The University of Waterloo in Ontario has received $2.1m (CAD) from Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. This is for the advancement of 3D printing research and engineering education.
The grant has been said to be the biggest donation by TMMC to a Canadian University. This investment will open an undergraduate engineering innovation challenge. It will also commit a section to faculty and student study in 3D printing renamed the Toyota Additive Manufacturing Wing.
The Dean of Waterloo Engineering, Pearl Sullivan said the following:
“Our partnership with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada allows our students and researchers to tackle difficult engineering and business challenges facing the automotive industry and come up with truly new and sustainable solutions that will strengthen the competitiveness of the Canadian sector.”
[The] gift of $2.1 million will go a long way in ensuring that we can offer them the resources and opportunities they need to make a difference.”
TMMC is a fully-owned North American branch of Toyota Motor Corporation, the Japanese multinational automotive company. The company that previously collaborated with FIT Additive Manufacturing Group.
The recent one is its German branch, Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) collaborated with global 3D printer OEM 3D Systems. The partnership aims to improve “first-to-market” 3D printing solutions.
Furthermore, the University of Waterloo has also made steps toward performing additive manufacturing. This is by use of its Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing Lab (MSAM) in 2017.
The recent funding will initiate the Toyota Engineering Innovation Challenge that will include a half-day purchase of the Waterloo Engineering Ideas Clinic®. Also, the TMMC will be the trophy sponsor of the Annual Autotech Symposium for the university. The symposium connects information technology and automotive innovators. TMMC will be the sponsor for the following 5 years.
TMMC is a previous winner of Waterloo Engineering’s Friend of the Faculty Award. It was offered to the firm because of its strong dedication to joint study ventures and Also, because of its financial aid to the student prizes and projects, mentoring and employing several learners and alumni.
In a statement, the President and Vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo, Feridun Hamdullahpur, said this:
“The University of Waterloo is proud to have Toyota as a key partner in our automotive research, as well as a long-term employer in our co-operative education program. It is investments like these that have allowed our institution to undertake more automotive research than any other university in Canada.”
