Est. 2019
About Zaag University
A Canadian not-for-profit institution built for applied learning, interdisciplinary education, research, innovation, and public service.
Our Story
Zaag University is a Canadian not-for-profit institution headquartered in Trenton, Ontario, in the Quinte region. The university is being developed around a bold interdisciplinary model that connects health sciences, emergency medicine, engineering, business, public policy, digital technology, sustainability, arts, design, and applied professional education. Zaag's academic vision is grounded in practical learning, research-informed teaching, institutional responsibility, and a commitment to preparing students for complex real-world challenges.
Three cohorts and 107 alumni later, that founding wager is proving out. Every graduate has passed through an active, rigorously designed programme. The $575M endowment provides the financial foundation for a campus, faculty complement, and research infrastructure being assembled with unusual deliberateness — not in the compressed timeline of necessity, but in the considered cadence of an institution that intends to last. Undergraduate programmes are set to launch in September 2026; graduate programmes in September 2027.
"We chose to build in public because we believe transparency is not a risk — it is an obligation. Every milestone we have shared, every setback we have named, every regulatory step we have documented has been an act of accountability to the students who chose to trust us before the formal approvals arrived. The 107 alumni of our first three cohorts are the clearest evidence that the founding premise holds: real learning, real credentials, real outcomes — built honestly, from the ground up. The university we open in September 2026 will carry that founding character into everything it does."
Dr. Amara Osei
Vice-Provost
Our Mission
Zaag University's mission is to deliver rigorous, interdisciplinary, and applied education that prepares students to lead, serve, innovate, and respond to the needs of communities, industries, and public systems.
Our Vision
Zaag University's vision is to become a distinctive Canadian university recognized for applied learning, healthcare and emergency response education, interdisciplinary research, public service, technology integration, and community impact.
Our Values
The principles that guide everything we do at Zaag University.
Proof Over Prestige
Our motto is Q.E.D. — Quod Erat Demonstrandum. Every programme, every hire, every institutional decision must be demonstrable. We back our $575M endowment with transparent reporting and public accountability, not press releases.
Building in Public
We share our regulatory journey openly — including the PEQAB process, our MCU Consent to Confer application, and the Ontario Superior Court proceedings that form part of our path. Honesty is not a communication strategy here. It is a founding condition.
Indigenous Sovereignty & Partnership
OCAP® principles (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession) are embedded in all research involving Indigenous communities. UNDRIP and TRC Calls to Action — including Call 92 in every business programme — are not optional add-ons. Indigenous advisors hold full voting rights on all Programme Advisory Committees.
Applied & Disciplinary Rigour
From the Bachelor of Emergency Medicine (Canada's first) to our Technology & AI programmes, academic rigour means producing graduates who can do the work — not just describe it. Theory is the foundation; proof is the outcome.
Transparency in Everything
We publish our regulatory status, our institutional timeline, and our programme development progress. Students and prospective students deserve to know exactly where we are in our journey — not a curated version of it.
Student-Centred Design
Our programmes are co-designed with industry, healthcare partners, and community advisors. The 107 students across our first three cohorts — in active programmes under proxy agreements — are already shaping what Zaag becomes.
Our Journey
From a bold idea to a thriving university — key milestones that define Zaag.
Founding Vision & Regulatory Filing
The founding team incorporates Zaag University as a federal not-for-profit institution and files a Notice of Intent with the Government of Ontario. Proxy agreements are negotiated with established institutions to allow active programme delivery prior to MCU Consent to Confer. Programme design work begins across all four pillars: Healthcare & Emergency Medicine, Technology & AI, Policy & Leadership, and Applied Disciplines.
Institutional Foundations
The founding Faculty Senate convenes to ratify the core curriculum framework and establish Programme Advisory Committees with full Indigenous voting rights. Four active programmes — B.EMS, Dip.APC, Dip.CPC, and Dip.EMS — are structured under proxy agreements for delivery in hybrid format, with health and paramedic tracks incorporating VR/MR simulation alongside in-person clinical components.
Ecosystem Development Begins
The five-platform Zaag Ecosystem — Portal, EducationSpace, The733, ZaagVille, and ZaagClinic — enters development. The decision to build rather than license reflects the institution's conviction that purpose-built infrastructure serves students better than adapted generic platforms. The AI & Applied Technology Institute and Emergency Medicine Research Centre begin work as the first two research centres.
First Cohort Launches
Zaag's inaugural cohort begins studies under proxy agreements across the four active programmes. Programme delivery in hybrid and VR/MR formats is validated in practice, and the cohort's outcomes are documented as the first empirical proof points of the Building in Public premise.
Second Cohort & Research Centres
A second cohort enrols across active programmes. The institutional research portfolio expands with the establishment of five additional research centres, bringing the total to nine. Canadian research funders — NSERC, CIHR, SSHRC, and ORF — are engaged as prospective partners for the post-Consent research agenda. The Indigenous Health & Community Research Institute launches with OCAP® principles embedded in its governance framework and UNDRIP referenced in its mandate.
Ecosystem Launches & Third Cohort
The five-platform Ecosystem goes live. A third cohort completes their programmes, and the institution marks 107 total alumni across three graduated cohorts — each one a proof point in the Building in Public story. The $575M endowment is confirmed, providing the financial foundation for campus construction, faculty recruitment, and the full 79+ programme catalogue across 8 faculties.
Regulatory Progress & Programme Registry
Active Ontario Superior Court proceedings continue. The full programme registry — 79+ programmes across 10 academic divisions organised into 8 public-facing faculties, plus 9 research centres — is formalised. Five flagship programmes enter active regulatory review under PEQAB. Faculty recruitment begins in earnest. Campus master planning and site work advances ahead of the undergraduate launch.
Undergraduate Launch — September
Zaag University opens its undergraduate programmes to its first formally enrolled undergraduate class. The Bachelor of Emergency Medicine — Canada's first — leads the inaugural offering. Hybrid and VR/MR delivery models, refined through three proxy cohorts, are deployed at full scale. The Zaag Ecosystem serves students from day one. The institution's journey from founding vision to full undergraduate launch is complete.
Alumni Across 3 Cohorts
Programmes Planned
Endowment
Faculties
University Leadership
Zaag's senior leadership team draws from higher education, healthcare, technology, and institutional strategy. Full profiles are published on the Leadership page; four members of the executive team are highlighted below.
Dr. David Gehry
President & Vice-Chancellor
Higher Education Leadership
Dr. Christopher Walden
Provost & VP Academic
Academic Programmes & Curriculum
Dr. Paul Evans
VP Research & Innovation
Research Centres & Institutes
Erica Chen, MBA, PMP
VP Administration & Finance
Institutional Strategy