The new $10 million Tech Collider has opened at the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s (BCIT) Vancouver downtown campus.
A multi-purpose learning centre and collaboration space in the heart of downtown Vancouver’s technology and business district, the Tech Collider encourages collaboration (or “collision”), learning, and innovation between students, entrepreneurs and industry professionals.
The Tech Collider features state-of-the-art audiovisual technologies, including one of the largest interactive, multimedia screens in Western Canada, measuring 10 metres (32 feet) wide and three metres (nine feet) high. Throughout, there are flexible conference and learning spaces to accommodate as many as 250 people.
“The technology sector will continue to be a key growth industry over the next 10 years with more than 100,000 new job openings,” said Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Brenda Bailey. “The BCIT Tech Collider will help produce highly skilled and well-rounded graduates who can quickly advance in the tech sector. Exposure to leading-edge tech, high-level entrepreneurs, and industry professionals will position graduates for success.”
The new Tech Collider provides classroom and lab space, and features new and expanded tech programming where students can engage with entrepreneurs and tech employers on real-world challenges in media design and production, 3D printing, virtual reality and entrepreneurship services. The Tech Collider features “makerspaces”, collaborative workspaces for learning and sharing. These spaces help to prepare students for 21st-century skills in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). As part of the expansion, BCIT also received ongoing operating funding for 300 new tech seats.
“BCIT has been meeting the needs of learners and the technology industry for almost 60 years. This next-generation learning and collaboration space brings tech companies and our skilled students together to explore challenges, build responsive solutions, and solve real-world problems. A space like this – in the heart of downtown Vancouver – builds our capacity to meet the future skills of a sector that is vital to an inclusive, sustainable and innovative economy,” said Paul McCullough, interim president, BCIT.
