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Durham College awarded membership in Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation

Durham College was recently granted membership in the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation (CONII), a consortium of colleges dedicated to helping business and industry become more competitive in the global economy. A key research area for the college under CONNI is energy, including the wind turbines recently installed at the college's Whitby campus.

Durham College was recently granted membership in the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation (CONII), a consortium of colleges dedicated to helping business and industry become more competitive in the global economy. A key research area for the college under CONNI is energy, including the wind turbines recently installed at the college's Whitby campus.

Durham College recently got a jump start on its commitment to applied research when it was granted membership in the Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation (CONII).

A consortium of 20 Ontario colleges dedicated to helping business and industry become more competitive in the global economy, CONII is the result of a $10-million investment over three years in the 2009 Ontario Budget through the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.

"Durham College's membership in CONII is a remarkable accomplishment," said Don Lovisa, president of Durham College. "It will allow us to formalize and expand our role in applied research while enhancing the teaching and learning possibilities that exist on our campuses. In addition, we are excited about the opportunity to share our innovative research and faculty expertise with our community and beyond to help businesses adapt new technologies and products for the marketplace."

The college formally applied to the CONII Industry Selection Panel in August and in September the panel recommended to the CONII board that it be accepted as a member.

A key component of the Ontario government's plan to help speed up the research and development process for businesses, CONII is designed to move products to market faster and enhance the province's competitiveness in the global marketplace. In addition to providing support to businesses, it also provides financial support to colleges, enabling them to provide businesses with quicker access to the expertise of Ontario's top researchers and the most state-of-the-art equipment and research tools available.

Each college will receive core funding for college-selected eligible expenditures for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 academic years with funding also pre-allocated for additional industry project grants or releases.

Current CONII research ranges from developing specialized software for 3-D game developers, to designing and building innovative optical components or developing more efficient light sources. Durham College plans to initially focus on energy, health sciences and technology.

Becoming a CONII member will allow Durham College to pursue other research funding opportunities with the federal and provincial governments to expand its support of local industry becoming more competitive, since several of CONII's research areas tie directly to Durham College's current programs in areas including alternative and renewable energy, construction, digital media, environmental technologies, health and life sciences and manufacturing and materials.

The CONII office at the college will be operational in the next month. Interested businesses are asked to contact the Office of Institutional Research and Planning at 905.721.2000 ext. 3669 or institutionalresearch@durhamcollege.ca until that time.