Vestechpro’s technology access center status renewed for five additional years

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has responded favorably to the renewal application submitted by Vestechpro to continue its important activities as a Technology Access Center (TAC) over the next five years.

The Center, which obtained this status for the first time in 2018, was able to demonstrate the scale and relevance of the impact of the activities it has implemented since then, both with the clothing industry and the community of Cégep Marie-Victorin to which he is affiliated. Over the past five years, Vestechpro has expanded the customer base supported by its services by offering them solutions adapted to their needs and challenges, particularly in a context of labor shortage. Vestechpro has thus directly contributed to stimulating innovation in the sector and its competitiveness. 

The renewal of Vestechpro's status is accompanied by an establishment grant totaling $500,000 spread over five years.

The only specialized center of expertise dedicated to the clothing sector, the Center consolidates, with this renewal, its position as a leader in clothing research and innovation in Canada. It aims to accelerate the growth of its services, particularly in relation to the green and digital transition, among SMEs, large companies and social economy organizations.

Only 20 Centers across Canada obtained CAT status from NSERC in 2024, some like Vestechpro, as part of a renewal, others, in the case of a first request.

The positive impacts of CAT status

More broadly, this recognition will continue to support:

• the visibility of Vestechpro as a technological access center at the Canadian level;
• the support offered by the Center for the development and implementation of innovation projects in the fashion-clothing sector, according to the needs of its clients, at the provincial and pan-Canadian level;
• the offer of interactive visits, offering eligible companies 20 hours of collaboration with a CAT to solve an innovation challenge. These tours are powered by Tech-Access Canada;
• the consolidation and amplification of technological transfer between Vestechpro and its community, in particular Cégep Marie-Victorin and its Fashion School (faculty and student community).