Striving for an even better Canada.
Dr. Dipak Roy came to Canada from India with two goals in mind. The first was to complete his post-graduate PhD program in Electrical Engineering. The second was to leverage the opportunities offered in Canada to try and turn his big ideas into reality.
“I came to Canada a long time ago. In the beginning, it was a long and hard struggle with no money and little business experience. I put everything I had into getting my first company, ICS, off the ground.”
Dr. Roy’s dedication and drive eventually paid off. ICS became highly successful, growing gradually over several years before eventually being snatched up Radstone/General Electric.
This not only established Dr. Roy in the defence and security industry, but it also opened the door for new ventures. With an entrepreneurial spirit, he quickly got back to the drawing board and set fresh plans in motion.
So far, I’ve created over 250 high-skilled jobs on both sides of the border because I’m passionate about the success of this country
His latest venture, D-TA Systems, was founded in 2007 and now offers complete and near-complete sensor technology for use in the electronic defence market. The company is leading initiatives like the Polar Over-The-Horizon Radar project that will help monitor the Canadian North.
“I fell into the defence sector by accident,” Dr. Roy explains. “Defence is always at the forefront of advanced technology and at the start, I got some funding and lots of support from many Department of National Defence scientists, who were ready to take a chance on a start-up with no resources but big ideas.”
The highly technical equipment that Dr. Roy’s team has created is presented as a one-stop-shop model, he says. The open-architecture software allows for easy upgrades and components can be added or swapped when needed.
To give back to the school that gave him the education he needed to begin his journey, Dr. Roy has also created an Advance Sensor Processing Lab at Carleton University to support graduate research and skills development in the defence and security industries.
He says he is passionate about supporting the highest level of education because it is the key to Canada’s future in the knowledge economy. It’s the students who share his excitement for learning and working with diverse technologies that Dr. Roy wants on his team.
“So far, I’ve created over 250 high-skilled jobs on both sides of the border because I’m passionate about the success of this country,” says Dr. Roy. “We have not stopped. We are just revving up as the defence market continues to grow.”