The Ontario government just gave final approval and financial support to expand access to post-secondary education in the Town of Milton and surrounding areas.
Laurier is set to welcome an innovative academic centre of excellence in Milton with a provincial commitment of $90 million. Laurier will be working in partnership with Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and will help to bring academic learning to the west side of the Greater Toronto Area. Laurier’s Milton site will introduce complementary Engineering undergraduate programs linking students to highly skilled STEAM opportunities.
Focusing on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM), programming will be delivered in partnership between Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College. The new site will provide up to 2,000 new undergraduate spaces within five to 10 years.
A range of programs will be offered at the new site to prepare students for work, including a variety of experiential learning opportunities, co-op placements and unique access to a 'living laboratory' on the Greenbelt/Niagara Escarpment. Laurier will also develop partnerships with the Milton Chamber of Commerce and its over 700 members to offer students meaningful experiences within the local community.
Laurier has been collaborating with the town of Milton since 2008 to develop plans for an integrated education, research, residential and commercial neighborhood that would be known as the Milton Educational Village (MEV).
The future MEV, will be a 400-acre purpose-built, fully-integrated neighbourhood adjacent to the Niagara Escarpment and will be home to Laurier and Conestoga. At the heart of the MEV is a 150-acre parcel dedicated to higher education, research and innovation. This parcel, consisting of 50 developable acres and 100 acres of protected Greenbelt lands valued at $50 million, was donated to Laurier by the Town of Milton to help facilitate the creation of a post-secondary site in the community.
Laurier plans to enrol its first students in September 2019 in leased space, with a new building projected to open for the 2021-22 academic year, ultimately serving over 2,000 students.
