May / June 2007
MaRS and Sheridan recognized for IT leadership
Two of Ontario's most innovative institutions have been recognized by the prestigious Computerworld Honors Program.
MaRS Discovery District and the Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning have been named Laureates by the Computerworld Honors Program. Gold Medals will be awarded in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on June 4, 2007.
Sheridan was nominated in recognition of its innovative, fully converged IP network for voice, video and data.
Sheridan College is one of the leaders in the field of digital media studies and new technologies. It pioneered the integration of mobile computing technology into the teaching environment, and was also one of the first organizations in the world to implement a Cisco enterprise VoIP solution.
The college recently installed a Tandberg H.323 video communication infrastructure, able to provide support to the new Virtual Researchers on Call (VROC) program, a province-wide initiative with a mandate to connect scientists and researchers to any K-12 classroom. VROC uses Sheridan's video infrastructure and expertise to connect K-12 students to academic experts in science, technology, engineering and math, in an attempt to combat the declining numbers of graduates choosing these fields in North America in recent years.
The new video infrastructure is popular amongst the Sheridan community. "So far, we have over 100 employees at the college who will have web cams connected to their computers, controlled by their telephones for ease of use," said Trevor Hanekamp, Senior Telecommunications Analyst at Sheridan. "Many users have expressed their relief and gratitude for the system's impact on their lifestyle by reducing the time and stress of commuting."
MaRS - Evolution of Convergence
The MaRS Centre represents an evolution of convergence and is the first building of its kind to leverage emerging Internet Protocol (IP) based technologies to create a fully connected virtual community for tenants located in the building and a broader stakeholder community connected via broadband networks.
"MaRS is transforming innovation by weaving world class collaboration and communications technology into the fabric of scientific discovery," said Robert Smith, MaRS Chief Technology Consultant regarding its converged broadband network capabilities. "Supporting the MaRS vision required a fresh approach to designing a standards-based technology platform. It had to facilitate natural collaborations regardless of physical location, device or network protocols. Creating a collaborative culture requires integrating familiar new tools with existing ones."
"Keeping Canada at the foreground of new technology innovation is the focus of Toronto's MaRS Discovery District, which houses Canadian scientific, business and capital communities," says John Roese, Chief Technology Officer of Nortel, which nominated MaRS for the Laureate medal.
Established in 1988, The Computerworld Honors Program documents the achievements of the people and organizations around the world whose applications of information technology promote positive social, economic and educational change. Program Laureates and their case studies become part of the Program's Global Archives. The information becomes available to researchers, students and scholars through its web site (www.cwhonors.org), and through digital records housed in national archives in over 100 universities, museums and research institutions throughout the world.
To learn more, visit www.cwhonors.org.
Back to Headlines
|
|
