Grand opening for UW Stratford Campus

The new University of Waterloo Stratford Campus is seen the day of its grand opening on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.

Opening ceremonies were held Tuesday for the building that will house the University of Waterloo’s new Stratford Campus.

The high-tech, 42,000-square-foot building will house the school’s digital media program.

Feridun Hamdullahpur, president and vice-chancellor of UW, says “The frontiers of knowledge will be where technology merges with other disciplines, addressing some of the most important issues of our time.”

He also touted the university’s partnership with the government and private sector.

The Ontario government contributed $10 million while the City of Stratford contributed $14.5 million toward the $26-million campus.

Funding for ongoing costs will come from the federal government and OpenText will contribute both funds and in-kind services.

Ginny Dybenko, executive director of the Stratford Campus, says “Now it’s time to pay attention to the human. The human in the global development game.”

According to the university, the campus currently has 98 students enrolled in the Global Business and Digital Arts undergraduate program and 19 graduate student studying digital media.

Response to the brand new curriculum has been so positive that the university chose to double the number of applicants it accepted to the program in its first year.

Student Jana Zacharias is looking forward to working alongside business leaders.

“Learning from such a diverse group of people that are united in the common pursuit of the extraordinary is a gift that is made possible by the uniqueness of this program.”