Burlington’s partnership with Mohawk College – a plan to teach several programs offered by the school across the city – is going to take some time to get off the ground but is expected to bring new opportunities for students and residents alike.
Anita Cassidy, executive director of Burlington Economic Development, said there is serious potential for growth for the city of Burlington thanks to the development.
“This is really connected to our vision 2040, and the long-term, economic benefits that post-secondary can bring to our community,” Cassidy said. “As we’re growing as a community, the types of businesses that we attract and retain will change, the types of population that we’re going to attract and retain is going to change, and I think the programming that we’re looking at will position us well for the future.”
Vision 2040 is the city’s strategic plan for a quarter century of city improvements and areas of focus.
Details on specific courses that will be offered in Burlington are being kept confidential for now, until faculty are able to flesh out the details of course delivery.
As for where exactly the programming will be taught, Mohawk already uses spaces at Tansley Woods and Schlegel Village.
“They’re also an active partner with us at TechPlace, delivering programming for entrepreneurship ecosystems,” Cassidy said. “What they’re looking at now is what are the opportunities that we can do to drive new programming.”
Cassidy continued that faculty at Mohawk are exploring market gaps in Burlington and the western Greater Toronto Area, and finding where student growth can happen.
In addition to Mohawk, the city of Burlington is currently partnered with Brock University, which will be using part of the former Robert Bateman High School as a satellite Burlington campus.
Only a rough timeline for an anticipated opening of the new locations was provided as well.
“This is kind of a five- to 10-year business plan for Mohawk,” Cassidy said. “The opportunities will take a little longer to develop, we’re talking about a campus that has its own infrastructure that has to be built.”
The idea for a partnership between the city and Mohawk started in 2017, when council approved a new post secondary strategy, as part of vision 2040. Cassidy said the city is looking to attract more partners like this, already having Brock and McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business in Burlington.
“We’ve had conversations with Brock that moved a little faster in terms of landing their faculty of education to move to the Bateman facility, and there have been ongoing conversations with Mohawk,” Cassiday said. “They’ve been a great partner, they may not be fully in Burlington right now, but they’ve been a great talent partner for our businesses, working with manufacturing businesses and supplying or up-skilling talent.”
More information from Mohawk and the city will be coming at a later date.
