Google opens Montréal office, invests $2.75M in skills training
by CM Staff
Funding will go towards Mila Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute AI research projects as well as projects to support digital literacy in local youths.
Google Canada Logo (CNW Group/Google Canada)
MONTREAL — Google Canada has launched the Google Viger space, a sustainability-focused office in downtown Montréal.
In order to support Quebec’s technology ecosystem, Google is also committing $2.75 million to continue its support of Mila, expand Google Career Certificate courses and provide Google.org grants to Digital Moment, NPower Canada and other local nonprofits.
“Since our beginnings in 2004 where 3 engineers made up our entire presence, the new office is home to a variety of teams that work on some of the most crucial products and services Google offers worldwide, everything from cybersecurity, to AI research, to Chrome and Cloud,” said Fabrice Jaubert, Montréal site lead, Google Canada, in a statement.
The company says the $1.5 million investment towards Mila Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute will help support AI research projects in areas like AI for Humanity, climate change, and sustainable agriculture.
The company will also provide support to increase successful participation of students and faculty from underrepresented groups in computing research careers.
“Google’s ongoing investment in AI in Quebec and at Mila is a testament to the strength of private, public, and academic partnerships that enable the best and brightest researchers as they advance responsible AI applications across sectors,” said Valérie Pisano, president and CEO, Mila in a statement.
Google is also announcing a Google.org grant to Digital Moment to help launch The Quebec Digital Literacy Project, a program aimed to equip teachers & students in grades 3-12 with digital skills.
The Quebec Digital Literacy Project is a three part solution, consisting of classroom programming; a youth-led social innovation lab, and ongoing roundtable discussions to reflect and share ideas on key issues such as social equity and climate change, and how the role of changing technologies can address them.
