Canada-India Collaboration: Moving the partnership forward, from customer to partner

By Mr. Harry Sharma, CICE, Carleton University and Ms. Roohi Ahmed, India Canada Friendship Circle

The India Canada Friendship Circle (ICFC) 2016 lecture series included a thought-provoking presentation on Science, Technology and Innovation Partnerships by Mr. Harry Sharma, Manager, Canada-India Centre for Excellence (CICE), Carleton University. The session was chaired by ICFC Vice President and Mathematics Professor, Dr. Steven Desjardins. ICFC members and Dr. Roseann O’Reilly Runte, President and Vice Chancellor of Carleton University joined in the stimulating dialogue and networking. The following is a summary of Mr. Sharma’s perspectives and views on the need to understand the cultural and economic climate in India to forge successful and innovative partnerships.

More details on ICFC can be found at the following website: http://www.icfc.ws

Transformation
Today’s India is experiencing an economic transition unparalleled anywhere else in the world. Regardless of the measures used to describe the country’s growth rate or its increasing GDP, it is sobering to take a moment to consider the scale of the transformation. More than 65 percent of India’s population is under the age of 35, approximately 650 million people. And soon, the annual per capita income in India will cross the economically significant 100,000 Rupees (or roughly $1,500) threshold. Many economists expect that meeting this threshold will lead to a more consuming and aspirational population – an average Indian’s propensity to consume non-necessity goods and services will become significantly higher. This represents an opportunity that Canada cannot afford to miss.

Partnership
Canadians must demonstrate a desire to forge a true partnership with India, and not just establish a “seller-buyer arrangement”. As any businessperson or scholar who has worked in India can attest, building trust and credibility is the first, and arguably the hardest, step toward partnering with India. It is incumbent upon us as a country to invest in building human capacity as well as business models that are specifically designed to build trust with India. Our small businesses and start ups, for example, must be encouraged to learn about Indian realities: cultural sensitivities, business practices, regulatory environments, government incentives, and above all, consumer behaviour. Many of the products that are developed to address North American or European consumers will find it hard to be “localized” for India because fundamental consumer behaviours can vary widely. A perfect example is Flipkart’s “Cash on Delivery” model for e-commerce. Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce company, realized early on that credit card penetration in India will pose a significant challenge as there are only about 20 million credit cards in a country of 1.25 billion people. So Flipkart devised a model that would allow it to sell merchandise to people without a credit or a debit card.

Potential
Canada’s exports to India account for roughly 0.8% of our total exports, and an annual bilateral trade of approximately $8 billion, only $1 billion more than our trade with Netherlands, which has a population equal to that of New Delhi. It is unfair to make this comparison, of course, given that per capita income is significantly higher in the Netherlands than in India, yet it is helpful for conveying the trade growth potential with India. The CICE at Carleton University is developing specialized courses, in partnership with Indian partners, to provide exposure and training for Canadian businesses and policy makers. The CICE also continues to support policy relevant research to identify the best ways to engage with India that will lead to a robust partnership.

Carleton Partners with Indian Institutions to Provide Academic, Research Opportunities

Source: Ottawa Business Journal via Academica

[CIEC Academic Member] Carleton University’s Canada-India Centre has partnered with Indian institutions to develop improved programming for working in India and strengthening innovation and trade between Canada and India. A partnership with the International School of Management Excellence will allow the institutions to explore academic and research collaboration opportunities in the business and management fields, while a partnership with the Bombay Stock Exchange Institute will allow the CICE to offer new certificate programs on the Indian business innovation system and Indian investment opportunities.

Canadian Universities Must Overcome 3 Impediments to Globalization, writes Carleton president

Source: University Affairs via Academica

Carleton University [CIEC Member] President Roseann O’Reilly Runte writes in an editorial for University Affairs that Canadian universities must do more to address the ongoing demand to become more global. To this end, she says that universities must work to build their international reputations while making sure that the proper resources are in place for international students to succeed after enrolment. But Runte adds that attracting more international students is only one side of the internationalization coin, the other being the need to send more Canadian students abroad. To achieve success in this regard, Canada will need to overcome three impediments that Runte identifies as financial, linguistic, and structural.

Carleton President Advocates the “Right” Funding Model for Ontario

Source: Ottawa Citizen via Academica

Carleton University [CIEC Academic Member] President Roseann O’Reilly Runte writes in the Ottawa Citizen that “the ability to pursue one’s education makes Ontario and Canada special and offers hope and motivation to all. Thus, funding for accessibility must continue.” To this end, she offers suggestions for how Ontario might build upon the Strategic Mandate Agreements (SMAs) it approved for each university last year, setting measurable goals and accountabilities for universities while emphasizing collaboration. Rather than “destabilize the system at a time when resources are not abundant,” Ontario should introduce new funding for an “incentive program” that might require universities to find matching funds from the private sector in order to access new government money. Under this model, Runte says, “the province would double its investment” in higher education.

CFI Announces Recipients of $333 M in Infrastructure Funding

Source: CFI News Release via Academic

The Canada Foundation for Innovation on Friday announced that 87 projects will benefit from a total of $333 M in funding for research infrastructure. These projects include a collaborative effort by scholars at Carleton University [CIEC Academic Member], McGill University, Simon Fraser University [CIEC Academic Member], and the University of Victoria to develop new components for the ATLAS detector at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Switzerland, which enabled the discovery of the Higgs boson; studies at Toronto General Hospital into healing human organs outside of the body for transplants; and research at Ryerson University into the social and cultural impact of the “Internet of Things.”

Smart Cities Forum 2015

The Canada India Centre at Carleton University is pleased to announce a conference on “Smart & Sustainable Cities – Opportunities for Canada-India Partnership” to discuss the development and implementation of Smart Cities in India and the opportunities it will create for Canadian companies.

The objectives of the Forum will be to:

  • Provide a platform for knowledge exchange and networking among Indian and Canadian stakeholders involved in Smart Cities;
  • Present current developments in the Smart Cities sector in Canada and lessons for India;
  • Promote mutual partnership opportunities for Canadian and Indian companies involved in Smart energy generation and management, transportation and mobility, ICT, infrastructure, buildings and utilities sectors;
  • Showcase existing projects in India in the areas of Smart Mobility and environmental solutions.

Attendees will include Policymakers and Regulatory Agencies, Infrastructure Developers, Construction Companies and Contractors, Architects, Designers, and Engineers, Technology Providers, Financial Institutions and Investors, and Economic Development Agencies.

Further information on this conference & registration are available on the Canada-India Centre website.

Scholars-At-Risk Program Comes to Carleton and uOttawa

Source: University Affairs via Academica

Carleton University [CIEC Academic Member] and the University of Ottawa will jointly host a Scholars at Risk (SAR) program beginning this fall. SAR is an international network of PSE institutions that supports scholars whose lives have been put in danger because of their work. 9 other Canadian institutions are already members of the network; however, this is reportedly the first jointly hosted program. Carleton Provost Peter Ricketts emphasized the importance of supporting people “who found themselves in these situations, not because of their degrees, but because of the world they live in.” The joint program is intended to serve the entire Ottawa region, creating what SAR Joint Committee Head Melanie Adrien describes as “a centre of refuge for scholars under threat.” The first hosted scholar will be announced this spring.

McMaster, Carleton among world’s greenest universities

Source: UI GreenMetric University Ranking via Academica | January 30, 2015

6 Canadian universities are among the 100 greenest in the world, according to this year’s Universitas Indonesia (UI) GreenMetric Rankings. Université de Sherbrooke was the top Canadian institution at 14th overall, followed by York University at 35th. Concordia University was ranked 46th, [CIEC Academic Member] McMaster University 66th, the University of Victoria 84th, and [CIEC Academic Member] Carleton University 97th. The rankings are derived from institutions’ scores in 6 categories, including waste management, water usage, transportation, and energy and climate change mitigation. In total, 360 universities from 62 countries were ranked, up from 301 universities last year. The University of Nottingham (UK) took top spot, followed by University College Cork (IE) and Nottingham Trent University (UK). This marks the fifth year in which UI has released its rankings.

Carleton Offers Support for Students with Invisible Disabilities

Carleton Offers Support for Students with Invisible Disabilities

Source: Carleton News Release via Academica | July 11, 2014

Carleton University [CIEC Academic Member] has developed innovative services to improve accessibility for students with “invisible” disabilities such as chronic pain, arthritis, cognitive dysfunction, hearing or vision impairments, and mental health disorders. At Carleton, 8% of students are registered with the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC), and 92% of disabilities among students are classified as non-visible. The PMC offers support including counselling, extended time for examinations, and assistive technologies. The school has also implemented the From Intention to Action (FIT:Action) program to help students better manage stress and improve academic performance and support students who may not have documentation for a disability. Students must make a 12-week commitment to the program, regularly meeting with a counsellor. “There are different gradients of service that support different groups of people,” said John Meissner, FIT:Action project leader. “There is a whole lot more to going to university than getting good grades.”

Carleton University

Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in Ottawa, Ontario — the capital of Canada. Since its foundation in 1942 as Ontario’s first private, non-denominational college, occupying rented premises, the University has grown to become a public institution with upwards of 65 areas of study. Carleton has built a strong reputation in many fields — including engineering, humanities, international business, and across the Faculty of Public Affairs (e.g. international affairs, journalism, legal studies, political science, and public policy & administrations).

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