The formal celebration originally set for this Thursday afternoon at Mohawk's new Learning Exchange at the Fennell Campus is now an informal open house without speeches.

Mohawk President Rob MacIsaac is hosting the open house for students, staff and retirees from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Learning Exchange with free samples from Starbucks.

Thursday's open house marks the successful end to a construction project that broke ground in August 2009. The project was completed on time, on budget and accident free thanks to the hard work of an outstanding team of architects, engineers, contractors and skilled tradespeople.

The Hon. John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities and the Hon. Sophia Aggelonitis, Minister of Revenue, are unable to join the Nov. 18 celebration due to a commitment in the Ontario Legislature. Both Ministers are planning to join Mohawk in officially opening the Learning Exchange - the centre for entrepreneurship, learning and innovation in the new year. During the grand opening event, Mohawk will formally recognize both the Ontario government and late Harold Cummings for investing in the $16.5 million project.

The 3-storey Learning Exchange is home to Mohawk's new Cummings Library and Collaboratory, IdeaWorks applied research and innovation work space and prototyping lab and multi-media classrooms.

Download Learning Exchange at a glance

Fun and easy to use, the coffee-table design allows multiple users to interact with the Surface at the same time. The machine uses five infrared cameras to detect a user’s touch, allowing them to grab digital content with their hands and move it around with simple gestures. It can also interact with objects placed on it, like mobile phones or cameras.

Surface designer Microsoft says the device will lead the way towards a more social way of using computers and fundamentally change the way people interact with digital content. It also has tremendous potential for business, improving communication and making the sharing of information and services more efficient.

Mohawk students will be part of the excitement, developing software and applications for use on the machine. And it’s not just the technically inclined who will work on the Surface. Students in the arts and creative media are encouraged to check it out as there’s a need for people who can create compelling graphics for the applications.

The permanent home for Surface will be the new IDEAworks Innovation Lab at the Mohawk Centre for Entrepreneurship, Learning and Innovation.