Ottawa-based company Global Spatial Technology Solutions gained valuable expertise

Having launched in February 2012, the Mitacs Enterprise program is already garnering accolades and sparking interest amongst Canadian small-to-medium-sized enterprises in Southern Ontario.

Mitacs Enterprise matches high-potential graduates of science, technology, engineering and math disciplines with small-to-medium-sized companies (SMEs) in Southern Ontario. Enterprise interns receive invaluable experience by working with a company that can benefit from their specialized technical and business management training while the SME’s access a pool of talented and trained personnel that can help them meet the demands of their business environment immediately and in years to come.  The Canadian economy wins too, as these SME’s deliver 60% of Canada's economic output and generate 80% of national employment and 85% of new jobs. Support for innovation activities that make even small improvements in the performance of SMEs make a significant impact on Canada’s overall economic health and status in the global community.

Ottawa-based Global Spatial Technology Solutions Inc. (GSTS) was the first company to participate in the Mitacs Enterprise program. But being first out of the gate is nothing new for Richard Kolacz, President and Co-Founder of GSTS. He directed the development of Canada's first space-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) satellite with an outstanding team of highly skilled individuals which led to the creation of GSTS, Canada's first Global AIS data service company.

A start-up company looking to expand in size and scope, GSTS needed to hire capable individuals to lead its research and development activities. Mitacs Enterprise intern Ziad Sakr, with his unique experience in multimedia communications as well as simulation and modeling, was the perfect match for GSTS.

“Mitacs Enterprise was the vehicle that enabled us to bring Ziad onboard. During the start-up phase when funding is scarce, having access to a PhD graduate with specialized skills is invaluable. Ziad has been a critical part of our team and is working on some pretty cool solutions for a number of our major clients,” said Mr. Kolacz.

“In the start-up situation things are fast-paced. What I really appreciated was the responsiveness of the Mitacs Enterprise team to meet our timelines and needs” said Mr.Kolacz, “The program is making it possible for us to bring our applications to life.”

To learn more about Mitacs Enterprise, visit www.mitacs.ca/enterprise.