Things are changing in Oshawa’s downtown core this holiday season. More small businesses are popping up with great success, local events are bringing together the community, and Oshawa’s post-secondary presence is expanding with the official opening of Trent University Durham GTA’s Advanced Learning Centre (ALC) at 11 Simcoe St. N.

As Trent Durham dean and head, I am thrilled to unveil this stunning new facility to Oshawa’s vibrant downtown. The ALC is home to our thriving post-graduate certificates in Durham, and we are looking to add additional graduate programming to the building as we continue to enhance our downtown presence. The ALC is a mark of our campus’s steady growth and the continuation of a strong 50-year relationship with the City of Oshawa and the Region of Durham.

Our post-graduate certificate programs are open to anyone with an undergraduate degree looking to enhance their job-ready skills in new areas, including human resource management, marketing and entrepreneurship, business communication, finance, and artificial intelligence (coming soon!).

We’re proud to be contributing to sector growth within the city and to be a part of everything the region has to offer as a Global Top7 Intelligent Community. 

This new, modern learning facility has so far brought approximately 800 new post-secondary students to the city’s downtown, and with a host of incredible restaurants, coffee shops and other amenities, our students will be able to make the most of their time at Trent’s latest teaching location.

One of the many great things about our GTA location is its attractiveness to international students. Having once been an exchange student through the Trent International program myself, I recognize the challenges faced by those joining us from afar and I have tremendous respect for the effort they have made to join our campus. The Trent experience is a draw for all our students, and this is enhanced by the warm welcome they receive from the community.

Our ongoing commitment to small class sizes, access to professors, supports inside and outside the classroom, and a vibrant Trent community, is all housed in a building that uses architectural and design flourishes to enhance the experience.

The ALC is designed with students in mind and includes critical support services, including academic advisers, career supports, library staff and Trent International team members.

We’re excited to celebrate this momentous change with our local community. I invite you to visit our Advanced Learning Centre for yourself to learn more about Trent Durham’s growing presence in downtown Oshawa.

This article, penned by Dean and Head Dr. Scott Henderson, Trent University Durham GTA, originally appeared in Durham Metroland.