MP Anita Vandenbeld visits AC for announcement
June 12, 2017
Algonquin College on Monday morning formally announced that it will receive $2.3 million over five years ($460,000 per year) to fund a new Data Analytics Centre which will work with local and national partners to harness the power of big data for the purposes of data mining, machine learning for predictive analytics, and distributed intelligence. This initiative is the first of its kind in the Canadian college system, and will join Algonquin College’s six applied research centres under its Office of Partnerships, Applied Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship.
“In every business, having a strong understanding of your data and using it to better serve your clients is becoming increasingly important and we want to ensure our learners are equipped for success when they enter the workforce,” said Cheryl Jensen, President of Algonquin College. “We see many applications for this new centre, especially as we work to implement our strategic plan goal of becoming the leader in personalized learning among Ontario colleges. On behalf of the College, I want to thank NSERC for this investment in innovation within our community.”
On hand to mark the announcement were MP Anita Vandenbeld and Scott Smith of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
“With this technology Algonquin College will have new methods of providing applied research support to local businesses and industry. Companies will benefit from access to college expertise and resources; faculty will gain new knowledge and insights to integrate into the curriculum; college students will benefit from a real world, engineering experience,” said MP Vandenbeld, “In short, our government’s funding and this cutting edge technology will further anchor Algonquin College’s position as one of Canada’s premiere institutions.”
The funding was awarded following a successful application to NSERC’s College and Community Innovation program. Partners of Algonquin College’s centre include regional innovators such as Gnowit, Global Advantage, CHEO, Newborn Screening Ontario, Ocular Mobile Innovations, Community Ingenuity, Gymtrack, Contextere, IBM, Cumulus Dental, Paradigm Technologies, GaitTronics, RealDecoy, bitHeads, TyQuest, Discoverly, Mitel, Carleton University, The University of Ottawa, Invest Ottawa, Ontario Centers of Excellence, CANARIE, and Research Data Canada.
“NSERC is proud to support applied research and technological innovation at Canada’s colleges and CÉGEPs,” says Bettina Hamelin, Vice-President, Research Partnerships, NSERC. “The CCI program is uniquely positioned to connect colleges with industry partners, allowing companies to access state-of-the-art facilities and applied research expertise that help accelerate product development and validation, and train the next generation of talent for the 21st century job market.”
The Data Analytics Centre will be located inside the Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Learning Centre once construction on that project concludes next year. This is Algonquin College’s fifth successful application to NSERC’s CCI funding program.