The innovation arm at Sudbury’s Cambrian College nabbed $377,832 from FedNor to assist local companies in the development of prototypes for new products.
Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe made the funding announcement, Aug. 22. The money arrives through FedNor’s Regional Economic Growth through Innovation pool of funding.
With that money, the college intends to hire a research engineer and a welding and fabrication technologist to oversee the production and assembly of prototypes and new products at Cambrian Innovates, together with its research, engineering and business development teams.
The new staff are there to support businesses and industry partners to create innovative products and solutions for the mining, clean-tech and other sectors.
This is considered is a strategic, three-year initiative by Cambrian that will increase research income, provide support for close to 60 businesses, forge new business alliances, and help with development of new products, processes, services or technologies.
“Sudbury is a hotbed for innovation and this investment in Cambrian College will ensure innovation continues to thrive in our region, while supporting jobs, growth and a strong economy that includes everyone,” Lapointe said in a news release.
“More industry partners, particularly in mining and manufacturing, are seeking out Cambrian R&D to help them advance innovation and grow their business, and this investment, in turn, is growing our capacity to provide that expertise. We are very excited to add these new skilled workers to our team in Cambrian R&D," added Janneke Nicholls, the college’s vice-president of finance, administration and applied research.
