Sheridan SIRT a key player in Toronto's bid to be named world's Most Intelligent Community

Site visit takes place this Thursday, April 19

Sheridan is proud to announce that its Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT), located at Pinewood Toronto Studios in the city’s port lands, has been selected for inclusion in the Intelligent Community Forum’s site visit to the city this week.  Toronto is one of the top seven finalists for the ranking, and was selected from among 400 cities worldwide who submitted applications.

The purpose of the Intelligent Community Forum’s site visit is to validate the information provided in the application, as well as to identify the unique cultural, creative and social factors that underpin a city’s success.

SIRT, as a digital media innovation and convergence centre for the film, television and gaming industries in Ontario, embodies many of the criteria viewed as critical to an intelligent community in its daily work with industry professionals and companies, as well as student and faculty researchers from Sheridan and other postsecondary institutions.  As one of Canada’s leading digital media postsecondary institutions, Sheridan has a tradition of commitment to digital inclusion and promotion of digital skills across its  programs in digital media, computer studies, business and the social sciences.

The Sheridan SIRT visit on Thursday, April 18 will include screenings of 3D movie clips featuring the trailer for Flight of the Butterflies, a globally successful film by SIRT industry partner Toronto-based SK Films, and examples of High Frame Rate movie research material screened earlier this month as part of the National Association of Broadcasters’ Technology Summit on Cinema in Las Vegas.  In addition, virtual production and performance capture technologies will be demonstrated by actor members of ACTRA Toronto.

Sheridan established SIRT at Pinewood Toronto Studios as a way to link the next generation of knowledge workers with the current generation in this critical area of the economy that plays such a large role in the Ontario economy.  SIRT’s applied research activities link students and faculty from Sheridan and other Ontario colleges and universities with the innovation needs of industry, helping to build a competitive advantage in the global broadband economy, where competition is as likely to come from across the world as across the street.  SIRT’s research activities in areas such as 3D and High Frame Rate moviemaking (as used in the recently released The Hobbit), support the extension of the broadband economy both within the City and beyond, with collaborative initiatives that connect its research to global networks committed to innovation within the entertainment sectors.

SIRT’s extensive program of professional development and training in partnership with the province’s unions, guilds and industry organizations, is based on a commitment to linking applied research, innovation, and job creation.  Through partnerships with both small and medium size enterprises and larger companies, as well as major industry associations such as FilmOntario, I.A.T.S.E. 667 (International Cinematographers Guild), Directors Guild of Canada (Ontario), and ACTRA Toronto, Sheridan and SIRT are committed to ensuring that Ontario builds a competitive advantage in this key area of the knowledge economy.

About Sheridan

As one of Canada’s leading postsecondary institutions, Sheridan offers over 100 diploma, certificate, and bachelor degree programs. Its aim is to become Ontario’s first university exclusively dedicated to undergraduate professional education – a model that will be based on applied learning and Sheridan’s renown for creativity and innovation.  The model also focuses on meeting university accreditation requirements so that Sheridan graduates have more pathways to the continued learning that will underscore their personal, career, and industry success.