Tori Sutton
Staff Reporter

Stratford has successfully attracted not one, but two universities to the city.

Last Friday in City Hall Auditorium, the University of Western Ontario announced it was joining forces with the University of Waterloo by becoming a partner in the Stratford Institute.

Though it’s too early to say what role the London-based university will play, its involvement could bring professors, students and researchers to the digital media institute.

Western’s Ivey School of Business and School of Information and Media Studies – specifically the Library and Information Science program –  have been identified as being potential contributors to the institute.

“Western is a very powerful intellectual institution … when you add good minds, good things happen,” said David Johnston, University of Waterloo president, just minutes after signing a memorandum of understanding with the school.

Johnston, who was Dean of Law at Western from 1974 to 1979, said he always dreamed of a collaboration between Western and Stratford.

Discussions between the two universities have been held over the last year, but Johnston said it was when Western president Amit Chakma took the reigns in July, things really got rolling.

Chakma, who is the former University of Waterloo vice president academic and provost, had been party to many of the talks regarding the Stratford Institute.

“The two of us were looking at things we could do to bring our two universities together,” explained Johnston.

Ted Hewitt, University of Western Ontario vice president of research and international relations, sees many benefits in the partnership. He noted it’s not about competition, but bringing the best people together for the best results.

“By the time a building is finished, my expectation is you’re going to see this collaboration come to a real focus,” Hewitt told local media.

“We want a very strong Western presence in Stratford – much more than we’ve had in the past – and by doing it with Waterloo, it’s the best of both worlds.”

Hewitt is especially excited by the possible benefits to business, which will be able to tap into the institute’s research. He pointed to several high-tech companies in London that could have benefitted from such a centre 10 years ago.

It will also give all three cities an economic shot in the arm.

“This is going to drive the economy of London, Stratford and Waterloo because people are going to come here to train and study and are going to come here for access to research and problem solving,” Hewitt explained. “They’re going to come here to stay.”

Mayor Dan Mathieson echoed Johnston’s views that there will likely be more academic institutions and private companies interested in joining forces. The vision is quickly evolving, he said.

“What we need to do is bring in a lot of corporations to share in the research and to have many institutions, both colleges and universities, offer programs,” Mathieson said.

But news of Western’s partnership in the Stratford Institute wasn’t the only big news announced on Friday.

Minister of Research and Innovation John Milloy was on hand to announce a $26-million investment in the Communitech Hub, a digital media and mobile accelerator based in Waterloo Region.

The hub, in which the Stratford Institute is a partner, will help entrepreneurs through commercialization, business development, networking and access to financing.

“I think it’s great news for the province as a whole, as well as this corner of Southwestern Ontario,” Milloy said.

Milloy also thanked Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson, who held the Research and Innovation post until being named the Minister of Revenue earlier this year, for his work in boosting digital media in Ontario.