Centennial College is proud to announce that its Wearable, Interactive and Mobile Technology Access Centre in Health (WIMTACH) has received $1.75 million in renewed funding through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). This investment will continue WIMTACH’s designation as one of 70 Technology Access Centres across Canada.
The announcement was made by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, as part of a broader $29.8-million investment through NSERC’s College and Community Innovation program.
Technology Access Centres are specialized applied research and innovation centres embedded within Canadian colleges that provide research, development and innovation support to small- and medium-sized enterprises. “WIMTACH is a powerful example of how applied research transforms both industry and student futures,” says Jonathan Hack, Dean at Centennial Innovates, the College’s applied research, innovation, and entrepreneurship department. “We are raising the capacity for innovation within the Canadian health-care sector while maximizing hands-on experiential learning opportunities for students to work directly with industry and build future-ready skills.”
Through WIMTACH, industry and community partners are able to leverage Centennial College’s state-of-the-art research labs and facilities, expert faculty and research staff, and a dynamic pool of skilled student researchers to advance their technology development, testing, validation and commercialization. Since its establishment in 2015, WIMTACH has supported more than 850 clients.
“Over the past 10 years, WIMTACH has played a transformative role in strengthening small- and medium-sized enterprises in the health-care sector, particularly in areas such as medical imaging, wireless and mobile health, wearables, and digital health innovation platforms,” says Dr. Purnima Tyagi, Director of WIMTACH and Social Innovation at Centennial College. “These technologies have enabled in-home care, advanced monitoring, diagnostics support systems, and data collection and analytics.”
The Centre has successfully developed and/or improved more than 400 products and technologies and provided more than 1,000 technical and commercialization services and training sessions — all while actively involving students in these projects.
“We have assisted companies like Mindful Garden in developing an AI model to predict delirium and Wosler Diagnostics in creating sonographic platform for improving remote health care,” continues Dr. Tyagi. “Through WIMTACH, students are trained in these emerging, advanced health-care technologies and diverse soft skills. We are very proud to boast a 100-per cent hiring rate for our student researchers post-graduation.”
As the only health-focused Technology Access Centre in the Greater Toronto Area, WIMTACH addresses the growing demand of small- and medium-sized enterprises in Ontario’s health technology ecosystem. WIMTACH also collaborates directly with hospital networks, with key partners including the Scarborough Health Network, Markham Stouffville Hospital, the University Health Network’s KITE Research Institute and various colleges across Canada.
WIMTACH is Canada’s highest-ranking Technology Access Centre for student engagement. The Centre has trained more than 1,200 students to date, and 500 in 2024-25 alone – playing a major role in Centennial College’s four-year streak as the number-one college in Canada for providing paid internships in applied research.
WIMTACH’s renewal reflects Centennial’s continued leadership in college-led applied research as one of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges, and is a showcase of the College’s innovation impact on students and the broader community.
“Experiential learning is a cornerstone of Centennial College’s educational approach,” says Dr. Craig Stephenson, President and CEO of Centennial College. “WIMTACH puts this principle into action by providing students with unique opportunities to gain hands-on experience in technologies that represent the future of health-care delivery and management.
Over the next five years, WIMTACH will continue its focus on developing technologies and products to position Ontario’s health technology small and medium-sized enterprises as global leaders, driving economic growth and technological advancement across Canada’s innovation ecosystem.