Lambton College secures funding for three technology access centres

Lambton College has received federal funding to operate three Technology Access Centres (TACs), making it one of the few colleges in Canada to manage multiple centres supporting innovation and applied research.

The college announced this week that its Bio-Industrial Process Research Centre (BPRC) has been renewed for another five-year term and that its newly established Digital Technology Lab (DTL) has also received funding. These centres join the already funded Lambton Manufacturing Innovation Centre (LMIC), which was renewed last year.

All three TACs are funded through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and are intended to provide support to businesses—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises—looking to adopt new technologies, improve processes, and develop new products.

“These centres serve as a hub for innovation, enabling companies… to access expertise, cutting-edge facilities, and customized technical solutions,” said Rob Kardas, President & CEO of Lambton College, in a statement.

Technology Access Centres are part of a national network coordinated by Tech-Access Canada, which currently oversees 60 centres across the country. TACs are typically affiliated with post-secondary institutions and are designed to support collaboration between researchers and industry partners.

Each of Lambton’s TACs has a specific focus:

• The Lambton Manufacturing Innovation Centre (LMIC), established in 2013, specializes in advanced manufacturing, automation, product development, and digital technology for manufacturing. In the 2024–2025 year, it completed 128 projects and involved 56 student researchers.
• The Bio-Industrial Process Research Centre (BPRC), which focuses on biofuels, bioproducts, industrial fermentation, and food technologies, completed 135 projects and worked with 88 student researchers in the same period.
• The Digital Technology Lab (DTL), launched in 2024, is aimed at helping businesses adopt digital tools, including big data and software design. It supported 69 projects and 73 student researchers in its first year.

Collectively, the three centres reported over $2 million in cash contributions from industry partners in the past year.

More information about Lambton College’s applied research projects can be found at lambtonresearch.ca.

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