Building Strong Partnerships
Each year, our students and professors work with hundreds of external partners, from Toronto-based startups and U of T spinoff companies to large multinational corporations to hospitals, governments and non-profit organizations. Through us, they tap into a rich ecosystem of expertise, as well as advanced facilities and equipment, co-location opportunities, a pipeline of new talent and so much more.
This year, we launched a new space for the Engineering Partnerships Office at 800 Bay, which enables companies to co-locate with us, further catalyzing new forms of collaboration.
Catalyzing new forms of partnership through co-location
Over the past year, seven partner organizations have co-located themselves at the new U of T Engineering Partnerships Office space at 800 Bay Street.
Co-located partners benefit from amenities, resources and convenience while embedding themselves within a community of researchers and entrepreneurs. The cohort includes several startup companies and also AGE-WELL, a unique Canadian network dedicated to developing technologies and services for healthy aging.
“In creating this space, we were inspired by the Fujitsu Co-Creation Laboratory, which has been around for the better part of a decade now,” says Adriano Vissa, Executive Director, Partnerships at U of T Engineering.
“It’s a really great example of what long-term, sustainable partnerships can do, so we wanted to explore ways to scale that up.”
Konica Minolta collaboration aims to enhance manufacturing
In March, the University of Toronto and Konica Minolta, Inc. — the Japanese digital print, imaging and information technology company — renewed a research partnership focused on artificial intelligence and internet-connected devices, which are sometimes referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT).
Eldan Cohen (MIE) is one of the researchers that has been involved with the partnership since its inception. Along with his research team, Cohen is working with Konica Minolta to improve manufacturing processes.
“The idea is to try to … predict that we’re going to have an issue [so] they can quickly try to intervene and solve the issue — and also to help them figure out where the issue is coming from,” he says.
“It’s been great being co-located at 800 Bay Street. Not only are we plugged into the talent pipeline, but we can also partner with the University to design new ways of testing our software, and we can consult with all kinds of experts in virtually any field.”
– Kelvin Cui, Co-founder & CEO, Peripheral Labs
Connecting South Korean students with Toronto’s AI ecosystem
From January to June 2025, 34 graduate students from across South Korea were in Toronto, working with mentors at U of T’s Centre for Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Engineering (CARTE) and at MIE on challenges brought forward by partners from several different sectors.
It was the second year of the program, a collaboration between CARTE and the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), South Korea.
Industry partners included including Lorex Technology Inc., Kijiji Canada Ltd., Nexxt Intelligence Inc., Guhuza, Modiface Inc., LG Electronics Toronto AI Lab and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
Partnering on the world’s first battery-powered electric vehicle fast charger
In September, two EV fast-charging stations from Jule, powered by eCamion were unveiled in U of T’s Landmark Garage. The technology was developed with help from Professor Reza Iravani (ECE) and continues to be refined by U of T’s Advanced Thermofluids Optimization, Modelling and Simulation (ATOMS) laboratory.
Celebrating partnerships across U of T
On November 21, more than 200 guests gathered at U of T’s Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus to celebrate and explore mutually beneficial partnerships.
“Tonight, for the first time, we can proudly say we are welcoming all of our industry partners together at one time to celebrate the partnerships we’ve formed and imagine the partnerships yet to come,” said Dean Chris Yip at the event.
Transforming the energy grid with Siemens Canada
In November, U of T signed a multi-year agreement with Siemens Canada that seeks to transform the energy grid and boost Canada’s ability to provide clean energy to communities.
The partnership will bring together U of T’s cutting-edge research, commercialization and policy expertise with Siemens’s industry-leading experience in sustainable energy management and intelligent infrastructure — all with a view to advancing Ontario’s energy transition goals and contributing to Canada’s target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.