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NSERC Funding Rewards Innovation
Awards designed to help turn graduate research into commercial products or services
Are you a graduate student with a world-beating idea? You may be eligible for funding intended to help recent or soon-to-be university grads take their research results to market.
The Innovation Challenge Awards, sponsored by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), provide funding for students who have conducted graduate-level research in the natural sciences or engineering.
The award is meant to help recently completed master's and PhD students turn their research into a commercial product or service.
The awards consist of a $10,000 main prize and two $5,000 prizes, as well as honourable mentions worth $1,000 each.
“We hope people apply — it's a great opportunity,” says Daniela Fischer Russell, a technology transfer manager with U of G's Business Development Office (BDO).
Candidates must have submitted or expect to submit their thesis between May 1, 2006, and April 30, 2007. Students must successfully defend their thesis before the award is offered.
As with other institutions, U of G may nominate up to two candidates this year. The application must be sent to NSERC by the BDO, which will assess candidates and help students refine their applications.
The BDO's deadline for applications is April 25 (approved applications must reach NSERC by May 15).
The award was launched in 2004 and is funded by NSERC and GrowthWorks, a venture capital fund manager. Last year, winners from other universities received support for projects in 3-D computer modelling, molecular biology, and a novel antibiotic and food preservative.
The BDO will hold information sessions about the awards Feb. 7 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Room 1713 of OVC's Lifetime Learning Centre and Feb. 8 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room 441 of the University Centre.
For more information, call Jo-Ann Smith at Ext. 58878 or visit www.nserc.gc.ca/innovation.