Transoft Solutions lives its values by investing in UVic’s next generation of computer scientists and engineers

April 08, 2024

Photo: The Transoft team at TechPong 2023, where they were an event sponsor and competed against friendly rivals in the Vancouver tech and business community.

by Ivan Watson

Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with offices around the world, Transoft Solutions Inc. is truly a made-in-Canada global success story in the software and transportation safety industries. With more than 50,000 customers in over 150 countries, including government agencies, top international engineering firms, and most of the world’s airports and aviation planners, the company is multinational and international in reach, but holds dear to its homespun values of supporting its local roots with a deep appreciation that its success started right here in British Columbia.

 “We’re a proud Canadian company, based in B.C.,” explains Jeannine Sheares, Director of Corporate Marketing at Transoft Solutions. “We’ve long advocated for making the world a better place for future generations and as a company we believe we have a social responsibility to share our successes. We’re pleased to support local partners like UVic's Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science through sharing software licenses, investing in programs that focus on scholarships, talent development and student success, and key areas that align with our values, including environmental impact, community needs and skills development.”

An industry trendsetter, Transoft Solutions develops and supports innovative and timesaving software and services to help professionals plan, design, and operate safe transportation systems. They are a leader in a thriving and rapidly growing industry that provides well-paid and exciting careers for new graduates.

 “We are always on the lookout for talent,” explains Christian Milne, VP of Development at Transoft. “On top of candidates matching the skill set for the various positions we have open, it is also important for them to be aligned with our company values.”

 Core Transoft values include: respect, collaboration, professionalism, creativity, drive, and compassion, aiming to leverage their strengths to both create best in class software as well as to care for people and the environments they live and work in. Accordingly, as part of their mission of supporting the next generation of talented software engineers, Transoft has partnered with UVic’s Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) to provide free software licenses for engineering and computer science programs and courses.

 “The Transoft Education Program was established to provide educators and students with access to our software and training to help them plan and design safe and sustainable infrastructure,” explains Sheares. “There is no cost for this access being used in curriculum, labs or course projects.”

 Based on recent numbers, Transoft’s Education Program has been utilized by over 50 universities in 20 countries, totaling over 3,500 licenses, which equates to over $5 million that Transoft has donated to help develop the next generation of transportation professionals and software engineers.

 “There is a great deal of pride around this program given its connection to our vision of empowering transportation professionals to create and operate safe and efficient infrastructure and systems and given the positive impacts it has had—for both those who have accessed this program and for Transoft,” explains Milne. “The Transoft Education Program is our way of encouraging universities, like UVic, to adopt new approaches. It gives students a heads up on technologies they will be using when they finish school, in addition to students being more marketable upon graduation.”

 And Transoft has found that graduates from UVic’s Engineering and Computer Science programs are exceptionally well-positioned to hit the ground running in the job market, making valuable contributions to the company’s success.

 “We hire quite a few UVic grads, they do great work and we have many working for us right now in our various offices,” says Sheares. “We really feel that it is important to give back and support the next generation of leaders in the transportation industry, and we aim to help mentor students and early career professionals as well as to advocate for safe, sustainable transportation.”

 Like at UVic, diversity is both a core institutional value and critical to Transoft’s success.

 “In terms of equity, diversity and inclusion, we believe that there is more diversity that is needed in the transportation profession and that the world benefits when there are people from different backgrounds who help to shape and build communities,” explains Sheares. “What we do is that we partner with universities such as UVic to provide scholarships and bursaries, in multiples areas but in particular to help level the playing field for women pursuing careers in the engineering profession. Diversity is really important to us and is one of our core values. With over 40 nationalities amongst our staff, understanding different cultures and how to do business in different regions is an important aspect, and it also helps to makes employees more aware and skilled working with people from different backgrounds and cultures.”

Looking ahead, Transoft believes that continuing to collaborate closely with top academic partners like UVic is essential to transforming the global transportation industry for the better.

“Our company is growing, our product portfolio is expanding and we need top talent ready and able to lead to make the positive difference in the world that we aim to do. Collaborating with UVic is a natural fit for us.”

Read more about Transoft Solutions and learn more about exciting opportunities to study software engineering at UVic.