Reflections of 2024: Celebrating success, innovation and community at Ontario Tech University

Ontario Tech University celebrates another successful year as it continues to shine brightly as a highly sought-after post-secondary education institution for learning, teaching and working. The university focuses on its philosophy that technological progress must be guided by the conscious application of ethical choices—decisions we make that uplift humanity and serve as a force for positive change. 

Some highlights from 2024:

Tech with a Conscience

• The university unveiled its future-focused Tech with a Conscience fundraising campaign, a vital component of its expansion and renewal plan intended to further support students and industry partners in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. 
  
  
• Canada’s National Cybersecurity Consortium recognized the work of the Institute for Cybersecurity and Resilient Systems with project funding to study security risks associated with drone swarms; autonomous and sustainable artificial intelligence for electric vehicle infrastructure; and to investigate malicious software in generative pre-trained transformers (GPT).
  
  
• A partnership with Lakeridge Health will harness the power of artificial intelligence in health care to drive innovation and address Durham Region’s evolving health needs.
  
  
• The Faculty of Health Sciences is also leading a strategy to integrate virtual reality reminiscence therapy into dementia care. The project is connected to the work of the Advancement for Dementia Care Centre, a partnership led by Ontario Tech and the Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.
  
  

Student achievements

• Bria Hughes-Small, a first-year Master's student in Forensic Psychology won the university's annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, and advanced to the provincial competition.
  
  
• Students in the Brilliant Work-Integrated Learning program presented their designs for a Dementia Village, a unique, dementia-friendly community space that is accessible, safe, inclusive, and promotes activity, socialization, research initiatives, and training programs to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia and their care partners.
  
  
• Rushda Khan, a second-year Software Engineering student and Senior Program Instructor with the Engineering Outreach team won the 2023 Actua Instructor Recognition Award. The award was presented in March 2024.
  
  

Recognition, rankings and growth

• Named Canada’s Research University of the Year, for the second consecutive year, as designated by Research Infosource, Canada’s premier research ranking organization and leading provider of research intelligence for business and higher education.
  
  
• Claimed the No. 1 spot for reputation in the 2025 Canadian post-secondary rankings published by Maclean’s.
  
  
• Ranked No. 2 among Canada’s young universities (under 50 years old) by Times Higher Education.
  
  
• Ranked a Top-3 Engineering school in Ontario by U.S. News and World Report.
  
  
• More Ontario high school students than ever (13,365) applied to Ontario Tech for the 2024-2025 academic year, representing a 7.6 per cent increase over the previous year, and the third-highest year-over-year growth in the province.
  
  
• The Advanced Digital Design, Manufacturing, and Metrology Laboratories were recognized with the Engineering Research Project of the Year from Professional Engineers Ontario (York Chapter) for their work on Project Arrow, Canada’s first zero-emission concept electric vehicle.
  
  
• Dr. Barbara Perry, a global expert on hate crime, was appointed to the Order of Canada—one of the country’s highest honours.
  
  

Ridgebacks rule in varsity sports

• The men’s soccer team won its first-ever provincial championship, capping its title run with three consecutive road victories.
  
  
• The Ridgebacks hosted the U SPORTS men’s soccer championship at Vaso’s Field, marking the first time Ontario Tech had hosted a national tournament, garnering wider visibility for the university in the broader soccer world.
  
  
• The women’s lacrosse team won a silver provincial medal after appearing in the Ontario University Athletics championship for the first time in program history.
  
  

International collaborations and exchanges

• The Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research was named the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Rehabilitation and Musculoskeletal Health.
  
  
• Announced a five-year agreement with Penn State University focusing on engineering research, innovation and educational excellence.
  
  
• The Faculty of Science also hosted its seventh-annual symposium in Chemistry with Japan’s Kyutech University.
  
  

Energy leadership and advanced nuclear research

• Joined Canadians for CANDU, a campaign promoting the deployment of CANDU nuclear technology at home and abroad to achieve Canadian and global efforts to reach net-zero emissions.
  
  
• Received a special research grant to develop a gamma-ray imaging system to examine the long-term performance of small modular reactor fuels and materials.
  
  
• Led a Clean Energy Summit in Cairo, Egypt, centred on sustainable energy and small modular reactors.
  
  
• Hosted the Hydrogen Business Council of Canada annual conference, where more than 200 industry leaders discussed the growing potential of hydrogen-energy technologies.