Thank you.
Through you, Chair, it is my privilege to be here today with my colleague Dr. Kalina Kamenova as representatives of Loyalist College. We are here to share with you our 20-plus years of experience in post-secondary research and innovation.
Loyalist College is a small and vibrant college in eastern Ontario, with several locations: Belleville, Bancroft, Port Hope and Tyendinaga. It serves a population of approximately 250,000, made up of many small rural communities. Our mandate is to provide an inclusive learning environment and a collaborative applied research network that creates shared value for students, industry, community and our indigenous partners.
Each year, we open our doors to almost 4,000 students who enrol in over 70 full-time diploma, certificate and apprenticeship programs aligned with our region's social, economic and environmental priorities.
Research and innovation at our college have benefited from federal funding. Through CFI, we've expanded our laboratory space and invested in state-of-the-art equipment, providing an environment for students to experience learning and for college-industry partnerships to thrive. Over the past five years, our NSERC-supported Centre for Natural Products has become a nationally recognized technology access centre, a TAC. Our TAC has supported over 71 small businesses and completed over 165 projects. This has led to the development and improvement of products and processes for many businesses across sectors, including natural products, food and beverage, and cosmetics and personal care.
We were the first college in Canada approved to conduct research activities on cannabis, and we received our Health Canada licence approval for psilocybin this past year.
We are currently advancing social innovation and community health at Loyalist with funding through NSERC's Mobilize program. Our Centre for Healthy Communities leverages the expertise of our community partners in the health care and social services sector to enable action that addresses the growing needs in our community for health and wellness support.
For the fourth consecutive year, Loyalist has been named as one of Canada's top 50 research colleges. We consider our small size to be our biggest strength. We listen and adapt to the evolving needs of the industries and communities we serve. We engage a diverse student body in order to foster a culture of innovation. Finally, we equip the future workforce with the skills needed to ensure Canadian businesses and community organizations have the tools to grow.