UBC campus to act as ‘living lab’ for initiatives in energy efficiency and smart buildings
VANCOUVER, BC– May 27, 2013 – The University of British Columbia (UBC) and Cisco today announced an arrangement that will see the two parties collaborate on a number of initiatives focused on smart energy technologies and converged network solutions.
A key component of the collaboration will be Cisco’s direct involvement in the university’s Campus as a Living Lab Initiative to accelerate the development, demonstration and commercialization of new technologies and solutions. Together UBC and Cisco aim to help create smarter, more energy-efficient buildings while identifying best practices and innovative solutions to reduce UBC’s net greenhouse gas emissions and associated carbon costs.
UBC and Cisco intend to pursue activities that will enhance, augment and sustain strategies and opportunities that use the capabilities and expertise of UBC, as well as drive Cisco’s solution development, testing and commercialization in Cisco Smart+Connected Communities™, Smart+Connected Real Estate™ and energy management.
Facts and Highlights:
- Cisco envisions investing up to $1 million over five years in collaborative projects.
- Cisco and UBC will explore solution approaches for a campus-wide Smart Energy System that can integrate energy generation, demand and supply to buildings at UBC’s Vancouver campus.
- Cisco and UBC will explore the integration of all building systems, such as environmental controls, security, lighting, energy, video, fire and life safety, onto a converged network solution.
- Cisco and UBC will collaborate with multiple building solution manufacturers on the development of new building automation devices using Cisco® Universal Power Over Ethernet (Cisco UPOE™) and Cisco EnergyWise™ software development kits.
- Cisco and UBC will explore the building-scale demonstration and evaluation of converged network solutions.
Supporting quotes:
Pascal Spothelfer, vice president, Communications and Community Partnership, The University of British Columbia: “Cisco and UBC share a vision of achieving environmental sustainability through the transformational use of smart energy systems such as smarter buildings and communities. This agreement will give us the opportunity to act on this shared vision by using UBC as a living laboratory to provide faculty, students and staff with fantastic learning opportunities and more efficient University operations. The living lab will also aim to define new industry benchmarks and a city-scale demonstration for making communities more sustainable through better efficiency and advanced technologies.”
Nitin Kawale, president, Cisco Canada: “Cisco is committed to exploring opportunities presented by our increasingly connected world in order to enrich lives through the use of innovative technology. The work done by Cisco and UBC on campus will enable vital energy-saving solutions for the university, and also serve as a roadmap for future smart energy and smart community initiatives not only in Canada, but around the world.”
About UBC
The University of British Columbia (UBC), established in 1908, is one of Canada’s leading research universities and is consistently ranked among the top 40 in the world. The university attracts 54,000 students from across Canada and 140 countries around the world to two major campuses. For ongoing news, go to www.ubc.ca .
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO, news, filings) is the worldwide leader in IT that helps companies seize the opportunities of tomorrow by proving that amazing things can happen when you connect the previously unconnected. For ongoing news, please go to http://thenetwork.cisco.com. Cisco Systems Canada Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco, has offices across Canada dedicated to customer support, sales and service. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com/canada/.
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Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco’s trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.
Contact Information
Karin Scott Cisco Canada 416-306-7164 kariscot@cisco.com
Brent Sauder Director of Strategic Partnerships University of British Columbia 604-822-4988 brent.sauder@ubc.ca
Press Contacts
- Karin ScottCisco Systems, Inc.+1 416 306 7164kariscot@cisco.com
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