TORONTO, October 19, 2015 — York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering has received $1.5 million in funding from China based software firm iFlytek, recently.

The funding will support technology research led by Professor Hui Jiang in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

“With this generous donation, our Lassonde School of Engineering will continue on the path of innovative education, demonstrating the growing diversity of our research and curriculum, and ensuring that York University continues to lead the way for the future of engineering,” said Mamdouh Shoukri, President and Vice-Chancellor of York University. “I would like to express my deep appreciation to iFlytek for this transformative donation.”

“At Lassonde we partner without borders. We seek out the brightest and the best from around the world to work with us on critical global challenges,” said Janusz Kozinski, founding dean of Lassonde, speaking at an announcement event. “The combined efforts of iFlytek and Lassonde will establish a new research powerhouse for artificial neural networks with enormous potential to generate new and unexpected discoveries.”

Based in China’s Anhui Province, iFlytek is a speech-recognition software developer that offers voice-based internet and mobile products in the education, communication, music, and intelligent toys industries, as well as e-governance.

This funding will create the iFlytek Laboratory for Neural Computing and Machine Learning (iNCML) as well as a professorship position to lead research in this field at Lassonde.

“iFlytek is one of China’s most innovative companies with an exceptional record in research and development,” says Professor Jiang. “The newly-established lab will bring together the world’s top minds in an outstanding facility focused on this vital area of research.”

The partnership was officially announced at a ceremony in the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, the home of the Lassonde School of Engineering, followed by the formal opening of iNCML.

York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our 52,000 students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 24 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide.

Media Contact:
Gloria Suhasini, York University Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22094 / Suhasini@yorku.ca