Saskatchewan Polytechnic in Saskatoon is moving. The Government of Saskatchewan made the announcement today and says it will be transformed from a campus which consists of 13 decentralized outdated buildings to a campus located at Innovation Place on the University of Saskatchewan campus. The 2023-24 Provincial Budget provided $6 million for planning and design. Since 2018-19, the province has provided $11.4 million for planning and design work related to the project. The province plans to put up to $200 million towards the project. Premier Scott Moe hopes the federal government will also sign on to support this project. There are no timelines for construction at this point or a total budget estimate.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic President and CEO Dr. Larry Rosia explains that their main campus on Idylwyld was built in 1941 as an industrial school and it became evident throughout the years that they had outgrown the building. Now the recommended solution is building a consolidated campus on the university’s land. He believes a new campus will increase program capacity and create a skilled talent pipeline, and describes this project as a “once-in-a generation opportunity to create a 21st century, modern learning environment that supplies the expert workforce for existing and emerging industries,”
Rosia, the Premier and USask’s president all talked about bringing the university, Innovation Place and Sask Polytechnic together being the opportunity for an innovation corridor, increasing the potential for collaboration and bringing together business, entrepreneurs, students and researchers in one location.
USask’s President, Peter Stoicheff believes the convergence of a great polytechnic, a research intensive university and a research park, Innovation Place, will make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. He says, “It’s going to be a first in this country. There is nothing like it anywhere. There are some polytechnics and universities that are close together, contiguous, but you don’t have all three anywhere.”
Advanced Education Minister Gordon Wyant says, “It will help prepare more job-ready graduates who can support vital public services like health care.”
