On May 27, Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology, the largest polytechnic institute in Eastern Ontario, announced the establishment of the AI Accelerator Hub (AAH) to provide companies and community organizations with targeted service offerings to accelerate adoption of Cloud and AI technologies. The AI Accelerator Hub at Algonquin College brings together existing Applied Research programs at the institution, but layers in industry-leading cloud computing resources and training to impact productivity for local organizations. The Hub, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), will augment collaborative research projects for industry and community clients across a range of disciplines.
"Ottawa is home to bold AI founders and innovators reshaping industries and building Canada's AI future with purpose. Algonquin College's new AI Accelerator Hub, powered by AWS Canada, strengthens our ecosystem by accelerating access to transformative technologies, top talent and cutting-edge research. It will help companies harness AI for smarter decisions, faster execution and greater impact. At Invest Ottawa, we're proud to champion partnerships like this and work alongside Algonquin to fuel inclusive innovation, economic growth and global leadership for our region and country," said Sonya Shorey, President and CEO, Invest Ottawa.
Canada is home to world-leading AI researchers, start-ups and scale-ups, but adoption of cloud and AI technologies can be a daunting challenge for many local industry and community organizations. The AI Accelerator Hub will support these organizations by providing a rapid engagement model to explore and discover targeted AI and cloud solutions that meet their respective needs and aspirations. Harnessing the in-house expertise of research faculty and emerging talent alongside support from AWS Canada provides a cost-effective pathway to AI adoption.
"Having access to the cloud is just one of the puzzle pieces. Because technology changes so quickly and evolves, research teams can benefit from working alongside cloud computing experts and industry to suggest and implement best practices on how to set up their architecture," said Coral Kennett, AWS Canada Education Leader. "Beyond architecture and technology, we have a unique approach of how we work to get students' hands-on experience. We are committed to bringing the best of our training, enablement and expertise to Algonquin's AI Accelerator Hub." AWS will support the Hub by providing research credits, grant application support, technical expertise, Amazon's Working Backwards design principles, as well as AWS Training and enablement.
Algonquin College already has bench strength in using its applied research labs to solve challenges with cloud and AI technology. For example, the College worked with physicians at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) to develop an award-winning cloud-based AI solution (InsightScope) on AWS to rapidly accelerate evidence-based decision making in health care. InsightScope now has physician users from over 40 countries applying technology to rapidly advance knowledge synthesis in health care. Researchers at Algonquin College also supported local start-up AirShare in developing and adopting AI technology solutions for their innovative drone disablement system. And most recently, the College launched the micro-net project focused on harnessing wearable technology and machine learning for studying stress and resilience for first responders.
"Algonquin College has a rich history of bringing together students, professors, industry and community organizations to collaborate on projects. We work with some large recognizable brands such as Loblaws and Canada Post, but there are countless small and medium companies and organizations that depend on our support too," said Philip Dawe, Director, Applied Research at Algonquin College. "The AI Accelerator Hub will allow us access to world-leading technology from AWS to help our students and faculty focus on innovation in cloud and AI solutions. Central to the approach is our rich student talent pool from a broad cross-section of programs, including our graduate programs in Artificial Intelligence Software Development and Cloud Development and Operations."
To learn more and find out how to get support from the AI Accelerator Hub at Algonquin College, please visit the Applied Research website.
For more information
1385 Woodroffe Avenue
Ottawa Ontario
Canada K2G 1V8
www.algonquincollege.com/
