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Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform SOSCIP — Celebrating two years of research and innovation excellence
I am delighted to be here as we celebrate SOSCIP’s first two years and look forward to its future.
On behalf of the University of Toronto, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Minister Goodyear, Minister Duguid, and their governments for their leadership and the people of Canada and Ontario for their support.
Let me also thank our SOSCIP co-chairs, Professor Young and Mr. Sinai. The successes we are celebrating today and the opportunities we are opening for tomorrow would not have been possible were it not for your vision and dedication. Thank you.
I know I have already used half of my allotted two minutes… but I think it is vital that we acknowledge the leadership and partnerships that have brought us to this point. In fact, I suggest that partnership would be a good theme for today’s conference – it is the partnerships more than the platforms that make SOSCIP special. Partnerships among:
- The seven founding universities
- The Federal and Provincial governments
- IBM Canada Ltd
- Private sector collaborators, and of course
- All of the individual people involved: the researchers, investigators, postdocs, students, and others.
The technology is the bridge that brings everyone together, but it is the distinctive collaboration among an extraordinary cluster of talented, creative, and hardworking individuals that are helping us advance fundamental research and develop new solutions and tools.
As President of the University of Toronto, I extend my sincere congratulations on the remarkable progress and successes you have achieved in your first two years.
And as an urban scholar with a particular interest in the convergence of cities, water, energy, and health, I look forward to seeing the results of future partnerships and collaborations.
Thank you.