Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

CENGN, launched recently in Kanata, is a consortium of industry, academia, and research institutes dedicated to accelerating the commercialization of next generation communications solutions.

(Ottawa, November 10, 2014) At the launch of the headquarters for the Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN), Algonquin College was announced as one of the founding members of CENGN. Algonquin College has been involved as a key player in establishing CENGN for the past two years – from the concept and proposal preparation, to winning the bid, and now to CENGN’s launch.

“Algonquin College is proud to be a founding member of CENGN,” says Claude Brulé, Vice President Academic, Algonquin College. “This innovative centre will create additional hands-on learning and research opportunities for our students, and new opportunities for research and collaboration between the College and industry.”

CENGN is a consortium of industry, academia and research institutes dedicated to accelerating the commercialization of next generation communications solutions. CENGN will help bridge the gap between research and commercialization – a key component to building successful startup companies. CENGN members are collaborating to lower the barrier to entry for small and medium companies and researchers.

CENGN is an Ottawa-based not-for-profit that aims to ensure Canada maintains its position as a world leader in next generation network technologies. It has acquired $11.7 million over five years in federal government funding and will be receiving contributions from industry (cash & in-kind contribution) and from the academia (in-kind contribution) with a total of $54.7 million.

The College is a CENGN academic partner and will conduct collaborative research with industry in next generation communications. The Ciena Optophotonics lab at Algonquin College will be connected to CENGN’s testbed with the aim of accelerating research to commercialization.

“CENGN will establish Canada as a global leader in the commercialization of the technologies that will underpin the next generation of converged global communication networks,” says Professor Dr. Wahab Almuhtadi, Algonquin College representative at CENGN. “The College will make a difference in conducting applied research and providing high qualified faculty and students who will help industry from conducting research to commercialization.”

What is more important – receiving more money, or using it more effectively?

For Algonquin College, the answer is clear. Despite taking in less research dollars than some fellow Canadian colleges, Algonquin led the country in college research productivity in fiscal 2013, with 120 research partnerships and 180 completed projects.

“This is a fantastic result for our Applied Research team, and great news for our students” says Dr. Mark Hoddenbagh, Acting Executive Director, Partnerships and Applied Research. “Applied Research offers an exceptional work integrated learning opportunity by connecting our students with prospective employers who need their talents to succeed. We are thrilled to be able to offer this hands-on learning opportunity to so many of our students at all three of our Ontario campuses, and we look forward to expanding our offerings in the coming years.”

Algonquin College’s research dollars also grew approximately 28 per cent from 2012 to 2013, to just shy of $1.9 million.

You may be wondering – what are the kinds of research projects that Algonquin College takes part in? Take Gymtrack as one example. The two young founders of this Ottawa-based company approached the College looking for a place to test their new system, which allows gym members to automatically track their workouts and receive auditory feedback in real-time. Through the Algonquin Fitness Zone, the company was connected to the College’s Applied Research and Innovation team who linked the Gymtrack team with two students – a designer and a programmer. The two developed a mobile app – a core part of the Gymtrack system – and the company’s corporate image. Since then, the students have graduated their programs and they now work for Gymtrack full-time.

Gymtrack, meanwhile, has been invited into the prestigious 500 Start-ups Accelerator in San Francisco and also participated in the 500 Start-ups demo day, receiving rave reviews. They continue to work on their next stage of product development through the College and the Algonquin Students’ Association Fitness Zone.

In addition to linking companies, like Gymtrack, with students and funding, the College also assists in getting the word out about their product in the community. The Applied Research Office showcases the exciting research work being done three times a year at what are called “Applied Research Days”. Held at the end of each academic term, these events highlight between 30 and 80 Algonquin College Applied Research projects and partnerships across the Ottawa Valley.

See the full release of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges from Research Infosource here.

See Research Infosource’s Top 50 list here.