Conference to showcase research strength

Carleton Univ is taking a serious run at recently announced federal funding to establish a Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence following the creation of its own centre and the mounting of two major bilateral conferences scheduled for later this month. The Ottawa-based university appears to be a front-runner in the competition, which was announced in the stillborn March 22 federal Budget and re-introduced in the June 6th Budget following the election.

Carleton's relationship with Indian universities, government and business community stretches back 25 years, leading the university's administrators to make engagement with that country a major strategic priority. Late last year it established the Canada-India Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy, which is the driving force behind two back-to-back conferences on education and innovation. A research chair has also been established and funded by the Indian government, although its focus and chairholder have yet to be determined (R$, January 31/11).

The plan for the centre is to secure $30 million in financing in roughly equal shares from a philanthropic endowment and the federal and Ontario governments. To date, the endowment has received commitments totaling $8 million and the university is awaiting details of the federal competition which will provide the winner with $12 million over five years.

The federal Budget provision for a centre of excellence competition is part of a larger suite of initiatives that include $10 million for an educational strategy to promote Canadian universities and colleges abroad and a federal declaration that 2011 is the Year of India in Canada.

"Everything we are doing is lining up very neatly with what the two countries are doing. It's a nice constellation of events and coincidence of initiatives and ideas," says Dr Roseann O'Reilly Runte, Carleton Univ's president and vice-chancellor. "I believe that when we want to shine in research in the future, we're always going to be looking at teams and networks. They're going to be more and more international and the stronger the international network, the better the research is going to be."

When designing its Canada-India Centre of Excellence, Carleton officials decided to forge an explicit link between research and economic policy. In addition to making it more attractive for research funding, the linkage serves a wide range of the university's strategic priorities as well as helping to facilitate increases student and faculty exchange, joint programs, doctoral students and research.

"Budget 2011 provides $12 million over five years for a competition to select a Canada-India Research Centre of Excellence, open to proposals in all areas of research. The centre will focus on creating partnerships that bring together key individuals and organizations from Canada and India, accelerating the exchange of results, and increasing Canada's international visibility and reputation as a research leader." — Budget 2011

How large the Centre will ultimately become depends on Carleton's success in the competition for federal dollars. Runte acknowledges that other institutions will be vying for the funding but asserts that Carleton's track record and multi-faceted plan to strengthen her university's ties to India place it in good stead.

"There is an agreement between the prime ministers of Canada and India. I hope the fact that we have done so much and so successfully and have involved so many institutions in Canada and India that it will become apparent that what we are doing actually achieves that agreement," she says.

If its bid for federal funding is successful, Carleton will approach the Ontario government for matching funding. Runte says wording in the latest provincial Budget indicates that it is open to supporting an initiative such as its proposed centre.

In the meantime, fundraising efforts will continue to reach the $10-million mark for philanthropic support. To date, $6 million has been raised from individuals from Vancouver to Montreal, augmented by $2 million from the Indian government.

Carleton's diverse strengths in India-related research will be showcased later this month via its double-barreled education and innovation conference. The Canada-India Innovation Summit features a blue-chip roster of academics, business people and government representatives from Canada and India, with break-out sessions on biotechnology, sustainable energy and digital media.

Canadian speakers include Terry Matthews, chairman Mitel Corp, Kevin Lynch, vice-chair, BMO Financial Group, John Manley, president and CEO, Canadian Council of Chief Executives and Foreign Affairs minister John Baird.

A parallel session — Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) Negotiation Simulation — will be run by the Centre for Trade Policy and Law. (www1.carleton.ca/canadaindiainnovationsummit/schedule/).

Due to the absence of government funding, the Centre's activities and the summit are being supported by contributions from the university's deans and VPs. The summit has also secured sponsorships from SNC Lavalin and International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada. The latter has been engaged with India for several years, organizing and co-funding bilateral R&D projects involving business and academia from both countries (R$, May 24/11).

There are an estimated 40 Carleton faculty engaged in research projects involving India and covering a wide range of disciplines, as well as agreements with 15 Indian post-secondary institutions. Working relationships have also been established with Indian and Canadian companies which are expected to be enhanced if and when the Centre secures financing.

"The idea is that the Centre will have an endowment so that it can continue working year after year. Part will be used for expanding the operations but part will also be used for funding research, projects and exchanges of research, faculty and students," says Runte. "The number of faculty that have been to India this year is extraordinary ... I went to India three times last year."

Runte says the Centre's first chair will relate to some aspect of S&T and economic development. The chair's focus is for an initial two years and renewed if interest warrants.

"India is actually providing us the person. We pre-determine the field and we send three names we'd like to India and they will pick and send the person to us."

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