Terrific. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I am pleased to testify this morning on behalf of our large network of colleges, institutes, cegeps and polytechnics. The members of Colleges and Institutes Canada, CICan, serve 1.5 million learners from 3,000 urban, rural, and remote communities right across Canada.
We very much welcome the committee's study on IP and technology transfer and fully recognize the critical role our institutions can play in fostering and commercializing new innovations.
I'm pleased to be appearing today alongside Dr. Marc Nantel, who is from Niagara College in southern Ontario. I'm going to provide some general information about the policies and practices that are found in colleges and institutes across the country and then leave it to Marc to tell you about how it works in practice.
As all of you know, the research that's carried out in colleges and institutes is virtually all applied and partner-driven research. Companies turn to the expertise, facilities, and equipment that we offer to solve problems, create prototypes, develop products, implement new technology, and improve services and processes. Our members offer over 400 specialized research centres and labs, including 49 college centres for the transfer of technology in Quebec, known as CCTTs, and 30 technology access centres, or TACs, across the country.
Colleges and institutes pride themselves on being able to respond quickly to business needs, which is particularly important for the small and medium-sized enterprises they work with most often. The majority of projects are completed in less than one year, and many are done in less than six months.
According to our most recent survey, more than 6,300 private sector firms utilized the R and D services offered by colleges and institutes last year, of which 85% were SMEs and microenterprises. In 90% of these partnerships, the industry partner reserved exclusive IP and commercialization rights. In cases where the college did retain the IP, it was almost always made available to the partners at no cost.
In regard to technology transfer more generally, colleges and institutes see students as the most effective means of moving the results and know-how associated with applied research to the private sector. Last year, our members were able to engage about 3% of their students in applied research projects, giving them the chance to work directly with a partner and gain hands-on experience in solving a real-world problem, and giving employers access to their skills and experience with the latest equipment and techniques.
This represents a very small portion of the students who would benefit from this kind of opportunity and does not come close to meeting the industry demand. We were therefore pleased to see the government's commitment in the federal budget to creating new work-integrated learning opportunities for post-secondary students through research internships.
Many private sector partners choose to work with colleges and institutes because of the access it gives them to highly skilled students, and because of their industry-friendly IP policies. These IP policies are well aligned with the general principle that commercial exploitation of IP is best achieved by the private sector. We see our role as helping firms develop and exploit IP so they are better prepared to compete in the global marketplace.
Let me give you an example of how this has worked at the CCTT located at the Cégep de Trois-Rivières. The CEGEP hosts the Quebec Metallurgy Center, which specializes in metal processing. They were approached by an entrepreneur from the Gaspé region who saw opportunities in the growing Canadian market for windmill maintenance. The goal was to provide a higher-performing, lower-cost emergency brake pad for the thousands of windmills that now operate in Canada.
With the help of the CCTT, the company reverse-engineered conventional components from Europe and optimized the process for fabricating higher-performing brake pads. The company retained all the rights to exploit the intellectual property. They opened their pilot plant in Gaspé, hired six local people, and started production on a product that performs better than the European alternative at a much lower price point.
I'm going to close with another example that's rather fitting this week as we watch the Stanley Cup finals.
The British Columbia Institute of Technology worked with a Penticton-based entrepreneur to develop a hockey skate that tracks various aspects of a player's stride, timing, coordination, and balance. Within six months, they had a prototype that was leveraged to generate funding for the next phase. They are now getting ready for production, with brand new technology that will have a great impact on ice sports. BCIT's industry-friendly IP policies, along with their equipment, facilities, and expertise, make them an ideal partner for a company at this stage of the commercialization process.
Mr. Chair, in closing, I want to convey our strong commitment to working with this committee, the government, and our partners in universities, industry, and communities to leverage the full potential of our institutions to contribute to Canada's innovation agenda. I look forward to the discussion and am pleased to take questions.
Thanks.