University of Waterloo welcomes site purchase for top digital media institute

WATERLOO - The University of Waterloo welcomed news that the City of Stratford has finalized acquisition of downtown property that will be turned into the home of the university's Stratford campus and the Stratford Institute for digital media.

The city is set to take possession of the "Cooper" lands on Feb. 9, clearing the last hurdle for future construction of the university's long-anticipated campus, home to the Stratford Institute. The city posted an announcement Monday.

"Bravo to the the City of Stratford, Mayor Dan Mathieson, the council and staff. This is great news, an outstanding step forward," said David Johnston, president of the University of Waterloo. "If everything goes according to schedule we hope now to be able to break ground later in the spring. Our vision is that this Stratford campus, home to the Stratford Institute, will be a leading North American centre for the convergence of creativity and technology in the rapidly developing world of digital media."

The digital media campus is a founding hub of the new Canadian Digital Media Network. The University of Western Ontario also recently joined this pioneering digital media initiative by signing a memorandum of understanding with Waterloo and the city. The city is already a centre for many leading cultural and creative enterprises, including the Stratford festival, and so fits well with the creative entrepreneurial theme of the new institute.

The Stratford Institute has been hiring staff to plan teaching and research programs. A class of students in the master of business, entrepreneurship and technology (MBET) program will begin studies at the institute next fall in temporary accommodations.

Digital media is the area of electronic technology that is based on using digital code as a conduit for gathering and transferring information on the Internet, email, social media, text messages, TV and so forth.