Community Engagement
Carleton University prides itself on its many associations in the surrounding community, in Canada and around the world.
As one of Ottawa’s largest employers, with more than 900 faculty members and 1,000 support staff, Carleton is a vital contributor to the local economy. More than 400 technology-based companies have been founded by Carleton alumni and faculty, two-thirds of which are still active today.
Coral CEA is a non-profit organization founded by Carleton University, IBM, Eclipse Foundation, Genband and the Information Technology Association of Canada. It helps Ontario companies compete for a part of the growing global demand for Communications Enabled Applications.
Carleton’s Lead to Win program has been recognized by the Mayor of Ottawa for creating jobs, retaining talent and attracting investment to the area. The program has helped launch 118 technology companies and each active company is working to create at least six high-tech jobs over three years.
Carleton is also the birthplace of the code for BigBlueButton, an open source project that enables universities and colleges to deliver high-quality learning experiences to remote students. Today, BigBlueButton is used worldwide, has been translated into 15 languages and has created companies and jobs in our region.
Our research – currently more than 850 projects – focus on solving real-world problems and helping to improve the lives of Canadians and people around the world. We have more than 300 government partnership projects with more than 40 federal and provincial departments.
Our Faculty of Public Affairs is internationally recognized for its role in contributing to public policy. Our adjunct professors are affiliated with top organizations like the National Research Council and Royal Ottawa Health Care Group.
Carleton’s partnerships take many forms and engage every sector in the Ottawa region and beyond – businesses, non-profit organizations, government agencies at all levels, research bodies and cultural organizations.
They include:
- Out-reach to Aboriginal communities through our Centre for Aboriginal Culture and Education.
- Helping to fight homelessness by engaging in Project Homeless Connect with Ottawa’s other post-secondary institutions.
- Alternative Spring Break offers students the chance to provide community service.
- Carleton has extensive partnerships in the health care field, which is a priority for the university.