Yesterday we toured the ‘maker space’ at the Algonquin College DARE (Discovery, Applied Research, and Entrepreneurship) district, where students use cutting-edge equipment – from 3D printers, VR stations, and a laser engraver – to innovate and explore their creativity.

I met Ryan, who explained the idea of “unintentional innovation” - when experimentation and artistic exploration leads to new ideas without pre-planning. In his case, he perfected printing 3D photographs and then when challenged about what it was for, he had an aha moment realizing that for the visually impaired they can now “feel” photos and paintings.

I am excited to see what else students and our community develop using this special space! I’m proud of the investments our federal government made in the DARE district to make this possible!