DAIR

Downsview Aerospace Innovation & Research (DAIR) is a not-for-profit consortium that brings together academics, companies, research organizations, and government stakeholders around a shared goal, which is to advance Ontario and Canada’s global aerospace leadership. Located at Downsview Park in Toronto, DAIR is proudly building on the legacy of visionaries, leaders and workers, who helped make Canada a global aerospace and aviation champion.

DAIR’s vision is to be a world-leading aerospace innovation hub, facilitating collaboration between industry and academia. Its immediate goals are to foster strong R&D partnerships and create transformational solutions to significantly boost the competitiveness of aerospace across Canada. This includes supporting technologies for a greener aviation industry and helping aerospace companies enhance their productivitythrough continuous improvement initiatives.

Toronto Metropolitan University, through AERIAS, is a key member of DAIR, serving on its Board of Directors and helping shape the vision of the physical hub and programming that it offers to the innovation ecosystem. The TMU AERIAS lab at Downsview is an integral part of the growing physical hub, which also includes the Bombardier Centre for Aerospace and Aviation (Centennial College Downsview), and the Collaborative Landing Gear Innovation Lab. The AERIAS facility was developed by TMU to house large and state-of-the-art aerospace research equipment and support collaborative research between industry and academia.

Through the partnership between TMU and DAIR, the AERIAS Downsview site offers Principle Investigators (PIs) a place to lead cutting-edge research as well as build relationships with other academics and industry representatives across the GTA and the province. In addition, DAIR engages with the students at the AERIAS facility through tours of the facility by industry and government officials, and their participation at DAIR events and activities such as the annual DAIR To Innovate conference. Through this, the students have a forum to discuss their areas of research as well as the collaborative and beneficial nature of their work, which in turn amplifies DAIR’s mission.