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Manitoba network of Cisco TelePresence video conference sites links 3 local universities together
February 14, 2011 | By Alyssa Dalton
February 14, 2011
Greg Selinger, Manitoba premier, and Lynne Yelich, minister of State for Western Economic Diversiï¬cation, have helped launch a provincial network of Cisco TelePresence video conference sites linking UWinnipeg, Brandon University (BU), and University College of the North (UCN) in The Pas.
The Cisco TelePresence system,
which promotes energy conservation by reducing travel and delivering
measurable energy savings, enables high-quality distance education and
more effective collaboration with research sites in Manitoba and around
the world.
“An investment in education is an investment in
Manitoba’s future; I’m honoured that our government has been able to
assist in providing technology that will link students from across the
province and around the world, allowing research, information and ideas
to be shared,” said Selinger. “This is just one of the many ways that
our government works to support and promote green innovation and
education in our province.”
“Our Government is committed to
building a competitive advantage for Canada and Manitoba based on
excellence in science and technology,” added Yelich. “Through
investments in key public-private partnerships, we are helping to
support knowledge-based research and development with a focus on the
commercialization of new products, technologies and services.”
The
Canadian government and the province supported the establishment of the
network through an investment of $7 million announced last month under
the Canada- Manitoba Western Economic Partnership Agreement (WEPA).
Cisco
donated two TelePresence virtual meeting systems to UWinnipeg, which it
says makes it the ï¬rst university in Canada with this technology.
One
TelePresence endpoint will be based in the new Richardson College for
the Environment and Science Complex in the coming months. The second
will be located inside UWinnipeg’s Faculty of Business and
Economics at the newly opened Buhler Centre. UWinnipeg is acquiring additional TelePresence technologies for future use.
“Establishing
UWinnipeg as a centre of excellence for innovative collaboration
technologies, like Cisco TelePresence, is already reaping beneï¬ts in
global leadership, economic development, and cost savings,” said Mr.
Nitin Kawale, president, Cisco Canada.
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