The Faculty of Computer Science (FCS) is delighted to announce the appointment of Grant Wells (BInf’11) as the new Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Sandbox Program Manager. Wells will assume the position effective immediately.

Last March, the Province of Nova Scotia announced funding for four new “sandboxes” – collaborative spaces hosted by universities and colleges.  The sandboxes will bring together students, mentors and external advisors to take business concepts from idea to execution.

Wells will be responsible for overseeing the sandbox admissions program, the workspaces at the partner campuses, and the coordination of programming across all partnering institutions. This will involve the management and coordination of services and initiatives that will encourage, develop, and promote the entrepreneurial and innovative talents and ambitions of all students at the institutions involved and Nova Scotia as a whole.

Dalhousie University will host two of the four sandboxes, in collaboration with other university and industry partners.  The ICT sandbox, located in the Goldberg Computer Science Building, will launch this September.

Building a strong future

The Sandbox reflects the increasingly vital role ICT plays in Nova Scotia’s economy.  Not only is it one of the fastest-growing industries in the province, but Nova Scotia boasts the highest level of ICT graduates per capita in Canada.

“The ICT Sandbox will hopefully be the mechanism whereby partnering educational institutions, industry and young entrepreneurs converge to build a strong economic future for the province,” says Wells.  “There will be many challenges ahead on the road to success but everyone agrees that it is an exciting time to be an entrepreneur in Nova Scotia. I’m thankful for this opportunity to help realize these goals.”

Wells, a graduate from FCS’ Bachelor of Informatics Program, brings forth an educational background combining technology management and entrepreneurship. With years of experience as a small business owner in Nova Scotia’s Information Technology sector, and experience as a sessional instruction in FCS, Wells’ expertise and skills will help foster strong relationships with students, sandbox partners and stakeholders.

In partnership with Saint Mary’s University, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, the Nova Scotia Community College and Volta Labs, Wells and his team will help aspire student entrepreneurs in the early stages of venture creation.

“Everyone recognizes what each other has been doing over many years to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the province,” says Wells.  “But carving out a unique space for this sandbox that grows into something better as a collective will require an unprecedented level of active participation by all partners.”

A collaborative space

At Dal, a dedicated room on the 4^th floor of the Goldberg Computer Science building will house the ICT Sandbox and offer and free collaborative area across all partnering institutions. The Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship in the Faculty of Management will also offer a co-collaboration space in their Starting Lean Initiative program.

“One of the short-term challenges I face in getting the ICT Sandbox off the ground is to raise awareness of this new project and to attract students with great ideas into the sandbox for an early fall start date,” says Wells.

There are a variety of reasons he says students will be interested in the ICT Sandbox.  Along with the endless networking opportunities available to student entrepreneurs, there will also be opportunities for participants to capitalize on research strengths within the Faculty of Computer Science. These include web information systems, health informatics, bioinformatics, human-computer interaction, computer networking, algorithms, e-business and intelligent systems.

“Being able to build a comprehensive network of business and technical contacts is essential to success as these projects grow and further support is needed,” says Wells.