UPEI officially opens building for new sustainable design engineering school

The new building for the School of Sustainable Design Engineering at the University of Prince Edward Island has been officially opened.

The 76,000 square-foot- building, which cost of $26 million, will house students and faculty of the program.

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"Virtually every square inch this building was created to serve a unique aspect of the sustainable design engineering program," said Dr. Alaa Abd-El-Aziz.

He added the building has only one traditional classroom and the remaining space is designed to support experiential learning.

The new school will feature project ideation rooms, design studios, seven unique labs, green roof and design competition centre.

Students studying bioresources, mechatronics, and sustainable energy will work on one project a year for community and industry partners.

"The possibilities for community and industry relationships on a local, regional, national, and global basis are endless," said Abd-El-Aziz.

The first class of the program will graduate in May 2017.

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