Fresh off launching a program to help local tech firms safeguard their IP, Carleton University is setting up shop at a new innovation space in the heart of Kanata North in a bid to cement its connection to the region’s largest tech hub.
The university says its Sprott School of Business is slated to open the 2,000-square-foot facility this fall at 350 Legget Dr. It’s part of the larger Hub350, which is billed as a “state-of-the-art global technology centre” that will bring together the best and brightest talent from the local tech, finance and academic sectors under one roof.
Among Hub350’s other tenants are the Kanata North Business Association, software startup accelerator L-Spark and RBC.
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Sprott dean Dana Brown says the new facility will feature collaboration space and meeting rooms built with the goal of helping students and faculty forge closer ties with tech industry leaders. The space could also include a classroom offering courses focused on tech-related business issues.
“We’re really hoping it fosters a lot more engagement between Carleton and the business community,” Brown told OBJ.
“Carleton is doing quite a lot of research that has relevance and potential impact to industry, but we’re not always the best at going out there and telling people about it. We need to do more of that.”
Partnership with Shopify
Brown noted that Carleton has strengthened its bonds with trailblazing Ottawa tech firms in recent years, pointing to the school’s partnership with Shopify that sees computer science students split their time between learning in the classroom and working on real-world projects with the e-commerce powerhouse.
The university’s business school is also tapping into industry expertise to broaden its course offerings in other ways.
Last month, Sprott announced it was partnering with Stratford Intellectual Property, a local consulting firm, to offer a 14-week certificate program designed to teach local tech firms how to protect their IP.
Brown said such projects create a “feedback loop” with industry that helps universities tailor programs to the evolving needs of graduates’ future employers and ensure that students are job-ready when they enter the workforce.
“We’d love to see more of that kind of partnership,” said Brown, who joined Sprott in 2019 after three years as dean of business and law at De Montfort University in Leicester, England.
Hub350 is expected to open its doors this summer.
