New competition for technology students
9/25/2001 1:28:56 PM
September 24, 2001 - BayBYTES Foundation Inc., on behalf of College of the North Atlantic and the Canadian Technology Network, and in partnership with Aliant, is pleased to announce the establishment of a $10,000 Rural Technology Grant.
The Aliant Rural Technology Grant will be awarded to one student enrolled in a College of the North Atlantic technology program who submits the best plan to develop and manage a technology-based business in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. The plan must detail how the $10,000 will be used to finance the start-up of the business through its first year of development and operation.
“I would like to thank Aliant and the BayBYTES Foundation for working to establish this innovative new grant,” says Pamela Walsh, President of College of the North Atlantic. “The generosity of Aliant in providing the $10,000 grant will give students in our technology programs the opportunity to put into practice the skills they learn through their education and allow their entrepreneurial spirit to flourish. We are proud to be a part of this initiative which will also have a direct positive economic impact on rural communities in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
“We are extremely pleased to join with the BayBYTES Foundation to introduce this exciting new technology initiative to College of the North Atlantic,” said Jim Organ, Vice-President, Sales, Aliant Telecom. “We are looking forward to working with our partners to promote innovation and entrepreneurship that will benefit the technology sector in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.”
“As chairman of the BayBYTES 2001 Conference, I commend Alliant for it’s generous support of $10,000 to this project,” says David Rideout, Regional Director of the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program. “This support will encourage students of the College to develop the skills that are needed to be integral parts of rural based communities. The financial incentive will enable them to excel.”
The competition will start in the fall semester and close May 31, 2002. To be eligible, the student must be completing their final year of a technology program from College of the North Atlantic or have graduated from one of the College’s technology programs between 1999 and 2001. The applicant must also be under the age of 30 at the time of the awarding of the grant in September, 2002.
Aliant Telecom is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aliant Inc. Aliant Inc. (TSE:AIT) is one of Canada’s top high-tech companies, providing integrated communications and IT solutions through subsidiaries operating worldwide. By combining industry-leading expertise from across the group of companies, Aliant utilizes the Aliant PremiumTM Model to deliver unique, end-to-end solutions to customers. With 10,000 employees and a market capitalization of almost $5 billion, Aliant ranks in the top 100 publicly traded companies in the country. More information on Aliant may be found on their Website at www.aliant.ca.
College of the North Atlantic, Newfoundland and Labrador's public college, offers more than 70 full-time programs & over 300 part-time courses to some 10,000 students. With 18 campuses strategically located throughout the province, the College is the largest post-secondary educational and skills training centre in Atlantic Canada. http://www.northatlantic.nf.ca
The Canadian Technology Network is an initiative of the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program. The Canadian Technology Network stimulates wealth and job creation by linking innovation-related resources to provide integrated, accessible pathways to information and services relevant to small- and medium-sized enterprises using technology. http://ctn.nrc.ca
BayBYTES Foundation Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation established to promote and ensure the organizational and financial sustainability of BayBYTES: a Rural Technology Forum. The two founding organizations of the BayBYTES events and BayBYTES Foundation Inc. are the Canadian Technology Network and College of the North Atlantic. http://www.baybytes.net
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For more information contact:
Lee Warren
BayBYTES Foundation
(709) 466-6945
Brad Sherriffs
Aliant Telecom
(709) 739-2389
Stephen Lee
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7928