There will be new lab space for some of our most visionary and creative researchers in physics, mathematics, hydraulics, and other fields, as well as high-tech classrooms, teaching labs and unstructured spaces for students to work on projects.
The STEM (Science, Technology Engineering and Math) complex will support startups and businesses that are scaling up and give students the opportunity to solve real-world problems for business or community partners.
The ground floor of the STEM will be uOttawa’s base camp for innovation, the place where students can prepare themselves reach the summit, which we define as bringing their ideas to life.
For science students now scattered across the campus, the new STEM complex will be a place to call home.
It will host a creative learning centre on the second floor run by and for science students. This will be an open-concept space where students can gather to work out problems on whiteboards or glass walls. It will be adjacent to a help centre where geology students can get maps, and chemistry or biology students can rent molecular models.
Base Camp will be home to the Makerspace, the popular design-play-create space that is open to the public.
It will also house Startup Garage, an accelerator program for student businesses, uOttawa’s Entrepreneurship Hub (E-Hub) and the Design Commons — a free space where the walls are covered with whiteboards and students can work on their ideas.
A large and attractive event space will be available for pitch competitions, interactive exhibits and art installations, lectures, Startup Weekend and other events.
Students can work on large-scale projects — including cars — in the PITS (Project Integration and Team Space.) The Manufacturing Training Centre will give them access to traditional machine shop equipment, including a drill press, lathes and mills. There will be prototyping centre, as well as the Makerlab, which has equipment needed for rapid prototyping for courses based on hands-on learning.
