Another corporate donor has contributed to Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s ‘Time to Rise’ campaign, which aims to fund a new campus located at Innovation Place. Cenovus Energy, the province’s largest oil producer, has contributed $2.5 million to the campaign, which has a goal of $100 million. Cenovus CEO Jon McKenzie says the money will fund the construction of the Cenovus Energy Lab, which will house the power, chemical, and instrumentation technologies programs. “Once completed, the Cenovus energy labs will provide hands-on learning for about 5000 students every year as they embark on their journeys to become power engineers or process engineers.” He hopes the new campus, technologies, and training resources will bolster the province’s labour force, as it is currently difficult to find skilled workers.

There is still $40 million to be raised in order to reach the institution’s unprecedented fundraising goal, but work has already begun on designing the campus and first component to be constructed, the Trades and Technologies Building. President of Sask. Polytech Dr. Larry Rosia says the new campus will allow for collaboration between a university, a polytechnic, and a research park, the first ‘Innovation corridor’ of its kind in the country. “Currently, Saskatchewan Polytechnic programs are delivered in almost a dozen different locations around the city of Saskatoon, and as you can imagine, that’s not an ideal situation.”

Several site preparations have already began leading up to the construction phase. The design phase is currently underway for the new campus, and that work is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of 2025.