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Ontario Tech acknowledges the lands and people of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation.

We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

Ontario Tech awards Remembrance Scholarship in honour of 2020 Iran plane crash victims

Award honours the memory of Dr. Razgar Rahimi

Polonsky Commons, Ontario Tech University's north Oshawa location.
Polonsky Commons, Ontario Tech University's north Oshawa location.

On January 8, 2020, a Ukrainian airliner crashed near Tehran, Iran. Ontario Tech University alumnus and Sessional Instructor Dr. Razgar Rahimi and his family were among the victims.

In remembrance of the victims, and to commemorate the educational talent lost through the tragedy, the Province of Ontario provided post-secondary institutions with funding for 57 dedicated $10,000 scholarships for the 2020-2021 academic year, including one for Ontario Tech to award to an eligible student.

Ontario Tech’s Remembrance Scholarship recipient is Yashashvi Thaker, a Mechatronics Engineering student in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. The international student from India says she chose to study at Ontario Tech for the sense of belonging and community the campus provides. Yashashvi says the university’s learning environment, in addition to the technology she has access to in classes has had a positive impact on her.

“I’m confident my experiences at Ontario Tech will shape my future as an engineer,” says Yashashvi. “This award means a lot to me. It will help contribute financially towards my education and it has motivated me to work even harder and follow my dreams.”

Dr. Rahimi joined Ontario Tech’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science as a Sessional Instructor shortly after receiving his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Ontario Tech in 2018.