June 24, U of T Engineering alumni, faculty, students and staff gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CEIE).
Expected to open in 2017, the building will be the beginning of a new era for engineering research and education in the Faculty. It will strengthen opportunities for students, professors, alumni and industry partners to work together and accelerate transformative solutions to some of the world’s greatest challenges.
The groundbreaking festivities kicked off with senior University and student leaders revealing the many innovative aspects of the building that are designed to inspire collaboration, nurture entrepreneurship and cultivate the next generation of global engineering leaders.
“The Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship is a much-needed response to the sweeping changes in the engineering profession,” said Dean Cristina Amon. “It will be a vibrant hub that harnesses the boundless energy and creativity of our engineering community by fostering experiential learning and heightening opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration.”
During the event, the Faculty unveiled a fly-through video illustrating the building’s many dynamic and flexible environments that will allow students to translate imagination into reality. These include Technology Enhanced Active Learning rooms, versatile student club areas, space for The Entrepreneurship Hatchery and facilities for prototyping, fabrication and visualization.
“By incorporating innovation in engineering education and smart building design, the CEIE will be one of the finest research and teaching environments of any engineering school in the world,” said Meric Gertler, president of the University of Toronto.
The celebrations also included more than 12 interactive exhibits showcasing the many multidisciplinary research labs and institutes that will call the CEIE home. Focusing on areas such as water, sustainable energy, robotics and mechatronics, engineering leadership, multidisciplinary design and global engineering, these hubs will bring together some of the most talented minds from across the Faculty, the University and beyond.
“Today, we take a collective and monumental step forward with the CEIE as we turn an idea into reality,” said George Myhal (IndE 7T8), an early pace-setting donor and chair of the Engineering Campaign Executive Committee. “The ambitious vision of the Faculty has come to fruition, a testament to the engagement, pride and affinity of our campaign donors, faculty, staff, students and friends. The CEIE will transform our Faculty and will be an important legacy for future generations of engineers.”
-RJ Taylor