British Columbia Institute of Technology /

The British Columbia Institute of Technology (also referred to as BCIT), is a public, coeducational, academic institution of higher education in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. The polytechnic has five campuses located in the Metro Vancouver region, with the main campus in Burnaby. There is also the aerospace campus in Richmond, the marine campus in North Vancouver, the Great Northern Way, and Downtown campus in Vancouver. It is provincially chartered through legislation in the College and Institute Act. BCIT was first established as the British Columbia Vocational School in 1960, with an initial enrollment of 498 students. As of 2009, enrollment has grown to 16,625 full-time students, and 31,599 part-time students. Since its foundation, the institution has been home to over 125,000 alumni. In 1960, the British Columbia Vocational School was (BCVS) established in Burnaby, opening at Willingdon and Canada Way. It was the first permanent trades school of its kind in British Columbia; its programs included carpentry, welding and aircraft maintenance. A year later, plans were announced to establish the British Columbia Institute of Technology on adjacent land. It was the first