Euphoria filled the room as representatives from the City of Brampton and Ryerson University gathered at a breakfast meeting at City Hall to reassert their dual commitment to making Brampton a national centre for cybersecurity and a leader in technological innovation. Welcoming guests and speakers was Clare Barnett, the city’s new Director of Economic Development. Special guest, President of Ryerson University, Dr. Mohamed Lachemi, joined attendees to speak about recent accomplishments and plans regarding cybersecurity education in Brampton, as well as support for start-up entrepreneurs in the city.
Todd Letts, C.E.O of Brampton Board of Trade, assured everyone that Ryerson and the City of Brampton are moving full speed ahead with cybersecurity education and training, despite the provincial government’s decision to cancel funding that would have been allocated towards the establishment of a Ryerson University campus in Brampton.
Mayor Patrick Brown took the opportunity to summarize current collaborative projects with the university, which includes the new Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, “a National Centre for Cybersecurity to promote training and certification, research and development, and commercial innovation.” The centre was co-funded by the Government of Canada, Rogers Communications and the Royal Bank of Canada. Cybersecurity training and certification courses, which are being offered by the Ryerson Chang School of Continuing Studies at City Hall, will resume in the fall. All interested Brampton residents are encouraged to enroll. In addition, Ryerson will be investing in the Centre for Innovation to spearhead job creation and technological breakthroughs in the downtown core.
Dr. Lachemi shared that the journey towards bringing cybersecurity education to Brampton began with a phone call four years ago from former Premier of Ontario, Bill Davis. Davis played an integral role as Premier and Minister of Education in Ryerson’s transition from a college to a university. Mohamed Lachemi acknowledged his contributions to the development of the cyber-security initiative.
Furthermore, Lachemi identified what he referred to as, “current opportunities for collaboration” with the City of Brampton in education, training, and innovation. Both parties are currently finalizing Ryerson’s role in the Incubation Hub or the Brampton Co-Working Space, an effort geared towards supporting entrepreneurship and job growth.
Dr. Lachemi emphasized the importance of Brampton striving towards becoming a “world-class centre for cybersecurity [that will] support the growth of Canadian cybersecurity companies.” For Lachemi, it is an important undertaking as cyber-security has been extremely challenging, not only for Canada, but also for the rest of the world.
Please visit https://www.ryerson.ca/cybersecure-catalyst/about/ and https://www.brampton.ca/EN/City-Hall/University/Pages/Welcome.aspx to learn more about the innovation and cybersecurity partnership between the City of Brampton and Ryerson.
Editor: Sebastian Sukhu
