Holland College has placed third in Canada for its applied research activities according to a new report by Research InfoSource Inc.
Applied research projects are effective ways to solve practical problems; create new products, processes and services; and conduct social research. Private businesses and public organizations work with the college to develop applied research projects. Intellectual property rights remain with the external partner.
The Research InfoSource rankings were determined by the number of research partners each college has. Last year, Holland College had 93 applied research industry partnerships, which generated $668,000 in revenue for the college, putting the college in the third spot for medium sized colleges (colleges with $50 million to $100 million in revenue).
In addition to providing industry partners with access to equipment and expertise, these projects give students the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research. Holland College had 30 students working as paid researchers last year.
"Applied research projects give our students the opportunity to participate in some of the most innovative and exciting projects in the region. The students benefit from the experience in so many ways, including the opportunity to meet with people who are working in the field they plan to enter after graduation. Their efforts also help industry with their everyday challenges." ~ Holland College President Dr. Alexander (Sandy) MacDonald
Shawn MacDougall, Manager of Applied Research, would like to see the number and scope of industry partnership projects at the college increase.
“Holland College’s applied research department helps entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized businesses develop their product ideas and secure research funding. I encourage anyone who has an idea that they would like to take to market to contact us to discuss how we can help.”
In the overall rankings, Holland College moved up nine places to 37th on the list, which is an impressive feat for one of the country’s smallest colleges.
In this picture: Dr. Michael Gibson, instructor in the Bioscience Technology program, and lab technician Shanda Solis Chavez look over the new BioTek Cytation 5 combination plate reader and imaging system. The state-of-the-art equipment was purchased with a $146,000 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and $16,000 from Holland College. The BioTek Cytation 5 will allow higher through put and greater quality results from the program’s cell culturing lab.
For more information about this release, please contact:
Sara Underwood, Media and Communications Officer
Tel: 902-566-9695
Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2019
