Source: McMaster University
http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/story.cfm?id=4278 Bell Canada invests $1 million in Engineering EntrepreneurshipOctober 13, 2006 by Faculty
of Engineering
October 13, 2006 Bell Canada today announced a $1-million investment in McMaster University's
Master of Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation (MEEI) program over
the next five years. The new partnership will focus on systems and technology development
initiatives. 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. "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 demonstrating foresight and leadership by participating in a new
avenue for assessing technology ideas and bringing the most promising to
market," said Rafik Loutfy, Director, Xerox Centre for Engineering
Entrepreneurship and Innovation at McMaster University. "In doing so, they
are also helping to develop a new generation of engineers who will bring an
entrepreneurial approach to their work." 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," said 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." About Bell Canada: Bell Canada is Canadas national leader in communications with 28 million
customer connections across the country. The company provides consumers with
simple solutions to all their communications needs, including telephone
services, wireless communications, high-speed Internet, digital television
and voice over IP. Bell also offers integrated information and
communications technology (ICT) services to businesses and governments, and
is the Virtual Chief Information Officer (VCIO) to small and medium
businesses (SMBs). Bell is proud to be a Premier National Partner and the exclusive
Communications Partner to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter
Games. Bell is wholly-owned by BCE Inc. For information on Bell's products
and services, please visit www.bell.ca, and for corporate information on
BCE, please visit www.bce.ca. About McMaster University: McMaster University, a world-renowned, research-intensive university,
fosters a culture of innovation, and a commitment to discovery and learning
in teaching, research and scholarship. Based in Hamilton, the University,
one of only four Canadian universities to be listed on the Top 100
universities in the world, has a student population of more than 23,000, and
an alumni population of more than 120,000 in 128 countries.
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