The City of Brampton in talk with the University of Guelph-Humber to relocate a campus
Campus proposed in Brampton’s new Centre for Innovation.
(Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton/Twitter on Sept. 9, 2021)
On Wednesday, June 16, 2021, the Brampton City Council passed a motion to work with the University of Guelph-Humber to relocate its campus to a planned Centre for Innovation (CIF) in downtown Brampton.
The council unanimously passed the motion to bring the University of Guelph-Humber (UofGH) to Brampton’s new Centre for Innovation at its regular Wednesday meetings.
“This exciting partnership with the University of Guelph-Humber will be a pivotal building block of Brampton’s Centre for Innovation and truly it will help develop our city into a major education and innovation hub,” said Patrick Brown, Mayor of Brampton according to a city press release on June 16.
Harkirat Singh, Brampton City Councillor for Ward 9 & 10 said, “This project took a lot of work to get to where it is today, but we knew what local residents demand that we have more post-secondary offerings in Brampton."
The work to bring Guelph-Humber to Brampton goes back to Sept. 2019 when Patrick Brown, the mayor of the city tweeted about his visit to the university to discuss academic opportunities for Brampton residents.
The new Centre for Innovation in Brampton
The CFI is in the heart of Downtown Brampton and it will become an anchor for the Brampton Innovation District.
Even though, the CFI project is still in the planning stage, as any move would be years away. But, both the university and the city are optimistic about the potential.
$130 Million is being invested in the future CFI, a transformational initiative that will support the growth of Brampton’s innovation ecosystem. It will offer a new central library, office space, direct access to transit, and new opportunities in post-secondary partnerships.
“The Centre for Innovation (CFI) will be constructed in Downtown Brampton to support the growth of post-secondary opportunities and innovation in our City,” said Rowena Santos, Brampton City Councillor for Ward 1 & 5.
Councillor Santos further explains, “It is the building which the University of Guelph Humber is interested in moving into with a potential to bring 5,000+ students into our downtown core. This will have a significant economic impact which is integral to the revitalization of the area but also the economic recovery of the city.”
Guelph-Humber to Brampton
“The University of Guelph-Humber is delighted to be working alongside its institutional partners and the City of Brampton to further explore this exciting opportunity,” said George Bragues, interim vice-provost, University of Guelph-Humber.
The University of Guelph-Humber already has a unique partnership with Humber College. Through integrated academic and hands-on experiences, students can earn both a Humber diploma and a University degree in four years.
“It's a natural fit for the University of Guelph-Humber to be a key partner in the Brampton Centre for Innovation and support current and future students with a unique and proven model that allows them to earn both a degree and a diploma within four years,” said Charlotte Yates, president, and vice-chancellor at the University of Guelph.
The University of Guelph-Humber has more than 5,000 full-time students and 400 employer partners in Brampton that provide students with work-integrated learning and on-the-job experience built into all programs. Ninety-five per cent of Guelph-Humber students are employed within two years of graduation.
Councillor Singh says, "Guelph-Humber makes sense, most of their students are from Brampton, and the value proposition of a degree plus diploma will provide students both with strong academic fundamentals complemented by real-world applications."
According to the city release, the University of Guelph’s current and future programs will complement Ryerson’s planned medical school and its cybersecurity research & innovation center as well as Algoma University and Sheridan College’s existing programs in Brampton.