Sheridan Receives $1 Million Gift From Cisco Canada's Technology Legacy Program

$1-million of technology infrastructure gifted to Sheridan College's SIRT Centre will help drive innovation in Canada's growing and internationally recognized film production industry

TORONTO, Dec. 17, 2015 /CNW/ - Sheridan College is pleased to announce that it has received approximately CDN $1.07 million of technology from Cisco Canada to advance its Scholarship, Research and Creative Activities. The gift is the first of several major contributions of technology infrastructure to Canadian education and not-for-profit organizations made possible by Cisco's sponsorship of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games and the subsequent Technology Legacy Plan announced in September 2015. 

Sheridan College will use the Cisco technology in its Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT), one of Sheridan's Research Centres of Excellence, to advance digital innovation, education and applied research.

SIRT is an academic collaboration hub dedicated to the development and adoption of new technologies, processes and skills within the Ontario film, television and gaming sectors. This centre conducts applied research, coordinates specialized training programs, and offers advanced technology consulting and access to specialized equipment to companies at the innovation stage. The gift comprises technologies that will support a range of ongoing research projects including SirtNet, an end-to-end digital remote collaboration platform for film and television production, and includes Cisco's Unified Computing System, data centre and core switching technologies, high capacity security appliances, as well as wireless edge and other lab related equipment. 

"This Legacy gift provides SIRT with a platform for the next stage of research innovation in digital film production," said Bernadette Wightman, president, Cisco Canada. "This is a powerful testament to the successful use of the end-to-end Cisco infrastructure showcased during the Pan Am/Parapan Games, now applied to a fast growing industry hub to stimulate future economic growth in Ontario."

"This is a very important gift for Sheridan," added Dr. Jeff Zabudsky, President of Sheridan College. "The Cisco technology will expand our research potential. It will also grow SIRT's technology platform which enables shared services among Ontario's screen-based industries, thereby helping this dynamic sector to work together more effectively."

The Cisco Technology Legacy Plan from the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games is focused on deploying technology across four key pillars: sporting venues; Canadian high schools, colleges and universities, including members of the Networking Academy program; select schools participating in the Connected North program; and select not-for-profit organizations with a focus on driving productivity, scale, innovation and economic development.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. Cisco products and services are supplied in Canada by Cisco Systems Canada Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com and http://newsroom.cisco.com/canada.

About Sheridan College

As one of Canada's leading postsecondary institutions, Sheridan is home to 20,000 full time students, who study in over 120 diploma, certificate, and bachelor degree programs at four campuses in the western GTA.  Its 120,000 alumni play a critical role in shaping the future of our society in the fields of arts, business, community service, health, technology and the skilled trades.  Sheridan's aim is to become Ontario's first undergraduate, teaching university – one that is dedicated to applied and professional education.

SOURCE Sheridan College

For further information: Press Contacts: Susan Atkinson, Sheridan College, 905 815 4073, [e-mail]; Karin Scott, Cisco Canada, 416 306 7164, [e-mail]