As the first university to establish a presence in Kanata North, uOttawa joins as a founding Academic Partner and Shared Anchor in Hub350
The University of Ottawa will join Hub350, a new state-of-the-art global technology centre in Canada’s largest technology park. Located at 350 Legget Drive, home of the original Mitel Networks, Hub350 will serve as a gateway to the world-class tech, finance and academic research ecosystem that is thriving in Kanata North. Set to open this fall, Hub350 is powered by the Kanata North Business Association (KNBA) and will be a mixed-use innovation district activity centre with ecosystem partners collaborating in the shared space.
In 2018, uOttawa established its Kanata North satellite campus at 535 Legget Drive, just down the road from the new Hub350 space. uOttawa Kanata North currently offers 4,000-square-feet of research, training and collaboration space which brings industry, researchers, students and alumni together to advance learning, research, innovation and commercialization. uOttawa continues to consult and collaborate with industry and ecosystem partners to provide a broad spectrum of talent, learning and research solutions that help Kanata North companies accelerate their success and scale growth.
uOttawa’s research strengths in ICT, 5G+ networking, IoT and sensors, photonics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, transportation and healthcare align well with the needs of tech companies in the Tech Park. Responding to demand for research expertise and talent development from the Connected Car and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) ecosystem, the uOttawa Kanata North campus has doubled its footprint by building its Faculty of Engineering’s new Smart Connected Vehicles Innovation Centre. Open in late summer 2021, this shared research infrastructure will enable partnerships with industry to co-create innovation, de-risk tech development, and accelerate prototyping for faster time-to-market.
Working with different uOttawa faculties and groups, several specialized professional development and micro-education programs have been created in consultation with tech companies. uOttawa’s Faculty of Engineering and Professional Development Institute (PDI) in partnership with the Centre for Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN) and FX Innovation offers a skills critical cloud computing program to help develop the next-generation of cloud systems specialists. An Advanced Certificate in Information and Cyber Security was launched in March 2021 and combines information and cybersecurity technical skills with communication, management and leadership skills. And, to further develop engineers and those in technical positions to improve their communications and sales skills for increased revenues, uOttawa’s Engineering Sales School (uOESS) successfully piloted a modular Business Communication and Influence program.
Hub350 offers an opportunity to build on uOttawa’s existing partnerships and collaborations with Wesley Clover, Alacrity Ottawa, L-SPARK, CENGN, Invest Ottawa, Area.XO, Carleton University, Queen’s, and others. uOttawa continues to consult on many strategic initiatives to implement the University’s vision to drive greater innovation through industry partnerships.
Each year hundreds of uOttawa graduates are hired as well as students placed in Kanata North companies on coop work terms or internships; a broad range of specialized and micro-education programs are offered, and millions of dollars in research projects are signed. uOttawa alumni have a strong presence with over 6,000 alumni living in and around Kanata North with many choosing to be among the over 1,800 tech sector based alumni working for companies located in the Kanata North Tech Park.
Veronica Farmer, Director Partnerships & Commercialization at uOttawa Kanata North: “uOttawa made the strategic decision several years ago to be physically present in Kanata North. As an academic institution we recognized the importance of co-locating with industry. We look forward to the new synergies that will be created through Hub350 and working with the ecosystem partners to further position Kanata North as a living lab for a highly educated and tech-oriented workforce to live, work, play and learn.”
Jamie Petten, President & Executive Director, Kanata North Business Association: “We have worked in close partnership with the University of Ottawa since their initial move into the tech park in 2018. Their support of Hub350 will further strengthen Kanata North’s profile as a world-class hub for innovation and will inevitably create greater opportunities for collaboration between uOttawa and our tech community. I look forward to continuing to work together to foster deeper connections for students, faculty and researchers with our business community. Together we will build the profile and recognition of Canada’s largest technology park on a world stage.”
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