Evidence of meeting #14 for Industry, Science and Technology in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was universities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Vice-President, Government Relations and Canadian Partnerships, Colleges and Institutes Canada
Some of our members also have university status, but they all deliver what you would think of as traditional college programming.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
Would most of them have this kind of an incubator attached or would most not?
Vice-President, Government Relations and Canadian Partnerships, Colleges and Institutes Canada
I don't have any stats. I would say most of them have some sort of incubator support for their students, whether it's a formal physical location—
Liberal
Vice-President, Government Relations and Canadian Partnerships, Colleges and Institutes Canada
They could, absolutely. Entrepreneurship is embedded.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Georgian College
If you made a comparison between the range and the resources in those centres and what's in universities, I would say we're probably at 20% of what's going on in the university sector.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
You'd like to see more of that and you see a huge value in that.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Georgian College
We just need to close that gap.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Universities Canada
More generally on incubators, these were models that were developed on campus, without funding, without budget, and then thankfully people saw how successful they were, so the previous government's introduction of CAIP was really important. The fact that it has been expanded and the fact that there's still more is really encouraging. First of all, it's important that they be housed in post-secondary institutions; second, it is a contact sport, so getting people mixing it up is really important. These are not like traditional classes.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
You said it's important that it be housed, or attached to, or adjacent to—
President and Chief Executive Officer, Universities Canada
—or linked to a post-secondary environment.
Liberal
Frank Baylis Liberal Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC
And it should be physically, because you want interaction.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Universities Canada
You want that close interaction.
I've talked about DMZ right down at Yonge and Dundas; or SFU's centre, which is opening later this month right in Harbour Centre in Vancouver; or District 3, in the core of economic activity, because you want to have that mix, that sandbox, if you will, and it's generating results.
I'll just make an international comparison. SFU and Ryerson have now opened one in Mumbai at the Mumbai stock exchange.
Liberal
Liberal
Majid Jowhari Liberal Richmond Hill, ON
Thank you. I couldn't have asked for a better lead-in.
I really want to talk about clusters, and I want to talk about innovation. In certain areas that we may not be focusing on here, we have the skill set that we could use to partner internationally, especially somewhere like India or China, which would not only position us to be able to provide services, such as innovation services or research services, but also give us access to the broader market. What are universities and colleges doing on that front?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Universities Canada
In that case, just to carry on with SFU and Ryerson in Mumbai.... It is located at the Mumbai stock exchange, and it is students, intellectual property lawyers, venture capital, and the stock exchange all in close collaboration. It has expanded three times since it was opened 18 months ago. There is a similar one in Israel. There is a similar one in Johannesburg, tied into the mining sector.
Liberal
Majid Jowhari Liberal Richmond Hill, ON
Can I quickly summarize? Is it fair to say that universities are looking beyond the clusters, that they show a strength, and that they are looking at clusters globally, where we could be a player?
President and Chief Executive Officer, Universities Canada
I will just say that universities are unleveraged assets in the global marketplace.
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
This fantastic conversation this afternoon, is this happening outside of these walls? Are you doing this collaboration with the colleges, the institutes, and the universities?
Vice-President, Government Relations and Canadian Partnerships, Colleges and Institutes Canada
Every day.
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
I graduated in 1980, as a mechanical engineering technologist. I learned moving part logic, and then fluidics. Then I had to learn computers. Then I had to learn wireless.
I think a parting word I would say is to make sure you are covering the basics, because you don't know what you are going to need in five years' time.
Then you become a member of Parliament. That is your punishment for not supporting your college or whatever. I don't know what it is.
