UW and Stratford celebrate key milestones in plans for university campus

STRATFORD - The University of Waterloo and the City of Stratford are celebrating key milestones in their effort to develop a UW campus specializing in digital media and global business in Stratford.

The city and the university are this week celebrating pledges from three key supporters -- the City of Stratford, the Province of Ontario and corporate leader Open Text -- to establish the Stratford Institute, a key component of the UW-Stratford Campus proposal.

In the budget presented in the Ontario legislature yesterday, the provincial government pledged $10 million to the University of Waterloo to open the new digital media institute in Stratford. John Wilkinson, Minister of Research and Innovation and MPP for Perth-Wellington, explains that digital media is key to Ontario's competitiveness in the global marketplace.

"The province of Ontario is investing $10 million because we believe in the vision of the new Stratford Institute," says Wilkinson. "Around the world our community is known for our creative arts -- now the powerhouse that is the University of Waterloo will have a new home in Stratford because they believe this is the very best place to build a campus focused on global digital media and global business."

Open Text Corporation will drive private sector donations, pledging funds, technology and services, plus the participation of the company's executives and thought leaders as contributing faculty, sharing their experience in the classroom. This strategic investment and support will allow UW to create the Open Text Centre for Digital Media Research. The centre will see researchers and students from around the world immersed in digital media applications and will forge a path for commercialization efforts in this fast-paced sector.

"We're only seeing the beginning of a revolution in digital media and Web 2.0 technologies," says Tom Jenkins, executive chairman and chief strategy officer for Open Text. "There's an enormous opportunity for future innovation and a whole range of potential consumer, business, government and cultural applications. We want to make the Waterloo Region and Ontario a leader in creating these new technologies and the business leaders who will make them a reality."

Work on the UW-Stratford Campus and Stratford Institute began in May 2006 during the Southwest Economic Assembly, co-chaired by Jenkins, when Stratford mayor Dan Mathieson approached UW president David Johnston about creating a UW presence within Stratford. The city, as part of its economic development plans, wants to partner with a post-secondary institution and assist in creating a satellite campus.

"This collaborative, strategic partnership will not only set Stratford and Ontario at the forefront of digital media and global business, but will make Canada an international player in what is emerging as the next new economy," says Mathieson. "The Province's digital media strategy is complemented by the federal government's science and technology agenda. Together with the global reputation of the University of Waterloo and industry leaders such as Open Text, the Stratford Institute will allow the City of Stratford to continue to enhance its quality of life, diversify its economic base and continue its role as a leading community both within Canada and on the international stage."

The Stratford Institute will be a forward-looking research and commercial convergence centre that will drive the next generation of digital media technologies, applications and content models. The institute will draw leading researchers, businesses and entrepreneurs to create, examine and commercialize opportunities in the digital media field in a global economy. It will quickly become a centre piece for collaboration, learning and sharing through conferences and workshops.

"Few regions and countries have generated the creative and collaborative synergies necessary to capitalize on the unprecedented opportunities allowed by the Internet and the rapid development of digital technologies," says UW president David Johnston. "Through the strategic leadership of John Wilkinson, Dan Mathieson and Tom Jenkins, the dream of the UW-Stratford Campus is today closer to reality. We look forward to continuing the favourable discussions with our Federal supporters."

The UW-Stratford Campus will lead an evolution in learning and career preparation. Students will be immersed in a rich, technology-driven environment where theory and practice, science and commerce, creativity and innovation merge.

Small classes, project-based and client-driven assignments and a creatively dense atmosphere will be the hallmarks of the campus. Students from the UW-Stratford Campus will work closely with the researchers, companies and entrepreneurs of the Stratford Institute so that new ideas, creations and discoveries are commonplace occurrences throughout the campus.

The combination of the Stratford Institute and the UW-Stratford Campus brings a unique synergy to the convergence model. By drawing together the full life cycle of innovation, from young minds to experienced business leaders, the Stratford model will create an ecosystem focused on discovery, design and delivery for new and exciting initiatives in the digital media realm.