$120M Automotive Centre of Excellence launched

February 11, 2008

Through more than $120 million in contributions from General Motors of Canada, the PACE partnership, and the Ontario and Canadian governments, the establishment of the General Motors of Canada Automotive Centre of Excellence at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) took the next step towards reality.

The centre will be the hub of the broader Automotive Innovation Network linking automotive engineers, auto suppliers and Canadian universities. When completed, it will house state-of-the-art research and development tools in the areas of vehicle dynamics, noise and vibration, thermal climatic wind tunnel, structural durability testing and the ability to accommodate future automotive fuels like hydrogen.

“Our vision has been to create a new advanced automotive technology cluster centered at UOIT that links together our best Canadian companies, universities, students and engineers with companies in the Canadian automotive supply chain,” said Arturo Elias president, General Motors of Canada.

The new centre will partner with PACE (Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education), a consortium of companies with five partners (GM, EDS, HP, Siemens PLM Software and Sun Microsystems), and 10 other PACE contributors. PACE will provide an initial investment of more than $60 million in state-of-the-art computer based hardware, engineering software and student and instructor training and academic support. That level of support is expected to grow over time as it is integrated into new curricula. The Ontario government is investing $58 million in the centre as part of its $235 million auto strategy investment in GM’s Beacon project.

The GM of Canada Automotive Centre of Excellence at UOIT will anchor a broader Canadian Innovation Network comprised of selected universities in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
www.uoit.ca
www.gmcanada.com