General Motors of Canada Automotive Centre of Excellence

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About ACE

The Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) at UOIT will be the first commercial automotive research, development and innovation centre of its kind in the world. Located on UOIT's campus in Oshawa, Ontario, this is a place where industry, researchers and students will collaborate to create, test and validate paradigm-shifting innovations with a focus on bringing them to market as rapidly as possible.

ACE will enable knowledge and practical experience to combine more effectively and to create synergies across disciplines and skill sets, leading to a stronger manufacturing economy in Canada. At the same time, it will help educate and train the skilled personnel needed to take the automotive industry and manufacturing to a new level of competitiveness and success.

It will be a multi-level centre with an area of approximately 16,300 square metres. It will be a flexible, dynamic and secure one-stop-shop that will accommodate a full range of testing facilities, educational and research labs and offices for faculty, academic and industry visitors. It will be divided into two distinct sections, a core research facility and an integrated research and training facility.

During the construction phase, ACE will create 485 direct jobs and an estimated 680 indirect jobs. When operating at full capacity, it is anticipated that the centre will require 35 full-time positions including administrators, technicians and university researchers.

Operations of ACE will be subject to the UOIT governance authority. UOIT's vice-president of Finance will provide financial support, drive operational effectiveness, manage commercial revenue streams and be responsible for direct management of the centre. UOIT's provost will ensure that the academic and research plans of ACE respond to the market-driven needs of the automotive and manufacturing sectors. The governance of ACE will also include a Steering Committee and R&D Investment Committee that will inform the operational, academic and research management on all key aspects of the centre's activities.

ACE is being developed in partnership with UOIT, General Motors of Canada Ltd., the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE), the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada. It will operate as an independent test facility, available for rent to manufacturers, start-up companies and researchers in Canada and around the globe.

It was conceptualized in 2003 and announced in 2005. Construction for the centre began in 2007 and it is expected to open for business in 2010. When funding for all aspects of the facility is secured, the total project cost will be more than $123 million.