Building projects
As one of Canada's youngest and most dynamic universities, UOIT is rapidly growing in reputation and in enrolment at the undergraduate and graduate levels. To address that growth and ensure students continue to have access to an outstanding learning environment, UOIT has a comprehensive plan to establish a downtown Oshawa campus as well as add new classrooms, labs, study areas and state-of-the-art learning facilities on the north Oshawa campus.
In 2010, the university's Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) will open at the north Oshawa campus, providing faculty, staff, students and industry partners with access to what will be the first commercial automotive research, development and innovation centre of its kind in the world. Among its many key design and testing features, the 16,300-square-metre centre will be home to a climatic wind tunnel with extreme weather capabilities.
Another exciting project is now under construction. The new Energy Research Centre (ERC), a 9,290-square-metre training and research facility, is scheduled to open in 2011. The Energy Research Centre will serve as the premier training ground for future energy scientists and nuclear engineers while enabling leading-edge research in the development of clean and green energy and technology.
UOIT will also take a step back in time in 2010 when it reopens the Regent Theatre, a historic landmark in downtown Oshawa. The university took ownership of the theatre in November 2009 and immediately began assessing what refurbishment and renovation work is needed to restore the theatre to its former glory. Upon reopening, the Regent will be used as a large lecture theatre for UOIT students, and for community and cultural events during the evenings and on weekends throughout the year.
In 2008 the Faculty of Education was warmly received downtown when it moved to a refurbished building at 11 Simcoe Street North. The next phase of this plan involves the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities moving to the downtown core, where students, faculty and staff will occupy a new 30,000-square-foot, five-storey building at 55 Bond Street, which is being built immediately to the north of the historic Regent Theatre, as well as the soon-to-be refurbished former Alger Press building at 61 Charles Street.
Having the faculties of Education and Social Science and Humanities located downtown will bring more than 1,300 students and faculty to the area, providing a significant boost to local businesses, restaurants and retailers.
To learn more about these important projects, the positive impact they will have on students and the broader community and to follow their progression, click on the links at left.
