Editor:
This week’s announcement at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus by Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark was cheered by the post-secondary and tech sectors across the province.
The minister announced millions of dollars in new funding aimed at expanding B.C. post-secondary institutions’ capacities to respond to the talent needs of the province’s growing tech sector.
This is great news for SFU Surrey, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and many other post-secondary institutions. It will create nearly 3,000 student spaces in B.C. and result in a diverse range of exciting new programs. The announcement is even better news for the province’s tech sector.
In addition to providing talent, the funding will attract leading faculty whose research will drive innovation and generate market opportunities.
Recalling the transformative changes that were triggered by the creation of SFU’s Surrey campus, we look forward to community benefits across B.C.
When SFU opened its doors in Surrey City Centre in 2002, the area was home to an office tower with few tenants, a declining retail mall, a high rate of crime and an unenviable reputation.
SFU was one of City Centre’s first anchor tenants. Over the past 15 years, we embarked on a journey that has resulted in close collaboration with Surrey’s thriving communities, business organizations and all levels of government.
Members of the SFU Surrey community advisory council and SFU’s India advisory council have guided us throughout this journey and have been champions for further expansion.
Today, Surrey City Centre boasts city hall, a vibrant retail mall, a fully leased office tower and 14 residential towers in the area. Proximity to Canada’s “most community-engaged research university” has become an important draw.
The announced funding will support the first phase of a long-awaited expansion that, according to a 2006 memorandum of understanding, was intended to double the number of SFU Surrey student spaces to 5,000 by 2015.
This investment will enable SFU to create 440 undergraduate and graduate student spaces and hire more than 20 faculty in an innovative sustainable-energy program that will focus on smart cities, clean transportation and sustainable manufacturing. The program will be housed in a $126-million Bing Thom-designed building currently under construction and will add to the strengths of two SFU flagship schools – Mechatronics Systems Engineering and Interactive Arts and Technology.
Much work remains to be done to realize the full potential of this week’s announcement. However, given the success of over the past 15 years, I am confident this lift-off will enable SFU to reach new heights in Surrey and beyond.
Joanne Curry, SFU Surrey founding exec. director