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DC celebrates launch of collaborative e-book publication

On January 16, Durham College (DC) celebrated the launch of the e-book, Active Learning Strategies for Higher Education.

A collaborative project through the Centre for Higher Education Research, Policy and Practice (CHERPP), the practical handbook was written by 12 post-secondary education practitioners from DC, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Technological University (TU) Dublin to provide educators with valuable strategies for improving classroom engagement to deliver an enriched student experience.

DC president Don Lovisa kicked off the book launch by congratulating all of those involved. Joining him in giving remarks were Dairmuid O’Callaghan, principal, TU Dublin, Blanchardstown Campus; Robert Bailey, interim provost and vice-president, Academic, University of Ontario Institute of Technology; and Cormac Doran, head, CHERPP.

Enactus DC hosts 100 high school students at entrepreneurial conference

On December 18, Durham College’s (DC) Enactus team hosted 100 local high school students from Monsignor Paul Dwyer and Monsignor John Pereyma Catholic secondary schools for the inaugural Side Hustle Summit. The one-day entrepreneurship conference designed for students in a Ministry of Education Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program is an Enactus DC social innovation project. The conference aims to motivate and empower young adults to pursue entrepreneurship while providing practical strategies for social media and website building.

The conference kicked off with keynote speaker Dan Cole, a DC alumnus and founder of RandomTens, a YouTube channel with over 21 million views, while workshops held throughout the day focused on entrepreneurial thinking, personal branding and development, using social media for business, and rapid website deployment.

Enactus DC will continue to support conference attendees who have expressed an interest in incubating new business ideas in 2019 by preparing them for the Summer Company program delivered by the Business Advisory Centre Durham and funded through grants by the Government of Ontario.

New international students welcomed to campus for Orientation

On January 4, Durham College’s (DC) International office welcomed more than 400 new international students to campus for an International Orientation, preparing them for the year ahead.

DC president Don Lovisa kicked off the event by delivering welcome remarks on behalf of the entire college to the diverse group of new students.

Designed to provide new international students with helpful information about living and studying in Canada and at DC, the full-day session covered topics including adapting to the Canadian classroom, immigration matters, health insurance, working part-time, and support services on campus.

The college is now home to more than 1,800 international students, representing over 60 countries from around the world. DC prides itself on offering international students quality Canadian education, a safe and vibrant campus environment and a fun and rewarding student life – with everything from clubs and cultural activities to sports and recreation – to balance studies with activities outside the classroom.

For more information, please visit the college’s International website.

Durham College receives $1 million donation from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation to support farming operations

Durham College (DC) is pleased to share that The W. Garfield Weston Foundation (the Foundation) has donated $1 million to fund the expansion of farming operations at the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food (CFF) to support experiential learning opportunities for DC students.

The success of the Horticulture Technician and Horticulture – Food and Farming programs over the last two years has resulted in a doubling of enrolment and a greater demand for fresh foods from the field. This donation will support the construction of a post-harvest and storage facility, greenhouse expansion and the implementation of container farming, all of which will increase and better process the CFF’s food production, allow for experimentation of newer agriculture practices, and provide students with new experiential learning opportunities.

“The Foundation is pleased to support Durham College and its students once again as they continue to pave the way for a new-generation approach to local food and sustainability,” said Eliza Mitchell, director, the Foundation. “This grant will allow for more food production, new opportunities to teach non-traditional farming and, most importantly, more chances for students to gain critical skills that will put them in demand upon graduation.”

The first half of the Foundation’s donation will go towards building the post-harvest conditioning and storage facility in the spring of 2019. This will improve the CFF’s process operations and farm work flows and provide for long-term storage of produce, while also minimizing food waste. Once completed, the grant will further support greenhouse expansion to increase space and allow for more students, plants and projects, and introduce innovative container farming to allow for small-scale agriculture and year-round growing. The additions will also increase the supply of fresh food coming directly to the CFF’s culinary programs and its business operations, Bistro ’67, Pantry and special events.

“On behalf of Durham College and the CFF, we are tremendously grateful for the generosity and the ongoing support from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation through this thoughtful donation,” said Don Lovisa, president, DC. “These projects will continue to enhance all of the CFF’s post-secondary programming and provide significant experiential learning benefits to our current students while further positioning us as best in class with our unique field-to-fork model of education and service delivery.”

Supporting Ontario’s auto sector through teaching and learning

As a college, we constantly adapt to industry trends, designing courses to prepare our students for the ever-evolving economy. However, it is also our job to support our community, not only in times of prosperity but in times of transition and change.

With the recent announcement by General Motors regarding the Oshawa Assembly Plant situation, we are connecting with partners like Centennial College, Fleming College and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to make assistance and resources available for those directly and indirectly impacted by this decision.

Durham College (DC) is well positioned to offer assistance through our community employment services which can assist with job searches, job matching and referrals to Employment Ontario programs. We also offer Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition, which is a way to formally acknowledge previous work, life, volunteer or other experiences. This means the tireless time, energy and effort on the part of auto sector employees can exempt them from applicable courses should they pursue retraining.

In addition to these existing services, we are creating a single point of contact to provide support through phone, email and live chat, connecting those impacted by the closure with resources, as well establishing a website to provide links to programs and employers beyond DC. This enhanced service will begin early in the new year.

We are also advocating for an update to the provincial government’s Second Career program with a special focus on adapting the eligibility criteria to better apply to those in the automotive sector. This can reduce barriers to the job market by providing laid-off or underemployed individuals with skills training to help them find employment. Why is DC advocating for the Second Career program? Because we know it works. When the program was previously run, 74 per cent of participants obtained employment post-training in full and part-time jobs.

We know that we are in a strong jobs economy with many local employers, including Ontario Power Generation and its partners, such as AECON and others, who are looking for people like those working in the auto sector. Throughout the past few weeks DC, Centennial College and Fleming College have spoken with a number of these employers who have vacant positions and skilled trade shortages and together we are working on a strategy to connect those looking for work, with the right education and training solution and the right employer.

DC has been a part of this community for more than 50 years, the auto sector even longer. We are committed to doing everything we can to support those affected by this change, relying on teaching and learning to help as we all adapt to this new chapter in Oshawa and Durham Region’s history.

— Don Lovisa, president, Durham College – published on durhamregion.com

Durham College celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Whitby campus

On December 12, Durham College (DC) celebrated its Whitby campus’s 25th anniversary surrounded by employees, alumni, corporate partners, donors and local politicians.

Once a Cadbury chocolate factory, DC purchased the property in 1992 and began the process of turning its vision for a training facility, focused primarily on skilled trades, into a reality.

The first group of students was welcomed in 1993. Fast forward to 2018 and DC’s Whitby location has evolved into an active post-secondary campus that is home to a range of programs across multiple disciplines. Corporate Training Services (CTS) has also been delivering client-focused and results-driven training solutions for decades, providing businesses and organizations with access to top experts and specialists in their respective fields.

“We are really proud of all we have accomplished at the Whitby campus,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “We’ve come a long way since its inception. The physical footprint and program offerings are constantly changing and evolving to meet the demands of both the marketplace and our students; and we will continue to grow as we head into the next 25 years.”

Home to more than 2,000 post-secondary skilled-trade students, 1,300 skilled-trade apprentices (which includes 150 high school level Ontario Youth Apprentices), 1,000 post-secondary students pursuing non-trades studies and 1,000s’ of other part-time students and corporate training clients through the college’s School of Continuing Education and CTS, the Whitby campus provides numerous opportunities for experiential learning.

Whether in the fields outside the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, in the two houses used as learning labs, working in the kitchen at the college’s teaching-restaurant Bistro ‘67 or the Industrial Maintenance Shop, students are able to use the skills they are being taught in realistic settings.

“We are only scratching the surface of the potential for the Whitby campus,” said Lovisa. “It’s grown in phases, from when we first made it a full campus by adding services, amenities and additional supports for students, to recently breaking ground on a new student residence for those studying here. It will need to continue to grow to further accommodate more students, more programs and new partnerships with industry. We will remain forward thinking in the days, months and years to come to ensure the history of excellence already established here in Whitby continues.”

DC students share their artistic talents as part of City Idea Lab student showcase

On December 7, TeachingCity partners the City of Oshawa, Durham College (DC), Trent University Greater Toronto Area and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology gathered together for the inaugural City Idea Lab student showcase.

City Idea Lab, which is part of TeachingCity, is an innovative, curriculum-based program that draws on the knowledge and creativity of college and university students who work directly with faculty and City staff to co-design solutions through active community research. Each course focuses on a particular City-identified problem statement embedded in the academic curriculum.

Supported by RBC Future Launch, the first City Idea Lab cohort included DC students and upper-year undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, who were asked to address the challenge question “how might the City of Oshawa better engage youth in priority neighbourhoods?”

Held at the TeachingCity Hub, the showcase was also the debut of a new mural within the space. Entitled, “The Balance” and designed by DC alumna Leana Anderson, a young Indigenous artist and graduate from the college’s Fine Arts – Advanced program, the piece is meant to embody ethical innovation.

In the next term of the City Idea Lab, DC students from the School of Media, Art & Design will take part in the Community Collaborations and Service Learning course.

Durham College once again one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers

Durham College (DC) has been named one of the Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for 2019. This is the eighth time the college has received this honour, which recognizes organizations for their progressive and forward-thinking employee programs.

DC is proud to be acknowledged for its commitment to ongoing employee development through programs such as Leave for Change, which offers faculty and staff the opportunity to transform their vacations into short-term leaves so they can volunteer in a developing country.

The fact employees can provide direct feedback to college leadership through programs such as the annual Retreat with the President was also noted, as was DC’s encouragement of healthy, active living through subsidized access to the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre and the suite of services including massage and dietary counseling available in the Campus Health Centre.

“We are so pleased to once again be recognized for the college’s efforts to support our employees,” said Dr. Scott Blakey, chief administrative officer. “One of our greatest strengths is our people. It is through their talent and dedication that we can deliver on our mission that the student experience comes first.”

Greater Toronto’s Top Employers is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This special designation recognizes the Greater Toronto Area employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work. Organizations are judged on several categories including physical workplace; work and social atmosphere; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

For more information, please visit www.canadastop100.com/toronto/.

DC hosts second free dental clinic with Health Mission Outreach

Good oral health is strongly linked to overall systemic health – and without dental care, many Canadians may be at risk for other diseases like respiratory disorders, heart disease and stroke.

To help combat this and assist those without dental insurance, students in Durham College’s (DC) School of Health & Community Services and School of Justice & Emergency Services spent their Saturday providing free dental care to over 100 of Durham Region’s vulnerable community members on November 24.

This free clinic is the second in six months that DC has hosted with Health Mission Outreach (HMO) – a medical charity organization that provides health care services to the disadvantaged – and the largest dental outreach initiative in the region, having helped over 260 people between the two events.

Working interprofessionally with dentists and other health care providers from HMO, approximately 85 Dental Hygiene, Practical Nursing, and Paramedic students provided intake, triage, blood pressure readings and dental assisting during the clinic. A collaborative effort between the two organizations, DC also supplied clinic space and student volunteers, while HMO provided dentists, equipment and sundries.

DC’s Dental Hygiene students receive ongoing experience and skill-building in the college’s Dental Clinic as they perform dental examinations and cleanings under the supervision of faculty and staff, but this free clinic with HMO also gave them, and students from other programs, the opportunity to give back to the community in which they live and study.

Enactus DC’s Grassroots project breaks ground at St. Mary Catholic Secondary School

On November 12, five Durham College (DC) students put the field back in field trip as they traveled to St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Pickering to break ground on the first phase of the Grassroots project, guiding high school students as they built micro-greenhouses and planted a fruit tree orchard.

Part of Enactus DC and in partnership with the Durham District Catholic School Board (DDCSB), Grassroots is an initiative that aims to educate elementary and secondary school students about food-related issues in a sustainable outdoor education environment.

Cold frames for the micro-greenhouses were designed by students in DC’s Horticulture – Food and Farming and Building Construction Technician programs and use passive solar energy to absorb heat from the sun and built-in vents to regulate temperature, extending the growing season of produce and encouraging students to develop their own sustainable social enterprise and connect with their community year-round.

In the future, Grassroots will continue to work with St. Mary and the DDCSB to build an accessible food and farming hub that will help students learn about plants, food production, climate, sustainability, regeneration and resiliency.

Enactus is an international non-profit organization dedicated to creating social change through entrepreneurship. DC’s chapter was introduced to the college in 2016 through FastStartDC, the college’s entrepreneurial centre, to create a club of student leaders looking to make a positive economic and social impact on society. DC’s chapter now has over 60 student members.