IBM Partnership

CLIENT

IBM

PARTNERSHIP

Collaborative Research,Internships & Recruitment,Philanthropy

EXPERTISE

Artificial Intelligence & Data Analytics, Health & Pharmaceuticals

IBM has had a long history of working with the University of Toronto. From hiring graduates to advising our educators to collaborating on mega-trends, IBM has made a commitment to working with the U of T community to advance local, regional and global commercial, environmental and social priorities.

Many partners identify areas of mutual interest to engage with researchers and students, but it takes a special level of commitment to invent entirely new models for partnership, commit to being an anchor partner and then convince other stakeholders within the ecosystem to participate. In the early 2010s, that’s exactly what IBM did.

Initially conceived as the Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform, SOSCIP brings together scientists at IBM, deep-tech startups and SMEs, U of T research labs and accomplished postdoctoral fellows into a network of subject matter experts from across the academic spectrum all leveraging high performance computing towards advancing their fields. SOSCIP represents IBM’s ability to mobilize and motivate its academic collaborators in new and creative ways.

IBM, perhaps more than any other partner has embodied the expression “you get out of a relationship as much as you put into it” with a combination of philanthropic donations, research collaborations, internships and advisory board participation that impacts a huge variety of stakeholders including our students, our researchers, our entrepreneurs and our academic leadership.

IBM’s panoramic efforts at engaging the U of T community were formally recognized in 2016 when they won U of T Engineering’s inaugural Corporate Research Partner Award. This award is presented annually to a company that has shown a long-term commitment to working with U of T’s research community on large-scale research initiatives that address both their own strategic priorities and global mega-trends.

IBM’s partnership with U of T is incredibly important. We’ve done a lot of great work together on projects that foster high-value jobs, help create new businesses and positively impact the University, IBM and the broader community.
– Allen Lalonde, former Senior Executive of IBM Canada’s R&D Centre

In 2020 IBM was a founding sponsor of Project X, an undergraduate research competition put on by the University of Toronto Undergraduate Artificial Intelligence Group. Through a variety of initiatives, including educational programs, competitions, guest lectures, and conferences, they help UofT students get involved in the growing field of Artificial Intelligence. Project X is a five-month long machine learning research competition hosted by the University of Toronto involving undergraduate students from all around North America. Project X is a critical tool, allowing us to wield the power of machine learning for globally important issues. IBM sponsors both the Project X Competition and the U of T AI Conference. https://www.uoft.ai/

IBM was also a sponsor of UofT’s Sonder Conference 2021 on November 6^th and 7^th called “Business in Movement”. And Steven Astorino, IBM’s Vice-President of Development, Data and AI and Canada Lab Director was a key note speaker. https://www.sonderuoft.org/

The IBM Centre for Advanced Studies has been collaborating with the University of Toronto on research projects for around 30 years. Over the past 5 years alone, 10 research teams have published 47 papers, 5 disclosures, 12 prototypes and 2 productizations. Currently, there are 6 active research projects with 21 collaborators featuring topics ranging from increasing Java performance to automating ad hoc work patterns. Learn more about the ongoing research projects with Advanced Studies and the University of Toronto here.

IBM’s partnership with SOSCIP and University of Toronto remains as strong in 2021 as it was in 2016. Both organizations are focused on high value projects and creating positive impacts within the University, IBM and our community. More than ever, the focus on science, engineering and research is more critical need now than ever. We look forward to continued partnership with University of Toronto.
– Joe Sehl, leader of IBM Canada’s Innovation Team