Countdown on for Canada’s newest university

Oshawa, ON March 5, 2003 In six months, Canada’s newest university will make history by welcoming its first class of students. With most of its first-year faculty hired, programs developed, and new academic and residence buildings taking shape, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Ontario will be ready for students in September.

“We’re very excited about the development of our university and we’re closer than ever to realizing our vision of pioneering innovative education,” says Gary Polonksy, founding president of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

The publicly funded university has received about 4,300 applications to its nine degree programs and will accept between 700 and 1,000 first-year students. Over the next few months, offers of admission will be sent to students. The university also offers part-time studies in its engineering, science, justice, and business programs.

“We’ve attracted highly innovative, research-oriented faculty from universities around the world who will provide students with an excellent education and ultimately, a competitive advantage through our laptop-based learning environment,” says Dr Michael Finlayson, provost of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

The first phase of the university campus is being built at the Oshawa campus of Durham College. Construction of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s first academic building will be completed in August. The five- storey, 114,000-square-foot academic building will feature a 250-seat lecture theatre, 10 tiered lecture halls, six classrooms, four research labs, meeting rooms, lounges and offices for deans, faculty and staff. These learning spaces will be fully networked as part of our laptop-based learning environment and Ontario’s first laptop-based university.