[10] Construction on the university's first buildings, designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, began in 2002, and included a geothermal heating and cooling system extending 190m under the main campus quadrangle.

[14] Facilities on the North campus include: the award-winning Campus Library, the Science Building, the Business and Information Technology Building, the Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre (ERC), the Ontario Power Generation (OPG) building, the one-of-a-kind Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE), the Software and Informatics Research Centre (SIRC), the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre (CRWC), the University Pavilion (UP), the Student Life building, and student housing.

[14] The university has plans in conjunction with Durham College to expand further north in Oshawa over the next few years, on land that they have already purchased.

[21] It is used by the university for research and education and is also used by GM Canada and its other sponsors for various purposes, including testing new car prototypes.

[22] The IRTF is the main portion of the building, spanning five floors with space for research and education.

The climatic wind tunnel has a variable nozzle that can optimize the airflow from 7 to 13 square metres (and larger) as well as a large flexible chassis dynamometer integrated into a 11.5-metre turntable; these allow for vehicles in a wide range of sizes to be tested at various angles of windflow, including crosswind.

This building is used for research in geothermal, hydraulic, hydrogen, natural gas, nuclear, solar, and wind energy technologies.

[24] The ERC contains a 72-seat lecture theatre, three 50-seat classrooms, two 30-seat tutorial rooms with flexible seating, 11 student-study (breakout) rooms, 12 labs, dedicated working stations for graduate students, and administrative space and offices for staff and faculty.

[24] The second, third, and fourth floors of the ERC have indoor connections to the adjacent Business and Information Technology building.

[14] The ERC features a glass-covered atrium with a large hanging metal-wire sculpture of Northern Dancer, the famous, award-winning Canadian horse from Windfields Farm.

Ontario Tech and Durham College purchased the core area of Windfield Farms in 2013, including the site where Northern Dancer was buried; the sculpture is a tribute.

Most of Ontario Tech's buildings in the downtown campus have not yet been named and are instead referred to by the address at which they are located.

[citation needed] Ontario Tech has many 'green energy' features on campus, including solar panels on the roof of the Promenade, geothermal heating sourced from deep under the Polonsky Commons, and green roofs to reduce heating and cooling costs.

[28] Ontario Tech University is a publicly funded institution, and operates under a bicameral system with a board of governors and an academic council empowered by provincial legislation, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Act, 2002.

They act as the institutional planner and administrator for the university's teaching and research operations, with the deans of each faculty reporting to the provost's office.

However, the role is largely ceremonial, as they are primarily charged with only presiding over the university's convocations to confer degrees on behalf of the institution.

[38] The university aims to educate its students in a "technology-enriched environment", and offers IT services and leased laptop programs to help support this pedagogy.

[65] These organizations, some of which are residential and some of which are not, host events for students and do philanthropy work for the surrounding community.

Tau Kappa Epsilon has an annual charity event known as "Teke in a box" that raises money for the campus food centre,[66] and Zeta Psi has an annual charity event known as "Zete car push".

Varsity teams include badminton, basketball, curling, dance, field lacrosse, golf, ice hockey, rowing and soccer.

The university's athletic department also maintains sports clubs for cricket, esports, and equestrian.

[69] The Latin name of the university is Universitas Ontario Instituto Technologiae and its motto is Cogitando et Agendo Ducemus, meaning "By thinking and doing we shall lead".

The institution explored the idea of adopting a new name in 2018, given that the abbreviation 'UOIT' was hard to pronounce and made marketing difficult.

[73] The operating name was adopted by the university in March 2019, which led to a system-wide revamp in all promotional materials including banners, merchandise, and the website.

[77] Alumni of the university includes Kate Beirness, a television sportscaster,[78] Naheed Dosani, a palliative care physician,[79] Khashayar Farzam, a physician and Powerlifter and Vijay Thanigasalam, the incumbent Member of Provincial Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge Park.

[80] Notable faculty members include Vivian Stamatopoulos, a long-term care advocate,[81] and electrical engineer Min Dong, an IEEE Fellow.