Applied AI Institute partners to boost AI adoption in Canadian manufacturing

A new partnership led by Concordia’s Applied AI Institute is aiming to close Canada’s industrial AI gap and accelerate adoption in the manufacturing sector.

The work is part of a national alliance supported by DIGITAL, Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, to speed up the use of applied AI in industry. The collaboration marks Concordia’s first formal partnership with a federal innovation supercluster and is backed by a $727,001 investment from DIGITAL to advance AI and machine learning use in manufacturing.

Through a new memorandum of understanding signed with Bold New Edge (BNE), a Montreal-based non-profit, the institute is contributing its research expertise to help manufacturing leaders apply AI in practical ways.

The collaboration centres on the launch of AI for Decision-Makers in Advanced Manufacturing, a new eight-week professional program set to begin in August. Offered through Concordia Continuing Education in alignment with its mandate to support upskilling in emerging fields like AI, the program equips Canadian manufacturing leaders with applied AI strategies and culminates in a hands-on project guided by mentors from the Applied AI Institute.

“This initiative highlights how academic research and real-world industry challenges can align to create measurable impact,” says Alex Megelas, who is leading the institute’s involvement in the project. “Our role is to help translate the potential of AI into concrete applications on the factory floor.”

Participants will gain access to over 10 hours of one-on-one mentorship from Applied AI Institute experts, helping them define, prototype and refine an AI solution tailored to their specific operational needs.

The program is supported by a national consortium that includes CMC Microsystems, NGen, Syntronic and DIGITAL.