A five-year agreement between Lakehead University and the International Institute for Sustainable Development's experimental lakes area (ELA) will be a big benefit to Lakehead students, a researcher said.

Michael Rennie, an assistant biology professor at Lakehead and research fellow at the ELA, said the agreement will make it easier for researchers and students to move between the ELA and Lakehead.

"This [memorandum of understanding] ... really just sort of formalizes the relationship that we've built," he said. "What it really allows us to do is take people working in the non-government organization environment with ELA, but have that open up opportunities that exist within academics that don't really carry over."

"It's nice to have that bridging between those two worlds in order to take advantage of different pots of funding, but also in terms of building broader relationships with the academic community."

Students, too, will benefit.

"You can come out here as a student and interact with internationally-renowned researchers who are out here just sort of doing their own research," he said. "But you get to sit down and drink a coffee and have breakfast with them."

"I don't know if you necessarily get that everywhere else."

The agreement was signed on Tuesday.