Discover MScAC talks: a monthly seminar series that brings academics and industry together to talk about all things tech.
The MScAC Program and the University of Toronto are located in one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the world. From tackling challenges in science and engineering to the state of applied research in industry and its effect on technological innovation, MScAC talks creates an opportunity for students, researchers and industry professionals to come together and examine trending topics in tech innovation.
Our first MScAC talk
Eugene Fiume
Professor & Dean, Applied Sciences
Simon Fraser University - British Columbia
The Changing Face of Applied Research and Entrepreneurship
Wednesday, September 15 // 4 PM
Abstract:
The landscape for both applied research and entrepreneurship has dramatically changed since the inception of the MScAC program in 2010. The use of machine learning technologies in industry was still on the horizon, companies had difficulty with the concept of "applied research", and Canadian start-ups were preoccupied with getting large tranches of funding that were used either to scale up quickly or to acquire other start-ups in the hope of rapid exits. The emerging landscape I see is one that values evidence and causation over data and correlation, that readily embraces "risky" applied research, and that favours patient strategic collaboration over accelerated capital- and human-intensive approaches. My talk will attempt to weave a possibly dubious narrative around these ideas, but one clear fact is that whatever the future holds, the MScAC program will be an ideal preparation ground for it.
Bio:
Eugene Fiume is an internationally recognized leader in visual modelling and computer graphics. A past-Chair of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, and the inaugural Director of the renowned MScAC programme, he moved to Simon Fraser University in 2017 to become Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences. His has a long record of accomplishment in teaching, in academic and industrial research, and in technology transfer. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Eurographics Fellow, a Member of the SIGGRAPH Academy, a winner of an NSERC Synergy Award, and co-founder and Board Chair of JALI Research, Inc.
His industrial interests include technology transfer in the Information Technology area, internet-based media applications, digital media, multimedia systems, web-based services, large-scale computation, and the interaction of information technology and business.