They're not even on the Fashion Week runway this year, but we've still been seeing a lot of Joe Fresh this week; first with the announcement that founder Joe Mimran was leaving the label, then the news that he'd be joining the cast of Dragon's Den.

Looks like the label Mimran created has its own plan to support budding entrepreneurs (albeit with less public judging): Ryerson University has announced it's teaming up with the fast fashion brand to create a brand-new fashion innovation centre, the first of its kind in Canada.

The Joe Fresh Centre for Fashion Innovation, established with a $1 million contribution from the company, will grant workspaces to up to 21 students and help them develop products, business models and marketing strategies. They'll also be given the chance to seek early-stage seed funding.

The company's been making major pushes in recent years to show their support for the Canadian fashion biz, stepping back from the WMCFW runway and ceding the spotlight to new designers - considering the struggles faced by aspiring designers (and even established ones trying to stay afloat), it's nice to see a massive company using their powers for good.

Photo by Jason Hargrove via the blogTO Flickr pool.