Harper Government in Mitacs, a national, not-for-profit research organization. The funding, which is part of Economic Action Plan 2012, supports industrial research and development (R&D) internships for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

"Collaboration between business and academia is essential to leveraging Canada's research strengths and seizing market-driven opportunities," said Minister of State Goodyear. "By investing in Mitacs, our government is increasing knowledge transfer between universities and businesses, encouraging companies to increase their investments in R&D, and enabling graduate students to gain practical experience in successfully innovating in Canada's business sector."

Through its Accelerate internship program, Mitacs (mitacs.ca) helps businesses gain a competitive advantage by tapping into the talents and expertise of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. It also provides students with valuable experience in applying their advanced training in the private sector. This newest investment will enable Mitacs to support industrial R&D activities at 1,200 companies through an additional 4,800 Accelerate internships delivered over a five-year period, beginning this year.

Recon Instruments (reconinstruments.com) is a Vancouver-based company that designs and creates mobile devices and technologies for use in action sports. The company has co-funded several Mitacs-Accelerate internships.

Since 2006, the Harper Government has invested nearly $8 billion in new initiatives supporting science, technology and the growth of innovative firms in Canada, including $5 billion for advanced research, education and training; $2 billion for post-secondary infrastructure; and $1 billion for applied research and financing. This funding has helped to make Canada a world leader in post-secondary education research and to create the knowledge and highly skilled workforce that are required for a prosperous economy.

For more information on the Government of Canada's science and technology initiatives, visit the Science and Technology for Canadians website (science.gc.ca).