George Brown Polytechnic is located on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and other Indigenous peoples who have lived here over time. We are grateful to share this land as treaty people who learn, work and live in the community with each other.
A Message From George Brown Polytechnic President Dr. Gervan Fearon
I am pleased to share Strategy 2030: Shaping Our Polytechnic Future for Opportunity and Impact. Strategy 2030 arrives at an important moment in George Brown Polytechnic's history. In 2028, we will mark 60 years since George Brown opened its doors. This anniversary will be an opportunity to celebrate what generations of learners, employees, alumni, and partners have built. It also invites us to collectively look ahead and to participate in shaping what George Brown can become to continue "turning learning into opportunity and impact” in an evolving world.
George Brown has expanded from its early roots in career-focused education into a comprehensive urban polytechnic with strengths in teaching and learning, applied research, innovation, entrepreneurship, partnerships, and community engagement. We were a founding member of Polytechnics Canada in 2003, and opened our Office of Research and Innovation in 2007. More recently, we expanded our presence on Toronto's waterfront and advanced sustainable design through Limberlost Place. As a leading Canadian polytechnic, we built new partnerships with institutions and industry, and recently launched our first applied master's degree. In 2025, our name was changed to George Brown Polytechnic reflecting our commitment to explicitly exhibit and amplify our strengths as a leading post-secondary model.
We enter this next period in a very different environment from the one in which Strategy 2026 was developed in 2021/22. Currently, population growth has slowed, the postsecondary sector has been reshaped by changes to international student policy, and institutions are operating with tighter financial and organizational capacity. At the same time, Canada is navigating trade uncertainty and tariffs, while elevated government borrowing across many of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, and the significant capital investment required to finance emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), are intensifying global competition for capital, driving up interest rates and, potentially, crowding out public sector expenditures and investment. Simultaneously, AI and other new technologies are changing how work is conducted and what skills are needed. On the federal stage, Canada is pursuing a national agenda for a stronger, more resilient, and unified economy coupled with provincial initiatives to Protect Ontario’s economy and prosperity. These broad economic, technological, and policy developments require enhancements in the skills and talents of the workforce and advancements in the translation of research and innovation into commercial and productivity-driven outcomes.
These conditions strengthen, rather than diminish, the public mission, purpose and importance of a polytechnic. Canada needs people with current, applied skills; employers need graduates who can adapt as technology and industries change; and learners need education that can move with them across careers and across jurisdictions. Youth unemployment remains high, underscoring the importance of helping learners make successful transitions into meaningful work. It means creating clear pathways and a deliberate continuum of credentials, from certificates and diplomas through degrees and applied master's programs. It also means ensuring credentials are portable, supporting labour mobility and making it easier for learners to build on prior education as their needs change.
Strategy 2030 is our practical and agile response to the challenges and opportunities of our times. The strategy identifies human-centredness, guided by our values, as our differentiator. This means designing learning, services, partnerships, and decisions around the people who experience them. The plan is deliberately focused, built around three priorities: Every Learner Ready and Confident for What's Next; Collaborative Partnerships for Polytechnic Impact; and One George Brown, Positioned for the Future. Together, they connect our academic mission with the partnerships and institutional capacity required to deliver it. We will measure our progress and use annual planning to adapt implementation as conditions change. Strategy 2030 provides the framework for implementation and reporting from April 1, 2027, to March 31, 2030.
This plan was shaped by extensive engagement. More than 750 participant engagements took place through surveys, focus groups, employee listening sessions, internal discussions and external interviews, followed by validation activities. This work also builds on the significant consultation undertaken for our Academic Plan. I want to thank the students, alumni, employees, Board members, partners, community members, government and industry representatives, and others who shared their experiences and perspectives. The strategy is stronger because of these consultations and contributions.
As we approach our 60th anniversary, I am proud of how George Brown has continued to evolve without losing sight of its purpose. Strategy 2030 gives us a clear direction: to strengthen our position as a leading Canadian polytechnic and create greater opportunity for learners, partners, and communities in Toronto, across Canada and beyond.
Dr. Gervan Fearon
President, George Brown Polytechnic