HAMILTON – Bell Canada will invest a million dollars over the next five years in McMaster University’s Master of Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MEEI) program, the company announced today.
The new partnership will focus on systems and technology development initiatives and MEEI students will work collaboratively with Bell employees to research and evaluate business breakthroughs.
"This partnership will provide a competitive advantage to Bell Canada by offering insights and perspectives on information, communications and technology (ICT) developments," said Eugene Roman, group president, Bell Canada systems and technology, in the press release. "This will allow Bell Canada to access a creative and innovative talent pool that will provide analysis and critical thinking on projects, applications and technologies."
MEEI was established to provide engineers and scientists with the skills necessary to transform technical expertise into commercial success. The program utilizes industry proven business start-up methodology and is taught by business practitioners.
"Bell is… helping to develop a new generation of engineers who will bring an entrepreneurial approach to their work," said Rafik Loutfy, director, Xerox Centre for Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation at McMaster University
Bell has worked in partnership with McMaster University since 2001. Recently, it contributed $450,000 to pursue research in biomedical engineering advancements in telerobotics, teleinformatics, communications networks, telepathology and other complex IP-based technologies.
In recognition of this contribution, a laboratory in the new School of Biomedical Engineering was officially named the Bell University Laboratory in Integrated Systems today.
"Collaborations with organizations such as Bell open up an exchange of ideas that advances learning, research and innovation," added Mo Elbestawi, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, McMaster University. "It initiates a cycle that brings forward fundamental research while feeding back issues that can be addressed through the applied nature of engineering."
