A deal worth more than $1.4 million between networking and telecommunications giants Huawei and Telus Corp. and Carleton has established a research lab dedicated to cloud computing in the university’s new Canal Building, according to a Carleton press release.
In cloud computing, processing and data storage takes place across large networks of remote servers. Users can connect to the cloud using their own computers to access, store and process data over the network on demand.
Rafik Goubran, dean of Carleton’s faculty of engineering and design, said cloud computing “liberates people from working within the constraints of their computer.”
The sharing of computing power and storage space makes for a more flexible environment in the workplace, he said.
Students working in the lab, called the Huawei-TELUS Innovation Centre for Enterprise Cloud Services, will investigate issues related to the performance, security, privacy and reliability of cloud networks, Goubran said.
The lab, which will be open this fall, will accommodate fourth-year projects for undergraduate engineering students, experiments in courses related to computer networks and communication, and graduate research, Goubran said.
Ibrahim Gedeon, chief technology officer at Telus, said that as well as providing money and technical expertise in the five-year partnership, Telus is also offering access to the cloud network.
Research in cloud computing will benefit not only the parties involved in the partnership, but also companies in Canada that are struggling financially, Gedeon said.
“There’s a lot of Canadian self-interest in it, so it’s good for students and it’s good for Canada,” Gedeon said.
Anthony Schultz, vice-president of delivery and service for Huawei Canada, said Carleton was chosen for the partnership during a business trip in China with Telus. He said the idea of partnering with a university came up while discussing possible projects for the companies’ joint innovation centre.
Schultz said Gedeon, who graduated from Carleton with a master’s degree in electronic engineering, suggested Carleton as the university to partner with. Schultz, who is also a Carleton alumnus, said he liked the idea, so the two companies approached the university with the idea of a partnership between the three.
Schultz said he thinks the partnership will benefit all four parties involved: Huawei, Telus, the university and Carleton students. He said students will benefit from the opportunity to work with state-of-the-art products and Carleton will benefit by becoming more known as a leading-edge resource centre.
“Our hope is that students who take advantage of this lab will be able to generate new ideas, new concepts and new thoughts that will benefit everyone in the long run,” Schultz said.
