Government of Canada supports development opportunities in Oshawa

OSHAWA - Oshawa residents and businesses could see the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) expand its downtown campus in the future. The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (FedDev Ontario, and Science and Technology) and Colin Carrie, Member of Parliament for Oshawa, announced that the government would support a feasibility study to look at the economic benefits for the university's plans to grow. They also celebrated new federally funded research underway at the university.

"This project will help determine how to best revitalize downtown Oshawa, creating jobs and growth in the local economy," said Minister Goodyear. "This is another example of how our government is committed to supporting the businesses, workers and communities of southern Ontario."

"On behalf of UOIT, I would like to thank the Government of Canada for allowing us to create this roadmap to the future," said Dr. Ronald Bordessa, president, UOIT. "Our university is growing at an unprecedented rate due to the excellent faculty and staff and the quality of education students are receiving as a result. The university's reputation will continue to grow and it is critically important to prepare for the next generation of students who will attend this innovative post-secondary institution."

UOIT will receive up to $2 million under the Community Adjustment Fund to carry out the feasibility study.

The university's business plan projects the number of students in the downtown could grow to 5,500 by 2015. To prepare for growth of this magnitude the feasibility study will include a needs assessment, a services assessment, an economic impact component, a transportation study, a parking supply and demand analysis, a student accommodation assessment, an accessibility plan, an environmental sustainability plan and a community and social impact component. The final report will be submitted to the Government of Canada by Thursday, March 31, 2011.

The feasibility study is being prepared in partnership with the university, the City of Oshawa, and private sector firms The Black Box Institute and Urban Strategies.

Minister Goodyear and MP Carrie also celebrated the research underway at UOIT by 18 world-class researchers who have collectively been awarded more than $2 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in 2010. The funding comes in the form of Discovery Grants, which support ongoing areas of research, Research Tools and Instruments grants, which are allocated to assist with the purchase or development of research equipment, and Discovery Accelerator Supplement grants, which are awarded to further accelerate the research portfolios of a small group of impressive researchers who have promising futures as international leaders in their respective area of research.

Researchers at UOIT will be using the funding to focus on innovation in a variety of areas including automotive, forensics, health-care, information technology, sustainable energy and more.

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Media contact
Melissa Levy
Communications and Marketing
Ontario Tech University
905.721.8668 ext. 2513
289.928.0268
melissa.levy@uoit.ca