The University of British Columbia congratulates the Wavefront Wireless Commercialization Centre (WWCC) for being named a Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) for wireless technologies.
Federal Minister of Industry Tony Clement announced last week five new Centres of Excellence across Canada to fast track innovations from the lab to the marketplace.
The WWCC will receive $11.6 million in federal investment and act as a national resource hub connecting Canadian wireless companies to multinational companies, investors, wireless associations and the 27 Canadian universities.
Launched in 2007, the CECR program aims to encourage more private sector investment in research and development and to ensure that discoveries are translated into practical applications. To date, 16 CECRs have been established across Canada.
“While UBC has achieved considerable success in the past, we – and our sister universities – recognize that taking wireless innovation and commercialization to the next level will require effective management of myriad complex relationships across a complex wireless ecosystem,” said UBC President Stephen Toope. “UBC believes that the WWCC has the capacity to move technology from Canada’s universities to its industry.”
UBC and its researchers have been instrumental in the establishment of five other CECRs, in areas ranging from applied physics to drug and vaccine development, the prevention of organ failure and treatment of prostate cancer. Each of these new centres was selected following a rigorous peer review process involving expert panels and a private sector advisory board.
“The addition of WWCC to our national complement of CECRs is a testament of UBC research excellence and its ability to bring together partners around a common goal,” said John Hepburn, UBC’s Vice President Research and International. “As a supporter and facilitator of WWCC’s application to the CECR program, we welcome its contribution to the future of wireless technology.”
One area through which WWCC will explore synergies is with GRAND, a Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) in graphics, animation and new media already hosted at UBC. Research at GRAND explores areas such as social networking, performance augmented by digital technologies, personal identity and data security, virtual museums and galleries, e-learning and e-health services, all of which have the potential for wireless applications and services.
For more information about the CECR program and the five new Centres of Excellence announced this week, visit http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?m=/index&nid=578589.
For more information about the Wavefront Wireless Commercialization Centre, visit http://www.wavefrontac.com/news-events/press-releases/2010-12-06.html.
For more information on the five other UBC-affiliated CECRs, visit http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/media/releases/2008/mr-08-017.html.
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