Technology-centric university preparing for first wave of students next year

The growing demand for educated staff in the high-tech field has become the basis for Canada’s newest university. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), located in Oshawa, will not begin teaching students until next year, but it is already working with the sector to harmonize relations. "I am interested in partnering with the business community to look at how technology can be used in educational environments to provide real value," Bill Muirhead, director of learning technologies at the school, tells Network Letter. "This is not something that can be done in isolation. You cannot do it without the participation of industry just as industry cannot conduct the research without having a strong education partner." Muirhead anticipates an announcement within weeks that will see the university make alliances with three major corporations. Most of the work has been completed, he adds, with just final details needing to be fine-tuned. The provincial government set aside $60 million for UOIT in its May 2001 budget. The school will link college and university curricula through an integration arrangement with nearby Durham College. But Muirhead stresses the technological aspect of the syllabus. "If you take a look at the faculties that we will have: engineering; manufacturing engineering; nuclear science; education, which has a focus on science, math and technology; and the business school, which again has a technology focus, we really are focusing on a very large science faculty that we’re fairly specialized," he notes. "We’re a niche institution. Now we also have a breadth of programs because we have health sciences, we have justice studies, but the overarching theme on top of this is the application of learning technologies to really enhance the delivery and enhance the service that we can provide students." Initial plans call for at least 700 students in the first year of operations. Like other postsecondary institutions in Ontario, it is facing the problem of dealing with the "double cohort." Ontario is doing away with the fifth year of high school; next year graduates of Grades 12 and 13 will be applying to schools across the province. Muirhead insists the UOIT will not increase enrolment at the expense of the quality of education. Planning for the future of the university anticipates the school will have up to 6,500 students.Next September will see the institution open with about 27 faculty members. That number does not include deans and other senior management, nor part-time staff. Muirhead gives no guarantees, but says it is possible that some part-time lecturers could be drawn from high-tech companies. The campus will be fully connected, through wired and wireless connections. All students will work on laptop computers. Unlike older universities that have had to adapt old buildings to new technologies, UOIT is erecting buildings with technological concerns in mind.The rapidly changing face of the high-tech world does not faze Muirhead. He feels the staff and students will take it in stride. "Just as all institutions and organizations have an evergreen plan, we too have an evergreen plan so that we can remain current," he maintains. "Yes the information technology world could be different, that we know that technology is changing at lightning speed. But I think we will, as an institution, focus on preparing students to become life-long learners." Muirhead looks forward to working with the IT sector to achieve that goal. "I think it’s time that we break down the silos between universities and business or between education and the for-profit sector," he says. "It’s time that we start working together and I think we have an opportunity to do that. We’re a market-driven institution and we do have a mandate to be different and work with the business community."

Technology-centric university preparing for first wave of students next year

News | 10/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

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