Alex Kvaskov | Contributor
Featured image by Michael Zusev
The Lassonde School of Engineering has a new home at the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence, which opened to great fanfare in recent weeks amid ongoing concerns that humanities programs are being shortchanged at York.
“The new facility includes open spaces for students, including ‘The Sandbox,’ a student operated study space, the Bergerson Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology entrepreneurship hub, flexible classrooms and world class labs for the school’s new mechanical, civil and electrical engineering programs,” says Janice Walls of York media.
Bergeron has no lecture halls, as Lassonde flips the classroom to focus on teaching practical skills alongside theoretical knowledge, she adds.
Funding for Bergeron Centre came from a $50 million investment by the Province of Ontario and a $10 million donation from Douglas and Sandra Bergeron.
Third-year anthropology and political science student Vishwaveda Joshi believes other faculties and departments at York require similar spaces.
“I absolutely understand that the demand [is higher] for students in these mainstream disciplines and thus investing more will be wise, but it is a circular problem,” she says.
“The current model of development and education followed globally is faulty. It promotes a creation of false scarcity and real competition, so everyone is highly competitive, but gains no skills,” she adds.
In her view, universities in a technology-driven economy should work toward a more holistic syllabus and every student, irrespective of their field of study, should be given collaborative learning facilities.
Walls says Lassonde has been designed to be a collaborative place that’s connected with York’s community.
“The school offers a number of programs that are co-delivered with other faculties on campus including Digital Media with AMPD and Engineering and International Development Studies with LA&PS,” she says.
In addition, Lassonde students can take courses at the Schulich School of Business, Osgoode Hall Law School and other faculties at York.
Moreover, the Bergeron Centre is open to members of the York community whether they wish to study, to work together with students or to engage in multidisciplinary projects, says Walls.
