WIMTACH receives $4.5M in MITACS funding

WIMTACH and the Centre for Explainable Data Analytics (CEDA) are proud to announce a recent award of $4.5 million in funding from MITACS’ Umbrella program for a student internship called “Internships for Data-Driven Innovation Acceleration” (IDIA). With this funding, the WIMTACH and CEDA research team will be able to provide 300 applied research and experiential learning opportunities to Centennial College School of Engineering, Technology and Applied Sciences (SETAS) students.

Through the IDIA, WIMTACH and CEDA will engage student interns in applied research projects with industry partners operating in the retail, digital, and health sectors. This award will support Centennial College students to build on their knowledge and professional development. Travis Keeler, a student in Centennial College’s Electronics Engineering Technology program recently explained that he found that over the course of a yearlong internship at WIMTACH, his continued exposure to different projects helped him to build confidence in his capacity to learn which was beyond his initial expectations. “It was just amazing to be able to show that 3 years ago, I had no idea how a PCB was fabricated and here I am, basically making a motherboard,” he said. Likewise, a student in Centennial College’s Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology program, Lakshmi Gopi has also found value in contributing to WIMTACH applied research projects, explaining that working in a research environment helped her to expand her ideas about a career path for the future. “It’s really really good. I never thought I would be working in the research field,” she said. “I was introduced to a new world of research that I had never encountered before.”

Dr. Purnima Tyagi, Director of WIMTACH, Data Analytics and Digital Health Technologies, is focused on using this initiative to support the development of digital health solutions while centering interdisciplinary learning for more students like Travis and Lakshmi. “This initiative will support the development of digital solutions that enhance hardware and system performance within the realm of digital healthcare systems, as well as empower data-driven business solutions to optimize performance for smaller enterprises,” she said. “Student interns will gain mentorship, skills development, professional development, interdisciplinary activities and entrepreneurship experience.”

To partner with WIMTACH on an applied research project collaboration, contact us: https://wimtach.centennialcollege.ca/contact/

For further information, please send press inquiries to ptyagi@centennialcollege.ca