LETHBRIDGE, Alberta, June 11, 2010 — Thanks to an investment by the Government of Canada at universities across the country, young researchers will have an opportunity to expand their professional and personal skills to prepare for the workplace. On behalf of the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), Rick Casson, Member of Parliament for Lethbridge, announced a new Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program at the University of Lethbridge: the first imaging science degree program in Canada.
“Our government is committed to developing, attracting and retaining the world’s best researchers here in Canada,” said MP Casson. “The Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program is helping recent graduates make a successful transition into the knowledge workforce and giving them a head start on their chosen career path.”
On June 4, Minister of State Goodyear announced that the government will be investing $32 million over six years for 20 projects funded under this program, administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. These projects will enable science and engineering graduates upgrade their skills to make a successful transition to the workplace and explore a variety of research areas, including photonics, climate change, civil engineering and optical networks.
In addition to the advanced training already received in their science and engineering studies, the training and mentoring projects funded through the Program will help students and post-doctoral fellows further improve their employability skills. The program will help attract highly qualified students, increase their mobility nationally and internationally, and establish links that will advance their chosen careers.
“The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program helps graduating students become highly sought-after professional researchers in the natural sciences and engineering, both in Canada and abroad,” said Dr. Suzanne Fortier, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. “The program helps not only to improve the skill set of the next generation of Canada’s research talent, but also to support its retention in the workforce.”
More information on the Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program is available in the attached backgrounder. To view the list of projects funded, visit the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is a federal agency whose vision is to help make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for the benefit of all Canadians. The agency supports some 28 000 students and post-doctoral fellows in their advanced studies. The Council promotes discovery by funding more than 11 800 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging more than 1500 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.
For further information, please contact:
Gary Toft
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Gary Goodyear
Minister of State (Science and Technology)
613-947-2956
Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502
Shannon Cobb
Media Relations and Public Affairs Officer
NSERC
613-996-3861
