OTTAWA — Telus Communications and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) announced today a five-year partnership that will see Telus invest $6 million to enable 5G technology across the university’s multiple campuses and help transform uOttawa into a 5G-connected innovation hub.
This collaboration “will not only fuel multidisciplinary research to advance global health and life-saving diagnostics and treatments and cyber security, but will also transform uOttawa campuses and enrich the student experience through new curriculums and teaching methods as students participate in cutting-edge research leveraging the power of 5G,” reads a press release.
“5G will be a game changer in how we live, work, conduct research and teach in an increasingly digital world,” said Sylvain Charbonneau, vice-president of research and innovation at uOttawa, in the press release.
“Being among the first universities to transition to 5G means we can continue to attract top researchers and strengthen our capacity for impactful research that leads to real-life solutions to real-world challenges. This 5G investment allows us to immerse our students in the world’s most advanced digital technology during these formative years so they develop important skills to shape the digital economy of the future,” Charbonneau said.
Telus is working closely with key partners including uOttawa “to bring innovative solutions that will improve the quality of life for Canadians and their communities by investing in Canada’s next generation networks,” the release says.
“As Telus continuously strives towards building sustainable Canadian intellectual wealth, we are excited to partner with the University of Ottawa to leverage the power of Telus’ technological and network products,” said Ibrahim Gedeon, chief technology officer at Telus.
“Our 5G network at uOttawa will enable some of the most innovative researchers to drive advancements with private and public sector partners in medical technologies, autonomous vehicles, cyber security and smart city technology. This 5G investment in our academic institutions and future Canadian leaders will generate sustainable financial and intellectual growth for all of Canada,” Gedeon said.
In addition, Telus and uOttawa are working on extending their partnership to include two on-campus 5G research labs “that will contribute to cutting-edge research in new technologies such as applications to monitor patient health, smartphone applications for mobile monitoring, digital health systems, the detection of cyberthreats and cyberattacks in real-time, and connected vehicular data to perform real-time analytics of traffic patterns, hazardous road conditions and sudden weather events,” the release says.
This partnership builds on previous commitments made by Telus and uOttawa to support innovation and cooperation among tech businesses and students in the National Capital Region, according to the release.
For example, last summer Telus became the 5G anchor partner of the Kanata North Business Association’s Hub350 technology centre, which we wrote about here. Hub350 is located near uOttawa’s Kanata North campus, which is situated in the Kanata North Technology Park, Canada’s largest technology hub.
For more, please click here.
