Acronyms and Initialisms
An acronym is a word, usually pronounced as such, formed from the initial letters of other words (e.g. ATAC, NASA, and NATO). An initialism is a group of initial letters used as an abbreviation for a name or expression, each letter being pronounced separately (e.g. CBC and BYOB).
Use acronyms and initialisms on the second reference after the full name of the organization has been stated:
Example: The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) awarded $80 million in 2009. CFI grants were awarded to ten Lakehead researchers.
Common Acronyms and Initialisms used at Lakehead:
| SHARCNET | Shared Hierarchical Academic Research Computing Network |
| CIS | Canadian Interuniversity Sports |
| GTA | Greater Toronto Area |
| OIT | Ontario Innovation Trust |
| CFI | Canada Foundation for Innovation |
| NSERC | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council |
| SSHRC | Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council |
| FedNor | The Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario |
| COU | Council of Ontario Universities |
| AUCC | Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada |
| MTCU | Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities |
| ThunderCATS | Community Action Team |
| ATAC | Advanced Technology and Academic Centre |
| OUAC | Ontario Universities’ Application Centre |