Acting as a catalyst to strengthen the performance of Ontario's information technology and communications industries, CITO works through the interchange of people, ideas and technologies. It provides access to timely global technological information, creates industrially exploitable knowledge and brokers major research partnerships between industry and academia. There are benefits to all partners.
Universities enjoy increased research programs and optimized access to infrastructure funding.
Graduate programs are expanded and enhanced through industrial internships that provide access to leading-edge tools and equipment. Industry has the opportunity to participate in a number of major consortia projects, including international research through collaboration and exchange agreements. Industrial value from CITO, however, comes primarily from the increased availability of Master's and Ph.D. students with broadly based, industrially relevant skills, and deep insight in key technology areas. By participating in CITO programs, member companies ensure their access to future employees trained in strategic disciplines. Finally, CITO brokers and implements research and business partnerships between leading users of the technology and CITO's industrial and academic participants.