The design centre for the smart economy

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Toronto is Canada's largest technology hub and the third largest in North America. It is home to 15,000technology companies employing 168,000 people generating $52 billion in annual revenue. Digitaltechnologies are revolutionizing how these companies develop products and serve customers. Across allsectors, there is a shift from engineering-driven to design-driven products, from product-centric tocustomer-centric development models, and from marketing-focused to user experience-focused businessmodels. Many companies face technical and business model challenges in embracing this shift. Overcomingthese challenges is the focus of the George Brown College (GBC) Design Centre for the Smart Economy(DCSE). NSERC and CFI investment will establish the DCSE as a leading-edge, applied research and industryinteraction facility to support industry innovation. The DCSE will assist Toronto's technology sector SMEs to adopt new approaches to designing and developing customer experiences, digital service design ecosystems, computing platforms and alternative user interfaces that are shaped by technology. GBC faculty and student expertise in gaming and interactive digital media, interaction design and development, user experience and user interface design, usability testing and validation of technology, virtual effects, graphic design/branding and information technology will catalyze innovation in SME partners. The DCSE research vision aligns with key stages of the design process that are essential to fostering innovation and outputs that lead to successful commercialization. By being involved in research projects, GBC students will develop skills in service and product development and design, laboratory experimentation, field research, project management, communications, ethics, entrepreneurship, leadership and teamwork. Although GBC has been successful in supporting projects in this area, the launch of the DCSE represents an opportunity to engage in larger-scale, multi-year projects with industry partners.