Gina Cody School signs partnership agreement with UCLA engineering school

Concordia’s Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Samueli School of Engineering signed a memorandum of understanding in May 2026 to support future collaborations in engineering and computer science.

Gina Cody School Dean Mourad Debbabi and Ah-Hyung “Alissa” Park, the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean of Engineering at UCLA Samueli, signed the agreement during Debbabi’s visit to UCLA.

“The Gina Cody School at Concordia and UCLA share a common commitment to excellence, innovation and impact,” Debbabi says. “I look forward to seeing this collaboration flourish into joint research, student exchanges and shared initiatives in engineering, computer science and software engineering, that push the boundaries of engineering and computer science.”

The agreement comes as both schools advance initiatives in artificial intelligence and related technologies.

In May, UCLA Samueli announced the launch of a $125 million Semiconductor Hub focused on research and workforce development in AI-powered semiconductor technologies. The initial five-year commitment brings together industry partners including Broadcom, Applied Materials, GlobalFoundries, Meta and Synopsys, with research spanning AI-native hardware and software, energy efficiency and advanced packaging.

Two founding industry partners have Concordia alumni in senior leadership roles. Charlie Kawwas, BEng 93, MASc 99, PhD 07, serves as president of Broadcom. Vincent Di Caprio, BEng 89, serves as corporate vice-president of technology pathfinding and business development in the Advanced Packaging Business Unit at Applied Materials.

Learn more about Concordia’s Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science.