History

The foundational ideas that led to the creation of the Canada School of Energy and Environment were first set out in 2004 in a Memorandum of Understanding between the Universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge.  Responding to the call for innovation, which was recognized as central to meeting Alberta’s energy and environment strategies, the universities agreed to promote coordination and collaboration in research and education.  Through integration and sharing of information, expertise and resources, their vision was to promote “investment in energy innovation to ensure an abundant supply of environmentally responsible energy for the continuing prosperity and social well-being of Canadians”.

The Canada School was enabled as a Centre of Research Excellence and Commercialization in the 2007 federal budget as part of the Science and Technology Agenda to expand Canada’s research capacity in areas of national priority and to facilitate the translation of research findings to the marketplace.  The $15 million federal grant to the Canada School was articulated in a funding agreement with Industry Canada in March of 2008.

The founding universities developed the concept further and set out a mission, mandate and operating principles in a second Memorandum of Understanding in 2007 and in a Tri-Party Agreement in 2008. The founders envisioned the CSEE becoming a repository and creator for knowledge on energy and the environment with international influence and impact, acting as a coordinating vehicle for research and academic programming, linking research institutes, researchers and students at the participating universities to undertake cutting edge research.  The three partner institutes are the School of Energy and Environment (SEE) at the University of Alberta, the Institute of Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy (ISEEE) at the University of Calgary and the Water Institute for Sustainable Environments (WISE) at the University of Lethbridge.

In 2009, the term of the CSEE’s Funding Agreement with Industry Canada was extended to end of fiscal year 2013/14.