Northwestern Polytechnic is adding more programming for future and current students, as the institution is set to offer a new baccalaureate degree for students specializing in Computing Science this coming fall.
The local school received approval to add the course to its offerings from Alberta Advanced Education. It’s also the first of its kind in the province.
“This historic achievement is just one way we are delivering enhanced local academic offerings to meet student demand and industry needs,” said Dr. Vanessa Sheane, Provost and Vice-President Academic. “We expect it will attract students from across the region, country, and world who will be in high demand amongst employers.”
The program will begin being offered at the Grande Prairie campus, with plans to expand it to the Fairview campus, and National Bee Diagnostic Centre in Beaverlodge. It will utilize the circuit design and robotic labs at the Grande Prairie campus. The program will be offered to local, international, and transfer students.
“This is an exciting development for our learning community,” said Dr. Brian Redmond, NWP Dean, School of Applied Science and Technology. “Advances in robotics and software engineering coupled with an increase in demand for new and better technology means there are opportunities for us to attract and retain tech talent.”
The program will teach students how to design and implement software systems, as well learning the formulation of solutions to natural language problems. Officials with the institution believe that what students take away from the program can be applied to multiple industries upon graduation.
“This approval from Advanced Education is fantastic news for our institution and surrounding communities,” said Justin Kohlman, NWP President and CEO. “We expect this will be the first of many new options we will be adding as we move forward to become the most entrepreneurial polytechnic in Canada.”
The local institution currently offers Computing Science university transfer opportunities, as well as diploma and certificate opportunities in Computer Systems Technology.