Surrey Board of Trade Applauds BC Government on $17M Commitment to New Surrey Quantum Computing Institute at SFU
Oct 2nd, 2019 at 2:12 pm
The BC government has announced its vision to promote the City of Surrey as a second Lower Mainland downtown and to build an innovation corridor that will drive economic growth and create good jobs and opportunity for people in Surrey and the Fraser Valley. The innovation corridor is an emerging government priority and will be developed in consultation with local government, businesses, First Nations and other partners. BC is taking the first step by establishing a Quantum Algorithms Institute at Simon Fraser University's Surrey campus.
"Creating an innovation corridor in Surrey and in the Fraser Valley will create good jobs, attract talent, reduce commute times and raise the standard of living," said Premier John Horgan.
"Today's announcement means that Surrey will continue to have an innovation-based economy," said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. "It will lead to opportunities for all Surrey businesses, cross-border partnerships between governments, companies, and universities, as a boon to the high-tech, life sciences, clean tech, and data analytics industries. The new Quantum Institute will not only produce highly skilled graduates demanded by industry, it will also develop innovative new technologies and spin off new companies that could employ thousands of people."
Surrey is a global technology powerhouse which will spur economic growth.
Surrey has the advantage with:
1. greater access to industrial development land;
2. affordable housing stock;
3. diversity – Surrey has 104 different languages that are spoken;
4. youth: 30% of Surrey's population is under the age of 19;
5. StartUp Surrey, a support ecosystem for startup businesses to commercialize and scale up; and,
6. the Cascadia Innovation Corridor Advantage: Surrey is a border city.
"Surrey is redefining the innovation ecosystem, where we embrace change and have the right skill sets and tools to leverage emerging opportunities to compete in the global economy."
On October 17, from 6-8pm at the Surrey Arts Centre, in partnership with the Province of BC, the Surrey Board of Trade will release the first Surrey Labour Market Study and Workforce Strategy, which will enable the human capital that we need to nurture and grow innovation industries in Surrey.
"Simon Fraser University is pleased to be a partner in the new Quantum Algorithms Institute. Undergraduate students in science, tech, engineering and mathematics will have a unique opportunity to continue their education in graduate studies with a focus on quantum computing," Andrew Petter, president and vice-chancellor, Simon Fraser University.
"At D-Wave, we are helping our customers develop commercially useful quantum applications, delivered through our cloud service. The Quantum Algorithms Institute will be important in the growth of the quantum computing ecosystem that B.C. companies like D-Wave have been instrumental in creating," Vern Brownell, Chief Executive Officer, D-Wave
"1QBit is very pleased by the announcement of the Quantum Algorithms Institute. We're excited to work with the institute and with companies and schools across the province to continue the cutting-edge work that's being done in the sector and to help train the next generation of students in quantum computing technologies," Landon Downs, President, 1Qbit.
For more information: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2019PREM0111-001892