Photonics Spectra - September 2009

A number of Canadian universities have photonics groups or centers. Algonquin College in Ottawa offers diploma and bachelor’s degree programs, while Laval students can earn a master’s degree in biophotonics. McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, has a bachelor’s degree in applied engineering in photonics, and the University of Waterloo in Ontario offers a certificate in education for photonics professionals. Brock College in St. Catharines, Ontario, even offers a graduate certificate in lasers.

Around the world, photonics as a field has been suffering from a general lack of trained engineers and technicians, and the CPC reports that this is the case in Canada as well. “Apart from the university education, there is not much exposure to photonics for students at the primary- and secondary-school levels,” Têtu noted.

But organizations such as the Ontario Photonics Education and Training Association, which was founded by another OCE director of business development, Marc Nantel, and the QPN have adopted the

cause of building up the number of Canadian photonics engineers and technicians and of attracting younger students to science and technology careers.

Outlook and goals

As big as photonics is in Canada, there is always room for growth.

The CPC has outlined some strategies for general success: Photonics companies should be more proactive about reaching out to customers, to ensure the development of photonic solutions that will fit their needs. Clusters and national photonics organizations should establish information portals to facilitate knowledge exchange between companies and researchers. Canadian technology should be increasingly commercialized, perhaps via interagency programs using alternative financing and technology transfer methods, to ensure that technological developments are exploited to the maximum. R&D efforts, the group advised, should focus on areas of strategic importance to Canada.