Located on the University of Waterloo’s north campus, the David Johnston Research + Technology Park is one of Canada’s largest, most successful innovation districts. For over two decades, R+T Park has been at the forefront of technological advancement, serving as a hub where groundbreaking research transforms into real-world solutions.
To anticipate the future needs of R+T Park, a Strategic Planning initiative is being implemented. This work is headed by Mike Pereira, the Director of Real Estate and R+T Park, and alumni of the Master of Economic Development and Innovation program. When Pereira approached Associate Professor Heather Hall to become involved in creating R+T Park’s future vision, she identified an opportunity to engage her current students with an applied, timely project that could serve as the foundation for her policy and practice class.
ECDEV 602: Economic Development: Policy and Practice exposes students to the spectrum of contemporary economic development policies and practices enacted at the local, regional and national scales by a range of public, private and not-for-profit agencies. Most of the course centers around an applied project, where students tackle a problem and produce a final product that is reflective of the work required of economic development professionals.
Learn more about SEED's Master of Economic Development and Innovation
Interested in reading the full article, please check out Strengthening Waterloo’s Innovation Corridor.