Sheridan’s Centre for Mobile Innovation receives combined $3.3 million in federal funding

John Oliver, MP for Oakville, visited Sheridan today to announce a major investment in the Centre for Mobile Innovation. The Centre is receiving $2.3 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada’s College and Community Innovation Program and a further $1 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Infrastructure Operating Fund and its College-Industry Innovation Fund. 

“Our government understands the valuable role that science and scientists play in building a better future for all of Canada,” said Oliver. “Owing to their connections to the community, colleges such as Sheridan are uniquely positioned to take on many of the real world challenges that our local businesses face. Small and medium sized enterprises are Canada’s leading job creators and we need to ensure that they have access to the right resources to realize their true potential as drivers of innovation. Our government is pleased to help make most of the distinctive relationship that Sheridan has been able to bridge with industry . . . to help create growth and train the next generation of researchers and entrepreneurs.”

Launched in 2013, research at Sheridan's Centre for Mobile Innovation (CMI) develops and refines mobile technologies to address mobile challenges and opportunities. CMI facilitates collaboration between professors, students and industry partners resulting in innovative mobile experiences, creative solutions and adaptive technologies benefiting our communities. 

CMI's mandate is to increase applied research and industry collaboration in mobile computing and to produce skilled, capable graduates who enhance Canada’s mobile computing workforce. The CMI, under the direction of Dr. Ed Sykes, builds on Sheridan’s extensive applied computing expertise. Whether it be through the development of specialized apps, machine learning, Internet of Things, or augmented/virtual reality, the CMI will work closely with industry to develop innovative mobile solutions that will boost their competitiveness and profitability. 

“Sheridan welcomes this support from both the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, which will position the Centre for Mobile Innovation to make a real and tangible impact in our communities,” said Dr. Mary Preece, President and Vice Chancellor of Sheridan. “Sheridan has a strong track record of working with small and medium sized enterprises through its research centres to foster innovation and enhance competitiveness, and the CMI will provide another avenue for SME’s to tap into our faculty expertise and motivated student researchers to develop cost-effective solutions to their mobile computing challenges.”

NSERC’s College and Community Innovation program is one of the largest vehicles for funding research at colleges across the country. The CCI program helps build research knowledge and provides researchers the opportunities to share their expertise with business to improve processes and technologies. CFI’s Infrastructure Operating Fund helps cover a portion of the operating and maintenance costs of a CFI-funded project to ensure optimal use of the infrastructure.

Pictured top right: Dr. Ed Sykes, Professor of mobile computing and Primary Investigator; John Oliver, MP for Oakville; Enrique Ponce, Sheridan Student Union President and Dr. Janet Morrison, Sheridan’s Provost and Vice President Academic, pose at the announcement event celebrating federal funding for Sheridan’s Centre for Mobile Innovation.