Since the Province’s big announcement (link to”:http://www.brampton.ca/EN/City-Hall/News/Pages/Media-Release.aspx/315) about bringing a new university to Brampton, and the release of more detail on expectations on January 18, City staff have been busy making connections and gathering information.
Some exciting details have been solidifying. It’s clear that this won’t be a traditional campus. Instead, all proponents are focused on developing a centre that combines education with innovation and collaboration.
The Province has clearly articulated how business and industry partnerships are critical for any successful university proposal. The focus is going to be on experiential learning, and collaboration with Brampton businesses and other stakeholders to build a skilled workforce for the jobs of tomorrow.
“We want to build some forward-looking partnerships to collaborate on the best university for Brampton,” said Mayor Linda Jeffrey. “We also have an opportunity to look outside our borders, which provides us a great opportunity to build meaningful relationships with global institutions.”
The Call for Expressions of Interest requires the university leading the proposal to demonstrate how they will share space with private and public sector partners, what their collaboration with industry and community will look like, and how their initiative will equip students with the skills needed for a knowledge-based economy.
At a January Brampton Board of Trade event, Deputy Premier Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development said the Province wanted to develop “something that we have never seen anywhere else in the world.”
Are you excited? We are!
We’ve been meeting with Brampton businesses to get input on your views on university-business partnerships. Do you have aspirations around joint programming or collaboration with a university? Do you already have a partnership with a post-secondary institution? We want to hear from you – please email us (edo@brampton.ca) or call us (Number?) to get in touch.
For more information:
• All documents related to the Province’s Call for Expressions of Interest for universities to indicate their vision for a postsecondary site in Brampton are here:http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/pepg/publications/vision/
• See the City’s latest university update media release here:http://www.brampton.ca/EN/City-Hall/News/Pages/Media-Release.aspx/336
• Get the whole picture on the work to bring a university to Brampton here:http://www.brampton.ca/EN/City-Hall/University/Pages/Welcome.aspx