Intellectual Property Ontario Supporting Commercialization Initiative at Trent
Provincial agency providing funding for new industry liaison officer to enhance intellectual property education and commercialization activity across four universities
A collaborative initiative between Trent University and Laurentian, Lakehead, and Nipissing universities is receiving funding from Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON) to foster an innovation cluster focused on critical minerals, cleantech, and battery electric technologies.
IPON, a new provincial agency established in 2022, will provide a total of $294,000 to a pilot project that will see an industry liaison officer support the four universities in commercialization efforts related to the cluster’s primary research topics.
“Universities have long been hubs of innovation—we are driven to discoveries that often produce new approaches, products, and other research outcomes that have commercial value,” said Christopher Rooney, senior director, Office of Research & Innovation at Trent University. “This new collaboration and expert role will help realize and translate those ideas and research outcomes into economically-important contributions in the mining, transport, and energy sectors.”
The initiative aligns with Ontario’s Critical Minerals Strategy, and will highlight Trent’s expertise in sustainable mining, environmental geoscience, biomaterials, and clean energy innovations.
The industry liaison officer will be shared across the four institutions, engaging regularly with faculty, staff, and students via meetings and events, sharing educational and commercialization expertise to ultimately improve IP literacy, connectivity between stakeholders, and economic development.
In total, IPON is providing $2 million in funding across seven projects involving ten postsecondary institutions, helping colleges and universities advance “made-in-Ontario” research and innovation that benefits Ontarians.