George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
Welcome to Research & Innovation at George Brown Polytechnic — where research drives impact.
At George Brown, we turn ideas into action. We partner with industry and community organizations to solve real-world challenges — quickly, responsibly, and with the people who will actually benefit from the results.
Since 2007, our research and innovation teams have built significant capacity in areas vital to Ontario's economic and social development — from advanced manufacturing and digital transformation to social innovation and sustainability. Shaped by practical applications, real timelines, and the need for solutions that hold up beyond the lab.
Think boldly. Make with purpose. Test for real-world impact. It's how we work — and it's what sets George Brown apart. We work with our partners to de-risk innovation, explore ideas, build and test solutions, and validate them in real-world settings. We bring researcher expertise, student talent, specialized facilities, and funding support to projects at every stage.
If you're looking for research that's collaborative, grounded, and built for real conditions, George Brown is ready to get to work with you.
By the numbers 2024-2025
112
Faculty and Student Researchers
154
Projects
134
Industry and community partners
257
New or improved products, servics, technologies, and prototypes
George Brown's Research & Innovation Institutes establish defined priority areas where interdisciplinary teams tackle the challenges that matter most to industry and community. As part of Canada's innovation ecosystem, our Institutes create the focused conditions for evidence-informed collaboration — and knowledge that drives real change.
Since 2007, George Brown has attracted over $110 million in research funding, collaborated on more than 2,100 projects, and delivered nearly 20,000 student research experiences. Explore what's possible when industry ideas, academic expertise, and community need come together.
At George Brown, research is designed by people — curious minds, bold thinkers, and committed partners who bring real-world expertise and a drive to make things better. When you work with us, you gain more than a research team — you gain co-creators invested in your success.
Stay up to date with all of the exciting Research and Innovation projects happening at George Brown.
Questions? Connect with our team!
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News and Projects Highlights
It started with a red apron and a desire to connect strangers through good food. When Jennifer Mitsche started teaching at George Brown, she noticed how many students treated their on-campus meals as just fuel, eaten quickly in between classes. A professor in the English and Communications...
Companies have always needed to evolve quickly to stay relevant in an ever-changing market, but just how hard that can be has been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Relieving this pain point is exactly what Research & Innovation at George Brown College aims to do, running an average 100 projects a...
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that resilience and innovation is essential for local business, no matter their size. To help companies tackle these challenges, George Brown College was recently successful in a pair of Mitacs/AGE-WELL applied research project applications, totalling over $100,000...
In collaboration with our community partners at Ryerson University, Centennial College and University Health Network, George Brown College has created experiential learning opportunities for nursing students in the form of innovative virtual gaming simulations (VGS). These simulations help students...
New Canadians are benefiting from an innovative project that helps them adapt to the rapidly changing workplace culture in Canada. It all started with a partnership between George Brown College and CultureLink, a settlement and community organization. The partnership led to the development of...