Construction begins on Seneca's $9.4 million applied research centre to support industry-partnered R & D in life sciences and cosmetics. Federal and provincial governments and industry partners will fund the Seneca Centre for Innovation in Life Sciences.
It is being funded by:
- $2 million from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- $1 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and College Industry Innovation Fund
- $1 million from the Ontario Research Fund
- Remaining $5.4 million will come from support from industry research partners and institutional investments
Seneca Media Release states that applied research activities at SCILS will also offer employment and experiential learning opportunities to close to 500 Seneca students and recent graduates.
SCIL will help address the severe labour shortages being reported in bioscience companies.
"We are proud to support our world-class Canadian research talent as well as our small and medium sized businesses, which are the engines of our economy. This investment towards the SCILS will help Seneca work collaboratively with local companies by bringing researchers, students and industry partners together to address local challenges and create jobs and growth here in Canada."
Minister of Innovation, Science & Industry | Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne
The Seneca Centre for Innovation in Life Sciences (SCILS) will conduct industry-partnered, applied research in life sciences diagnostics and novel cosmetics formulations overseen by Seneca's School of Biological Sciences & Applied Chemistry, which is home to Canada's first graduate certificate program in cosmetic science.
Yahoo!Life reports that the centre will be located at the Seneca@York Campus and will feature:
- 279 sq. m centre
- Bio-safety lab
- Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certifiable clean room
The centre will support product development, enhancement and validation, while providing industry partners access to talent and expertise from students and faculty. The Seneca and the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization will be hosting an insight session on the state of talent development within the Ontario life science manufacturing sector on November 24.
From health care to technology, business to creative arts, community services to arts and sciences, Seneca helps students get ready to make their mark in the world. They have deep connections with industry and offer thousands of co-op and work placements to get our graduates job ready.