Since our first class graduated in 1966, our history has reflected the evolution of British Columbia’s economy. Our institution has always been on the cutting edge of technology, and we’re proud of our contribution to shaping the province’s workforce.
For more than 50 years, we’ve been filling the needs of industry, and training future leaders and changemakers across a diverse range of sectors—and our work, like theirs, is never done.
| 1960 | BCIT’s predecessor, the BC Vocational School, opens in Burnaby. |
| 1964 | The BCIT Burnaby Campus officially opens. (Photo) |
| 1964 | We welcome students for our first official day of classes, with nearly 500 students, studying Engineering, Health and Business. (Photo) |
| 1966 | Students establish the Student Association, which improves the campus experience with social and recreation activities. |
| 1966 | We celebrate our first graduating class. (Photo) |
| 1977 | BCIT expands, opening the Sea Island campus to offer courses in aircraft maintenance. (Photo) |
| 1978 | The Maquinna student residences officially open, further contributing to the thriving BCIT campus. (Photo) |
| 1969/1970 | Our Alumni Association is established to serve the needs of our ever-expanding network of graduates. (Photo) |
| 1985/1986 | We merge with the Pacific Vocational Institute, consolidating our educational offerings. (Photo) |
| 1989 | We broaden our mandate to include applied research, and establish our Technology Center to support this new direction. (Photo) |
| 1992 | We open our new Downtown campus in the heart of Vancouver, near the Granville Skytrain station. The new location offers business courses and certificate programs. In 1997 we moved into our current downtown campus on Seymour Street. (Photo) |
| 1996 | We expand our educational offerings with our first Bachelor of Technology degree in Environmental Engineering and Technology. |
| 2002 | Along with UBC, SFU, and Emily Carr, we become joint owners of the new Great Northern Way Campus. |
| 2004 | Number of students is now more than 48,000. Our polytechnic status is enshrined in legislation. |
| 2005 | Research Services Office opens to support applied research |
| 2007 |
We open our new, state-of-the-art 285,000-square-foot Aerospace Technology Campus in Richmond, near the South Terminal for the Vancouver International Airport. Our international partnerships span training, education and research initiatives in South America, Central America, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe. Our total alumni has grown to more than 120,000. |
| 2011 | Our Burnaby campus opens the Indigenous Gathering Place, offering cultural and educational activities for our growing number of Indigenous students. |
| 2014 | Our newest campus opens as Annacis Island. This 142,000-square-foot facility jointly hosts motive power programs offered by us and Vancouver Community College. |
| 2014/5 | We celebrate our 50th anniversary with a dedicated website and events. Indigenous Student Services honours the 2015 graduates with a Celebratory House Post. |
| 2019 | Groundbreaking for the new 106,000-square-foot Health Sciences Centre at the Burnaby campus. |