Conestoga news

November 20, 2009 10:34 AM

Conestoga to Participate in November 27 Polytechnic Showcase

Polytechnics Canada will present on Friday, November 27 its fourth annual showcase and conference devoted to applied research projects and capabilities involving its nine member institutions. The event is in Markham and will have a strong local aspect, as Conestoga College, Cambridge MP Gary Goodyear and COM DEV International CEO John Keating will all be involved.

Conestoga is a founding member of Polytechnics Canada. One feature of the November 27 showcase is a display of posters summarizing applied research projects in-progress or completed at member colleges. Projects associated with the third and fourth year of Conestoga's degree program in Integrated Advanced Manufacturing Technologies will be featured, and faculty member Andrew Campbell will lead a discussion session associated with the project undertaken by his class.

Hon. Gary Goodyear, MP for Cambridge and Minister of State (Science and Technology) will be the keynote speaker at the luncheon plenary session. He will address an audience composed of faculty and students from the polytechnics, and leaders from industry and government, all of whom have a keen interest in the value and potential of applied research conducted through partnerships involving polytechnics.

John Keating will be a member of the afternoon panel presentation on the topic Igniting Innovation through Students. He will be joined by Claire Boule, Executive Director of Reseau Trans-Tech (Quebec's CEGEP centres for technology transfer), and by two officers of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada - Bart van den Berg (Director, Knowledge Partnerships) and Peggy MacTavish (Chair, College and Community Innovation Program Internal Review Committee).

The fourth annual Science and Technology Showcase takes place at Seneca College's Markham campus, located at 8 The Seneca Way, just off Allstate Parkway, near the intersection of Highways 7 and 404 in Markham. The event runs from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Minister Goodyear's appearance begins at 12:30 p.m.; Mr. Keating's panel is in session from 3-4:30 p.m.

Polytechnics Canada is an organization of nine colleges and institutes of technology dedicated to producing career-ready graduates and to helping Canada's small and medium-sized enterprises by transforming innovation into value, and delivering competitive processes and products for the Canadian economy. Member institutions are: Conestoga, Algonquin College, George Brown College, Humber College, Seneca College, Sheridan College, Olds College, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and British Columbia Institute of Technology.

CONTACT: Ken Doyle, Polytechnics Canada, 613-688-0690, kdoyle@polytechnicscanada.ca