»¢Ñ¨ÊÓƵ

by Sherri Hogan

Seymour Epstein, Chairman of Provinent Corporation, visited PEI today to tour his company's Charlottetown office and to sign a letter of commitment to provide more than $1 million to Holland College's Justice Knowledge Network (JKN).

Formed by Holland College, JKN designs, develops and delivers leading edge e learning products for the Canadian law enforcement community. JKN is a consortium comprised of Holland College, Provinent Corp., Aliant Inc., Universit? de Moncton (IDITAE) and Sheridan College's Visualization Design Institute.

JKN, in partnership with the National Research Council and the Canadian police community, launched its portal www.cpkn.ca - the Canadian Police Knowledge Network - in October 2004. Law enforcement officers from across the country are utilizing this portal to access the 16 e-learning courses that are currently available. Additional courses continue to be added to JKN's course catalogue.

Provinent Corporation is the e-learning development partner for the JKN on »¢Ñ¨ÊÓƵ, and as such, has a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Holland College. It is in recognition of this partnership that Mr. Epstein has contributed to the college.

"I have watched with great interest as Holland »¢Ñ¨ÊÓƵhas developed into a progressive learning institution with a strong vision for the future," Mr. Epstein said. "We feel our Strategic Partnership Agreement has benefited the Justice Knowledge Network while serving to see Provinent locate offices in PEI, and we continue to be excited by the growth prospects this provides Holland »¢Ñ¨ÊÓƵand ourselves."

Premier Pat Binns said the relationship between Holland »¢Ñ¨ÊÓƵand Provinent is a good example of an agreement that can attract off-Island companies to establish offices in »¢Ñ¨ÊÓƵ.

"This is the type of arrangement that brings new investment dollars into the province," he noted. "I am pleased to see the relationship between Holland »¢Ñ¨ÊÓƵand Provinent, and am pleased that the Province has supported JKN and Provinent in this endeavour. I hope that we can help foster more, similar relationships in the future."

Holland »¢Ñ¨ÊÓƵPresident Brian McMillan agreed.

"Mr. Epstein's generous investment in the college enhances our research and development capacity contributes to the economic viability of JKN and fosters the province's growing e-learning industry. Holland »¢Ñ¨ÊÓƵcontinues to forge ahead with research and innovation projects that are garnering international attention. This investment, and the confidence it represents, clearly demonstrate the high quality of Holland College's work in this area."

Provinent and JKN are co-located at the Atlantic Technology Centre, employing 17 and eight people respectively. Together, they form the foundation for PEI's e learning sector. For more information about the Justice Knowledge Network, visit www.justiceknowledge.com. For more information about Provinent, visit www.provinent.com.