ST.
JOHN'S, NL, May 27, 2022
/CNW/ -- Memorial University, IBM
Canada (NYSE: IBM), the Government of Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador today announced the launch of two new
initiatives – the Centre for Analytics, Informatics and Research
(CAIR) and the Accelerated Analytics and Machine Learning (AAML)
project.
Led by Memorial, the two initiatives will focus on innovation
and research in such diverse fields as data science and
astrophysics, genetic analysis, artificial intelligence, machine
learning, image analysis and scientific computing.
CAIR will be equipped with powerful high-performance computers
able to process huge amounts of complex data, leading to faster
insights for projects such as AAML.
Memorial will receive a more than $18-million investment from the Government of
Canada, through the Atlantic
Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and the Government of
Newfoundland and Labrador, as jurisdictional partners, and
private-sector partner IBM. This includes a $16-million, in-kind investment of hardware,
software and staffing from IBM during a period of four years. IBM
will also provide free development and cloud credits to early stage
entrepreneurs and startup companies via the Startup with
IBM program. ACOA is providing $1.4
million towards the two initiatives and the Government
of Newfoundland and Labrador will contribute $1.35 million.
Working with Memorial, IBM will also help drive further economic
development in the province by supporting skills growth via the IBM
SkillsBuild program. The free digital training program helps
learners develop valuable new skills and find jobs, regardless of
their background or education. SkillsBuild provides learners with
professional workplace readiness and technical skills and enables
them to earn digital badges recognized by the market. Globally, IBM
is committed to providing 30 million people with new skills needed
for the jobs of tomorrow by 2030.
This undertaking builds on the tremendous success of the
partnership first formed in 2014 between IBM, Memorial and both
governments.
Quotes:
"Ongoing collaborations with our government and industry
partners allow Memorial to meet the challenges and opportunities of
our province and beyond. These significant investments will further
enhance Memorial's capacity in strategic areas, provide world-class
scientific training opportunities for faculty and graduate students
and allow Memorial to continue supporting the tremendous growth of
the local technology industry."
Dr. Vianne
Timmons
President and vice-chancellor,
Memorial University
"Our goal is to deliver more diverse computing services to
teaching and research communities, to speed up their processes of
scientific and technical innovations, and to further increase our
contributions in Newfoundland and
Labrador. This investment is a testament to our continued
commitment to support and collaborate with Memorial University and both levels of government
to help further advance Canada's
ability to innovate, address a critical skills gap, and drive
research and innovation."
Frank Attaie
General
Manager-Technology, IBM Canada
"The Government of Canada,
through ACOA, is committed to working with key partners to help
build the digital economy and support long-term economic growth in
this region. By investing in high-tech equipment and skills
development at Memorial University, we
are supporting innovative learning, advanced research and
opportunities to grow the technology industry."
Joanne Thompson
Member
of Parliament for St. John's East, on behalf of the Honourable
Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and
Minister responsible for ACOA
"Industry has made it clear that as our innovation economy
grows, there is a greater need for more highly qualified people or
talent. This collaboration will provide access to high performance
computing within our province, allowing for even more opportunities
for researchers, industry partnerships and the start-up community
to meet the growing needs of our tech sector."
Honourable Andrew
Parsons
Minister of Industry, Energy and
Technology, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Quick Facts:
- Principal investigator for the Centre for Analytics,
Informatics and Research (CAIR) is Dr. Brendan Barrett, professor, Faculty of
Medicine.
- Principal investigator for the Accelerated Analytics and
Machine Learning (AAML) project is Dr. Terrence Tricco, assistant professor, Department
of Computer Science, Faculty of Science.
- CAIR is a high-performance computing centre with the capacity
to rapidly process and analyze vast amounts of data, providing
secure storage with off-site backups.
- CAIR is a local dedicated resource with qualified personnel who
can assist research teams in planning their data management
approach and provide flexible and timely access to necessary
computer resources.
- The hardware at CAIR will be used by Department of Computer
Science faculty and students to undertake research in many key
areas that are driven by large data sets, such as image processing,
artificial intelligence and deep learning.
- The AAML project will support training of highly qualified
professionals on CAIR hardware.
- As the local technology industry continues to grow rapidly, the
demand for highly qualified professionals in technology-related
fields such as data science will certainly increase. CAIR's
hardware infrastructure and supportive staffing complement will be
instrumental in meeting training and research needs, ensuring
professional training that meets regional and national
competitiveness.
- For more information about IBM Canada, visit
www.ibm.com/ca-en.
Media Contacts:
Melissa Ennis
Centre for Analytics, Informatics and Research
709-864-6458
melissa.ennis@mun.ca
Paul McGrath
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
709-689-5731
paul.mcgrath@acoa-apeca.gc.ca
Eric Humber
Industry, Energy and Technology
Government of Newfoundland and
Labrador
709-725-9655
erichumber@gov.nl.ca
Ruhee Dhar
External Relations Lead
IBM Canada
ruhee@ibm.com
SOURCE IBM Canada