GM Canada to establish research chair at University of Waterloo

In remarks to the Canadian Club in Toronto, GM Canada president and managing director Steve Carlisle announced that the company will support the University of Waterloo’s Engineering Faculty by providing $1 million to fund a Research Chair in advanced materials while also sponsoring engineering student Capstone design projects involving software development, which is key to GM Canada’s work on “the connected car.”

Carlisle also said GM Canada will establish an innovation research outpost within Waterloo’s Communitech innovation research hub with initial focus on urban mobility, car sharing and mobile app innovation.

The new investment is in line with a new automotive R&D and innovation mandate, awarded in April 2015, at its Oshawa Engineering Centre, focused on fast emerging “connected car” and the development of new urban mobility solutions. The company is hiring 100 new software engineers and engaging a growing ecosystem of select Canadian universities, accelerators and suppliers in its mandate.

At the Canadian Club event this week, Carlisle called on governments in Canada to quickly carve out a purposeful role in a fast changing automotive sector that is increasingly defined by electric vehicles, connected and autonomous driving cars and new approaches to urban mobility.

“No company, country or government owns this space, but we see that Canada has distinct advantages in mobile technology, engineering skills, applied research and a strong automotive history,” said Carlisle. “As Canada prepares to invest billions in much needed urban transportation infrastructure, we need to understand how new automotive technologies and urban mobility approaches can increase infrastructure ROI, accelerate environmental benefits and anchor new high skilled Canadian jobs at the forefront of a new automotive innovation supply chain.”
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