Government of Canada to Create Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 6, 2011) - The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), today launched the competitive process for the new Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence. This competition will support one centre with $15 million in funding over five years to strengthen research collaboration between Canada and India.

"Global connections between universities and colleges drive research and innovation, which ultimately grow the knowledge economy," said Minister of State Goodyear. "That is why our government is proud to launch the new Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence."

The successful team will receive $3 million annually, over five years, to create partnerships that accelerate the exchange of research results between Canada and India in areas of strategic importance to both countries. Funding for the $15-million initiative, administered through the Networks of Centres of Excellence program, was announced in the 2011 federal budget.

The new centre is expected to take advantage of existing partnerships to more rapidly achieve results that can be applied to productivity, economic growth or public policy and improve the quality of life in both countries. Building on the government's wider strategy to increase ties between Canada and India and enhance Canada's international role as a research leader, the centre will also provide training opportunities for students in both countries.

"Finding solutions to today's research challenges calls for a collaborative approach that transcends international borders," said Suzanne Fortier, Chair of the Networks of Centres of Excellence Steering Committee and President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. "Our world is very interconnected, and successful research has to cultivate partnerships wherever talent and resources are found."

The Networks of Centres of Excellence program forges partnerships between universities, industry, government and not-for profit organizations. Its goal is to turn Canadian research and entrepreneurial talent into economic and social benefits for all Canadians.

For more information on the competition, please see the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence website.

Backgrounder

Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence Initiative - Competition Launch

The goal of the Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence (CIRCE) initiative is to facilitate knowledge exchange between Canada and India in areas of mutual strategic importance through knowledge and personnel mobilization, research exchanges, and promoting networking and partnerships. The Centre will bring together key individuals and organizations from Canada and India accelerating the exchange of research results, and increasing Canada's international visibility and reputation as a research leader. This centre will build on established Canada-India collaborations to rapidly generate substantial impact over the five-year grant period.

Funding for this initiative was announced in Budget 2011. This competition will support one centre with funding of $15 million over five years.

The successful applicant is expected to meet the following objectives:

• Raise Canada's reputation as a research leader internationally by partnering with India on cutting-edge initiatives;
  
  
• Provide a training environment to develop Canadian/Indian highly qualified people with skills and knowledge in areas critical to the productivity, economic growth, public policy and quality of life of both countries and promote exchanges between highly qualified people;
  
  
• Expand established collaborations with Indian organizations to develop coordinated partnerships that will generate social, economic, technological and/or wellness impacts in both countries;
  
  
• Enhance bilateral dissemination of knowledge, sharing of resources and technology;
  
  
• Leverage existing Canada-India collaborative frameworks to provide an efficient, cost-effective and streamlined delivery mechanism for the proposed centre.
  
  

Applications will be internationally peer reviewed. The review will focus on criteria such as the excellence of the networking and partnerships, knowledge mobilization and technology exchange, management of the network, training of highly qualified people and the research program.