York University has long had a vision for a campus in York Region – a campus that would expand the region’s innovation ecosystem and enhance the local economy while ensuring that the skills requirements of the future were being met. That vision was rooted in the confidence that we could leverage our academic strengths and collaborative partnerships to offer high-quality programs aligned with the needs of local and global markets.
And now, that vision is becoming a reality. Last July, we announced that we would be moving ahead with a new Markham Centre Campus, and in September, we officially broke ground. When we open the doors to the campus in 2023, we will offer flexible programs that respond to the needs of the region’s students and employers – including in business, digital media, engineering and technology, entrepreneurship, new media and communications – and research that addresses the complex global challenges affecting the world today.
York University has an extensive history of engagement with York Region, which has steadily increased over the years to keep pace with the incredible growth of the region’s population and industry. Innovation York is a major partner in the IBM Innovation Space-Markham Convergence Centre, and York’s innovation hub, YSpace, supports budding entrepreneurs in Markham. York also introduced academic programming in Markham for the first time in fall 2019, with classes at the IBM Canada headquarters.
The idea for York’s Markham Centre Campus came from local interest, and we hope that local community members, businesses and other stakeholders will continue to be engaged at every step of the process. In addition to our regular community town halls, we will soon be organizing roundtables and focus groups with prospective students, parents, employers and community members to seek feedback on our academic programs.
The Markham Centre Campus has always been a collaborative endeavour for York, and we want to ensure that it serves the needs of local students, professionals, entrepreneurs, businesses, governments and citizens. We see the campus as an opportunity for us to strengthen cross-sector collaboration in driving positive change and building resilient and sustainable communities. If you have ideas for the new campus or how you or your organization can collaborate with us, I encourage you to visit yorku.ca/markham or to email us at markham@yorku.ca.
Thank you for your ongoing support of York’s new Markham Centre Campus, and for sharing our vision for a state-of-the-art campus that will provide the next generation of students with increased access to a high-quality, research-intensive learning experience closer to home.
Sincerely,
Rhonda L. Lenton
President & Vice-Chancellor