Celebrating some of UOIT’s top 2015 headlines

It was another year of many milestones and achievements for the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). As we wish everyone the best of the season and look ahead to the 14^th anniversary of the university’s founding (June 27, 2002), UOIT Communications and Marketing presents a 14-theme snippet of some of the university’s shining moments of 2015:

1. UOIT receives $26.9 million federal support for major new research centre

• The Government of Canada announced a $26.9 million federal investment in July for UOIT’s new Centre for Advanced Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CARIE). The investment supports UOIT’s mandate to be a regional hub of market-driven teaching and research, and to drive new university partnerships with industry and the community. The university will seek further partners and supporters in the coming year to facilitate construction of CARIE.

2. Campus Master Plan finalized to guide vision for the future

• In September, following two years of consultation, planning and development, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Durham College announced the completion of their joint Campus Master Plan (CMP). The CMP outlines a broad vision to show how the institutions will grow their physical presence in the years ahead to address the academic, research, student life, athletic and community partnership needs as both institutions evolve.

3. UOIT joins national incubator to drive growth in digital technology and gaming industry

• In March, UOIT’s expanding culture of innovation and entrepreneurship received a major boost through new federal funding announced as part of the university’s Incubate Innovate Network of Canada (I-INC) partnership with Ryerson University and Simon Fraser University (previously known as Zones of Incubation and Innovation).

4. Full international accreditation confirmed for UOIT’s Forensic Science program

• In March, the university’s Forensic Science program was formally granted full accreditation by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences’ Forensic Education Programs Accreditation Commission. 

5. UOIT scientists and engineers receive new federal research funding

• In June, the university played host to a national funding announcement by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Fourteen UOIT researchers and two graduate students are connected to the new funding. The Federal Minister of State for Science and Technology also toured a UOIT’s Visualization for Information Analysis Laboratory.

6. New Faculty of Social Science and Humanities graduate program; new CDMS website

• The Faculty of Social Science and Humanities (FSSH) and Office of Graduate Studies launched a new master’s and doctoral program in Forensic Psychology in September. Students in the program will be able to earn a Master of Science (MSc) or PhD.
• FSSH also launched a new website dedicated to its Communication and Digital Media Studies program.

7. Brilliant Entrepreneurship for innovative UOIT students takes hold

• 2015 was a benchmark year for the university’s efforts to nurture an industry-relevant culture of innovation through the Brilliant Entrepreneurship program. Brilliant blends entrepreneurial opportunities into the student experience and provides tremendous business startup resources. Students with great business ideas get to network with potential collaborators, mentors and possible investors.
• In the spring, UOIT-connected startup 3D printer company Tiko3D, headed by Mechanical Engineering students Matt Gajkowski and Michael Zhang, amassed nearly $3 million in a one-month Kickstarter campaign.

8. GTA commuters turn to UOIT-developed carpooling app BlancRide

• Only months after it was launched as a way to promote sustainable transportation alternatives on campus, registrations for the innovative app BlancRide explode across the Greater Toronto Area.
• In November, lead researcher Dr. Hamid Akbari of the Faculty of Business and Information Technology showcased the BlancRide app for prominent provincial government leaders at Queen’s Park.

9. UOIT plays host to major international research conferences

• The university’s leadership efforts in sustainable energy options were in the international spotlight as UOIT hosted the 6^th annual International Conference on Hydrogen Production in May, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Smart Energy Grid Engineering in August.

10. Going out of this world with health analytics technology

• Health analytics research pioneered at UOIT gained a key new connection to the Russian space program in the fall. After successfully applying her Artemis real-time health analytics cloud computing platform to monitor the health data of premature infants and other critical-care environments, Dr. Carolyn McGregor collaborated with Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Federal Space Agency on an eight-day simulated lunar mission involving a female-only crew. Artemis could ultimately be applied for use on the International Space Station and NASA’s proposed 2030 Mission to Mars.

11. Physics program sends balloon to the edge of space in May, gets telescope in the fall

• As part of the 2015 Canada-wide High Altitude Balloon Experiment and Global Space Balloon Challenge, UOIT’s Physics Research Group launched a helium-filled weather balloon to the edge of space, carrying with it a payload of atmospheric sensors, a 1080p video camera, a global positioning system tracker and a parachute.
• In November, the Faculty of Science installed a robotic-controlled reflector telescope on top of the north Oshawa Library.

12. Kylie Bordeleau becomes UOIT’s first soccer All-Canadian

• In November UOIT Ridgebacks' defender Kylie Bordeleau was named a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) second team all-Canadian at the women's soccer national championship banquet in Vancouver. This marks the first time in program history that a UOIT student-athlete has been named a soccer CIS all-Canadian.
• Bordeleau, Ridgebacks teammate Katherine Koehler-Grassau and head coach Peyvand Mossavat represented Canada in July at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea.
• Prior to the season the Ridgebacks women’s soccer team enjoyed a surprise campus visit by Brazilian soccer legend Marta, who was in the country to compete in the World Cup. 

13. Go Green, Stay Blue

• UOIT’s Office of Campus Infrastructure and Sustainability (OCIS) championed a number of sustainability-related initiatives:
  • A December Thrift Swap to divert unwanted items from landfill by swapping out, donating or recycling them.
  • Environmental movie night for the community in November.
  • October 1: Campus Market at South Village Courtyard to raise awareness about the availability of locally grown food.
  • In September, the Blue Team cleaned up Oshawa Creek East as part of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.
  • April 2: Eco Showcase Pub Day at E.P. Taylor’s Pub and Restaurant.  
  • March 31: Water Bottle Greenhouse Showcase to demonstrate how materials like single-use water bottles can be upcycled for good use. OCIS will donate the greenhouse to We Grow Food, a local community garden organization.
  • March 28: Earth Hour and launch of 28-day Carbon Reduction Challenge through Earth Day in April.

14. Tim McTiernan reappointed as UOIT President for a second term

• On September 15, the Board of Governors announced Tim McTiernan will continue as President and Vice-Chancellor of the university for a second term of four years at the end of his current agreement. President McTiernan was installed as the university’s third president in 2011. His second term will begin on July 1, 2016.