No, to be eligible to apply for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Engage or Engage of Colleges/ Voucher for Innovation and Productivity I (VIP I) joint program, it must be a first-time collaboration between the company and the Principal Investigator or the college.
First-time collaboration with the company means no existing or past association between the researcher/college and the industry partner. Evidence of an established relationship between the researcher/college and industry partner includes:
- a previous research collaboration between the researcher/college and the company or any of its divisions or parent;
- researcher/college’s current or past involvement in the company;
- joint participation in a research network;
- researcher/college’s existing association with the company or its principals, including (1) whether the company principals or staff serve as a professor, adjunct professor or other colleague in the same university department as the applicant, or (2) in the case of a small company, whether a former trainee of the applicant now holds a key position in the company);
- past or current supervision of a graduate student who is supported by an industrial scholarship or internship with the proposed partner; and
- other evidence that an Engage Grant is not needed to foster a new research collaboration.
Please consult with an NSERC Engage program officer to confirm any potential cases of prior collaboration before starting the application process.