Scotiabank Invests $2.5 million at Queen’s University
Scotiabank Invests $2.5 million at Queen’s University
Publish Date: 2026-06-19 08:05:00
Source Domain: www.thewhig.com
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Scotiabank’s $2.5 Million Investment: Scotiabank has committed $2.5 million over five years to the renewed partnership with Smith School of Business at Queen’s University to prepare Canada’s workforce for the AI economy.
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Purpose of the Funding: The funding, through Scotiabank’s community initiative ScotiaRISE, will support applied research, experiential learning opportunities, and continuing work at the Scotiabank Centre for Analytics & AI.
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Objectives of the Partnership: The partnership aims to strengthen Canada’s talent pipeline in analytics and AI, advance responsible AI governance, and promote real-world innovation.
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Centre’s Success: Since 2016, the Scotiabank Centre for Analytics & AI has funded and graduated over 30 master’s and PhD students, and engages more than 80 undergraduate students annually.
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Enhanced AI Education and Research: The renewed partnership will bolster inclusive AI education, funding hands-on learning, early-stage research with social applications, and practical teaching.
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National AI Strategy Relevance: This investment aligns with Canada’s new national AI strategy, highlighting the need to address skill and talent gaps for AI literacy and training.
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Statements of Support: Phil Thomas praised Scotiabank’s long-standing support in practical data and analytics learning, while Ceren Kolsarici lauded the partnership for advancing an inclusive AI-ready workforce.
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Nationwide Skill Gap: Canada ranks 44th out of 47 in AI literacy according to a KPMG study, underscoring the importance of this investment to close the nation’s AI skills gap.
