The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) is a public

polytechnic A polytechnic is an educational institution that primarily focuses on vocational education, applied sciences, and career pathways. They are sometimes referred to as ''institutes of technology'', ''vocational institutes'', or ''universities of app ...

and

applied science Applied science is the application of the scientific method and scientific knowledge to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines, such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted with basic science, ...

s institute in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada. NAIT offers approximately 120 credit programs leading to degrees, applied degrees, diplomas, and certificates. As of 2023, there are approximately 15,700 students enrolled in credit programs, 7,009 apprentices registered in apprenticeship training, 12,100 students enrolled in non-credit courses, and more than 20,000 registrants for customized corporate based training. NAIT also attracts international students from 84 countries. NAIT is similar to an

institute of technology An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

university of applied sciences A vocational university or university of applied sciences (UAS), less commonly called a polytechnic university is an institution of higher education and increasingly research that provides applied professional education and grants academic de ...

as termed in other jurisdictions. The campus newspaper, the ''NAIT Nugget'', is a member of the

Canadian University Press Canadian University Press is a non-profit co-operative and newswire service owned by more than 50 student newspapers at post-secondary schools in Canada. Founded in 1938, CUP is the oldest student newswire service in the world and the oldest ...

(CUP).

Academic programs

The polytechnic confers certificates, diplomas, applied degrees and baccalaureate degrees. NAIT's four-year baccalaureate degrees (Bachelor of Technology in Technology Management and Bachelor of Technology in Construction Management and Bachelor of Business Administration) were launched in 2007. NAIT is one of the largest apprenticeship trainers in Canada offering 31 registered trades programs.

History

In 1959, the Alberta provincial government decided to build an Edmonton facility to supplement apprenticeship and vocational training, which was at the time handled by the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (PITA) in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

. The new institution would be named the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) and PITA would be renamed the

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) is a Institute of technology, polytechnic institute in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. SAIT offers more than 110 career programs in technology, trades and business. Established in 1916, it is Calgar ...

(SAIT). Construction of the new facility began in January 1962. The first class was enrolled in October, a group of 29 Communication Electrician apprentices. NAIT officially opened on May 27, 1963, with a ceremony led by Premier Ernest Manning. The first graduation ceremony happened in 1965, with a class of 326 graduates. In 1982, the government transferred control to the new Board of Governors, chaired by Allan McCagherty. NAIT has been a leading polytechnic for more than 60 years. The school marked its 50th anniversary in 2012.

Campuses

The institute has four campuses located in Edmonton and Spruce Grove: * Main campus at 11762 - 106 Street, Edmonton * Patricia campus at 12204 - 149 Street, Edmonton * Souch (pronounced “such”) campus at 7110 Gateway Boulevard, Edmonton * Spruce Grove campus at 281 Tamarack Drive, Spruce Grove In February 2019, the Main campus acquired of the former Edmonton City Centre Airport with the option for another , as well as the Westwood Transit Garage to the north. This will enable the closure of the Patricia and Souch campuses, and the construction of a student residence building. The Spruce Grove campus will remain open since its crane and hoisting classes cannot be accommodated at the Main campus.

Mascot

NAIT's mascot is the Ook. This is a shortened version of ookpik, the

Inuktitut Inuktitut ( ; , Inuktitut syllabics, syllabics ), also known as Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, is one of the principal Inuit languages of Canada. It is spoken in all areas north of the North American tree line, including parts of the provinces of ...

word for the snowy owl. NAIT was presented this mascot in 1964 by the federal Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, now

Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada Crown''–''Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC; )''Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Crown''–''Indigenou ...

. Most of NAIT's sports teams are now called the Ooks as well.

Athletics

The NAIT Ooks compete in the

Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA, ) is the national governing body for organized sports at the college level in Canada. National championships CCAA members currently compete for national championships in the following sports: ...

as a member of the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference. Ooks team sports include

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. NAIT's official team colours are gold and royal blue. Irwin Strifler was the Athletic Director from 1968 to 1998.

Students' association

South Learning Centre Edmonton Alberta Canada 01A

The NAIT Students' Association (NAITSA) is composed entirely of current NAIT students. It is led by a four-person elected Executive Council, and governed by an eighteen-person elected Senate (two representatives from the 9 program groups). NAITSA is responsible for running the Nest Taphouse Grill, The ''NAIT Nugget'' (campus newspaper), campus events, the student health and dental plan, U-Pass and various other services aimed at enhancing student life.

''Techlifetoday'' magazine

''Techlifetoday'' is the polytechnic's official magazine, focusing on people, technology and innovation. It launched in 2007 as ''techlife'', a print magazine. ''Techlifetoday'' has published exclusively online since November 2018 and has earned numerous industry awards.

Organization and administration

NAIT's credit programs are organized into seven academic schools and Corporate & Continuing Education. The schools are: * JR Shaw School of Business * School of Construction and Building Sciences * School of Energy and Natural Resources * School of Health and Life Sciences * School of Manufacturing and Automation * School of Media and Information Technology * School of Transportation

Notable alumni

* Gil Cardinal, filmmaker * Nolan Crouse, (Chemical Technology, Master of Business Administration), former mayor, City of St. Albert, 2007–2017 * Patrick LaForge (Marketing 1974),

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

past president and CEO * Jarred Land,

Red Digital Cinema Red Digital Cinema, LLC is an American camera manufacturer specializing in digital cinematography headquartered in Foothill Ranch, California, United States. It has been owned by Nikon since April 2024. The company has studios in Hollywood, Los ...

Camera Company president * Kevin Martin, Winter Olympic gold medallist curler * Ian McClelland (Photographic Technology 1965), founder, Colorfast Corporation, former MP for Edmonton Southwest and former MLA for Edmonton-Rutherford * Bryan Mudryk, TSN SportsCentre anchor * Doug Pruden (Architectural Technology 1982),

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder in

push-up The push-up (press-up in British English) is a common calisthenics Physical exercise, exercise beginning from the prone position. By raising and lowering the body using the arms, push-ups exercise the pectoralis major muscle, pectoral muscl ...

, holds 9 records * Vince Steen, Northwest Territories MLA * Corbin Tomaszeski (Culinary Arts 1992), chef on Food Network's Restaurant Makeover * Bruce Woloshyn, (Radio and Television Arts 1984), visual effects supervisor * Percy Wickman (Finance 1969), former Edmonton alderman, and former MLA of Edmonton-Whitemud * Olivia Cheng (Radio and Television Arts), Canadian actress * Dave Quest (Business Administration 1985), politician, Strathcona-Sherwood Park MLA * Billy Morin, Indigenous leader, Enoch Cree Nation Chief * Morris Panych (Radio and Television Arts), Canadian actor and director * Cathy King (Radio and Television Arts), Gold Medallist curler * Dave Pettitt (Broadcasting), Canadian actor and voice-over artist * Barb Higgins (Business Administration and Radio and Television Arts), television news anchor and journalist * Natasha Staniszewski (Radio and Television Arts 1955), sports reporter and anchor * Travis Toews (unknown), politician, accountant, rancher, business owner, Minister of Finance of Alberta and President of the Treasury Board. * Bob McLeod (Administrative Management), politician, Northwest Territories MLA and 12th Premier of the Northwest Territories * Richard Newman (Radio and Television Arts), broadcaster and writer * Bol Kong (Radio and Television Arts), professional basketball player with

National Basketball League of Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franchis ...

(NBL) and NBA draft. Named All-Canadian at NAIT. * Pierre Lueders (unknown), Canadian Olympic athlete, bobsleigh World Cup Champion, and head coach * David Dorward (unknown), politician, Edmonton-Gold Bar MLA and business owner * George Rogers (Business Administration with Accounting 1980), politician, Leduc-Beaumont MLA, mayor of Leduc, businessman * Bob Peterson (Photography 1965), photographer * Holger Petersen (unknown), businessman, music record producer and radio broadcaster * Paul Graham, vice-president and executive producer of The Sports Network

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Northern Alberta Institute Of Technology Universities and colleges in Edmonton Colleges in Alberta Vocational education in Canada Universities and colleges established in 1962 1962 establishments in Alberta