The Stratford Campus will become the Faculty of Arts' newest school on July 1, 2018, with the new name: Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business.
The name and its "school" designation gives Stratford full departmental status, enabling the School to grow as its own administrative unit, hire its own full-time faculty members, and develop its own academic and research programming. The name change also aptly reflects the remarkable growth of the two Stratford programs – from 16 graduate students entering the Master of Digital Experience Innovation in 2010 to over 600 students today, a population boosted significantly with the very successful Bachelor of Global Business and Digital Arts, which launched in 2012.
“As a School and a new unit in the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Arts, we will be well placed for further growth and excellence,” says Christine McWebb, Director of the Stratford Campus.
The name change comes shortly after the campus celebrated their 5th anniversary in their own building on Patrick Street – a journey of extraordinary success. The proof is in the accomplishments and accolades of the students: the creator of the Canada 150 logo, a top prize-holder in Communitech’s Code/Design to Win competition, a shortlisted competitor for the Hultz Prize, and, most recently, shortlisted competitors of the Royal Society of Arts Student Design Awards.
Toping that, perhaps, is the impressive employment rate for Stratford’s alumni at 91 percent, with companies like Amazon, Google, Scotiabank, Telus Digital, Deloitte and many of Waterloo’s home-grown success stories.
18 faculty members and 11 staff shape unique academic experiences, which focus on human-centered interaction design through creative exploration, critical thinking and design research to create positive technology-enhanced user experiences.
The Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business represents the convergence of technology, design and business that perfectly responds to emerging and future industry demands, evident within our Region’s innovation ecosystem.
This news item is adapted from the original story posted by the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business.