ALGONQUIN COLLEGE
Ciena supports upgrade of state-of-the art Optophotonics lab

Students gain hands-on experience working with innovations that fuel global internet traffic

Ciena is working with Algonquin College to upgrade its Optophotonics Lab on the Ottawa campus - providing students hands-on experience with the same cutting-edge equipment that currently powers the majority of internet traffic and Zoom calls.

Thanks to Ciena's support, School of Advanced Technology graduates will benefit from extensive, experiential learning on the same equipment available in top corporations - including major telecommunications carriers in Canada and around the world.  

"We couldn't be more grateful for Ciena's contribution, they have been a wonderful partner for close to a decade," said Claude Brulé, President and Chief Executive Officer of Algonquin College. "This will ensure our current and future learners have access to the latest and greatest technology - and position them to find employment and long-term career success in the tech sector."

Students enrolled in the Optical Systems and Sensors stream of the joint Bachelor of Information Technology program with Carleton University will get access to the upgraded, state-of-the-art facility - the only student lab of its kind. The lab's technology upgrade includes Ciena's 6500 Packet-Optical platforms and Waveserver platforms. Ciena's investment expands a long-standing partnership with the College that began in 2012 and will stimulate increased interest in the program and support continued enrollment growth.

"Ciena is proud to equip the Algonquin lab with technology deployed by many of the world's largest service and cloud providers, as we know firsthand that applied skills help tremendously with both learning and career opportunities," said Rod Wilson, Ciena's Chief Technologist of External Research Networks.

Ciena established ties to the capital region when it acquired the Ottawa-based data storage networking company Akara Corp. in 2004, and in late 2009, Nortel Networks' Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) business. With its R&D lab in Ottawa, it now has more than 1,800 employees in the area and is a top employer, with more than 120 Algonquin College graduates currently employed by the American telecommunications networking equipment giant. Ciena has also been a leader in remote work capabilities during the current COVID-19 pandemic.