Mitacs and Mastercard announce new partnership to power innovation in cybersecurity

Funding by Mastercard will support the development of cybersecurity solutions in Canada

Mitacs and Mastercard today announced a new partnership that will see some of the best and brightest from Canada’s academic institutions collaborate on projects aimed at accelerating R&D and innovation in the field of cybersecurity at Mastercard.

Mastercard is investing $500,000 towards the development of this multiyear collaboration through which Mitacs – a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to building innovative research partnerships – will support projects in the development of cybersecurity solutions for the digital ecosystem.

Mitacs will use its unique position as a catalyzing force to help establish strategic collaboration between Mastercard and other key players in the Canadian innovation ecosystem. This includes laying the groundwork for Mastercard to develop a sustainable talent pipeline by connecting the company to leading researchers and cutting-edge small- and medium-sized businesses.

As people continue to shop more online with their computer, phone, tablet, game console and other IoT devices, they want to know that their financial data is safe and secure. The partnership announced today will invest in the next generation of technological advances that seek to ensure people in Canada and around the world are secure online.

Through its investment with Mitacs, Mastercard is building on its commitment to supporting Canadian innovation and technology talent by partnering with an emerging cohort of researchers and practitioners to fill a crucial – and growing – gap in the cybersecurity talent pipeline. This partnership with Mitacs is the latest in a series of cybersecurity-related investments Mastercard has made in Canada, part of the $510M investment in its new Global Intelligence and Cyber Centre of Excellence in Vancouver. The Centre is committed to supporting Canadian talent while accelerating innovation in digital and cyber security, data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

Quotes

“Mitacs is thrilled to announce this new partnership with Mastercard. Cybersecurity continues to be a major concern for Canadian consumers. By connecting Mastercard with some of the best researchers and small- and medium-sized businesses working on new developments to keep Canadians safe, Mitacs is supporting further innovation in this space.” – John Hepburn, CEO, Mitacs

“As consumers continue to connect more devices to the cyber world, that constant connectivity and data sharing can also create new opportunities for information to be compromised. This partnership with Mitacs is invaluable and allows us to invest in students to build a Canadian cybersecurity talent pipeline to help advance security and trust in the digital ecosystem. The collaboration provides another opportunity to tap into the country’s talented workforce and thriving technology ecosystem, to help bring innovations to market even faster.” – Sasha Krstic, President, Mastercard Canada