Durham College (DC) along with The City of Oshawa and education and research partners – Canadian Urban Institute, Trent University Durham Greater Toronto Area, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering – celebrated the first year of TeachingCity on May 14 with the opening of the TeachingCity Hub.

The TeachingCity Hub, located in downtown Oshawa at 1 Mary Street, is a dedicated space to facilitate TeachingCity projects with DC and the City’s education and research partners, including students and employees.

The Hub provides opportunities for TeachingCity partners to share access to facilities, resources and equipment, and includes office, classroom and open lab space. The open-concept area will be used for TeachingCity partnership meetings, collaborative learning opportunities and co-design.

“The opening of the TeachingCity Hub, signifies the evolution of our partnership in this ground-breaking initiative,” said Don Lovisa, president, DC. “By providing a physical space for learning and exploration, we will be able to continue helping the City of Oshawa address urban challenges and issues while also creating even more opportunities for our students to engage in applied research and innovative experiential-learning activities.”

During the Hub opening, Trent University Durham Greater Toronto Area officially joined TeachingCity through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding.

TeachingCity brings together academic institutions, municipal government and City partners. The partners focus on and address urban issues facing Oshawa through innovation, collaboration, applied research and shared experiential learning opportunities.

The partnership facilitates:

• developing practical, scalable and sustainable solutions to urban issues;
• building research partnerships;
• coordinating experiential learning opportunities, applied research and innovative educational activities;
• developing new technologies;
• sharing access to facilities, resources and equipment; and,
• working toward the long-term positioning of Oshawa as a locally and globally recognized community of urban research and learning.

For more information on the TeachingCity Initiative, click here.

New measures to enhance career-specific degree programs at colleges, strengthen mental health supports for students and transform apprenticeship training are among the priorities for Ontario’s colleges in the upcoming provincial election.

“Students in Durham Region and across Ontario deserve the best college education they can get,” said Don Lovisa, president Durham College (DC). “We know that by calling for, and actioning these new measures, we will find more opportunities to help our students be successful and ensure they continue to find meaningful work upon graduation.”

The 24 colleges officially launched their election platform today. The platform, Enriching Ontario, highlights four priority areas that will ensure greater numbers of students acquire the professional and technical expertise that leads to successful careers.

DC strongly supports the priority areas identified in the platform. The colleges are calling for the provincial parties to enrich the opportunities for students by committing to the following:

• Revitalize college programs. Provide colleges with the ability to quickly design and implement leading-edge programs, including the expansion of career-specific degree programs.

• • With the launch of the new Bachelor of Health Care Technology Management degree and six additional new programs in September 2018, DC continues to focus on meeting the evolving needs of employers and industry professionals.

• Strengthen mental health services. Commit to a whole-of-community approach to mental health that strengthens the supports and services available to post-secondary students.

• • DC currently provides an assortment of support services for students including: Aboriginal Student Centre; Access & Support Centre; Coaching; Outreach Services; Student Academic Learning Services; and the Office of Student Diversity, Inclusion & Transitions.  
  • The community-of-whole approach will strengthen the services already provided by the college to ensure that all students who need support receive the support they require to be successful.

• Produce more apprentices. Create a simplified, one-window application process to apprenticeship programs by expanding the college system’s provincial application service.

• • On March 5 Women in Skilled Trades Durham College (WISTDC) hosted a networking event for female students studying in the School of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship and Renewable Technology. WISTDC is dedicated to creating opportunities for female students in DC’s skilled trades programs to connect and network with other women working in skilled trades.
  • There are growing career opportunities for skilled trades and we need a different approach to ensure students and employers needs are met.

• Invest in student success. Commit to the long-term sustainability of college education and fund the expansion of science, technology, engineering, arts and math programs by 30 per cent over four years.

• • DC recently celebrated student success through the annual Celebrate STEAM exhibition that took place on April 18 where students displayed more than 25 applied research projects, including projects in artificial intelligence, exploring student achievements in STEAM. Participating students gained real-world professional experience by solving industry and social challenges through applied research, innovation and collaboration to address the needs of a technology-driven knowledge economy.  Colleges have the capacity to contribute much more to science, technology and trades and only require the supports to expand. 

More than 240,000 full-time students and about 300,000 part-time students are enrolled in the 900 programs at Ontario’s colleges, in programs ranging from business, paramedicine, advertising, engineering, aviation, machining and animation to game development, biotechnology and 3D manufacturing.

Colleges serve a diverse range of students, including university and college graduates in post-graduate programs. The number of university graduates enrolled in colleges has increased by about 40 per cent over the past five years and more than 83 per cent of college graduates find employment within six months of graduation. 

“College education ensures people entering the workforce are job-ready. Our graduates have the skills and qualifications they need to be successful,” said Lovisa. “This election provides a tremendous opportunity to ensure college education remains at the forefront of new innovations and a rapidly evolving economy.”

As part of its ongoing efforts to develop multi-community partnerships that support the local and provincial economy through applied research, Durham College (DC) has been named as a partner in the Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) project in this week’s announcement from Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE).

The college will be a collaborator in the Regional Technology Development Site (RTDS) located in Durham Region. With six sites established as part of the project, DC will contribute by helping to support and enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop, prototype, test and validate new technologies, access specialized equipment, and obtain technical and business advice in developing transformative automotive technologies. DC’s role will be to focus on the human machine interface (HMI) and user experience by providing technology companies access to faculty expertise, student talent and state-of-the-art research facilities, thus helping them develop autonomous vehicle capabilities in a safe and controlled environment.

In partnership with the province, OCE is administering an investment of up to $5 million over five years to Durham Region’s RTDS. 

“We are thrilled about this opportunity to continue our engagement with industry and community organizations in a new and exciting way,” said Debbie McKee Demczyk, dean, Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, DC. “We look forward to using that expertise to support the goals of the Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network.”

The college’s ongoing experience in machine learning, augmented and virtual reality, means it is well equipped to assist in the development of in-car services unique to autonomous vehicles. This could range from developing multimodal data displays containing details about how the car is performing and reminding owners about maintenance schedules, to providing immediate, real-time information about the objects, buildings, signs and traffic patterns along the route.

This multi-community partnership builds on the well-established relationship DC already has with OCE. As one of the college’s primary funders for applied research, OCE is a trusted partner of government in program delivery. The organization has worked with DC to support projects including IFTech Inventing Future Technology Inc. and multiple initiatives focusing on research into how “narrow AI” can help the productivity and growth of SMEs.

Funded by the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science, the Ministry of Economic Development and Growth and the Ministry of Transportation, AVIN brings together industry, academia and government to capitalize on the economic opportunities of connected and autonomous vehicles, while supporting the province’s transportation systems and infrastructure in adapting to these emerging technologies. DC is looking forward to working with Spark Centre (part of the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs), the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), UOIT’s Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) and the Region of Durham.

It was a morning of information sharing and celebrating applied research as Durham College’s (DC) Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship hosted its eighth annual Research Day at the college’s Oshawa campus on May 3.

This dynamic showcase of DC faculty, student researchers and industry partners introduced participants to the college’s newest research centres: the AI Hub and the Centre for Craft Brewing Innovation, while also highlighting applied research projects currently underway in areas of significance to the local and provincial economies.

Graham Binks, CEO of primeFusion Inc., was on hand to provide the keynote address, discussing how innovation takes flight when it is turned into action. He shared examples and techniques for collaboration between researchers and business leaders, so they can identify and achieve the most valuable results.  

The event also featured a demonstration of the artificial-intelligence enabled home health care solution from ORSIE industry partner iCare Home Health Services, called Health Espresso, which is the first of its kind in the world. As one of the first partners to collaborate with the college’s AI Hub, and with the support of a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, DC and iCare have been collaborating to bring advanced AI features to Health Espresso, which is a global tracking device for distant healthcare delivery.

The event concluded with an awards presentation announcing the winners of the 3MARC and AI Entrepreneurship challenges, which took place earlier in the morning, as well as the Researcher Award of Excellence.

3MARC is a three-minute applied research communication challenge where students who are engaged in applied research competed by delivering a compelling presentation about their research work. They had to consolidate their research and research outcomes concisely for a non-specialist audience to demonstrate their ability to communicate the importance of their research project and articulate their findings.

• In first place was Justin Waltenbury, a second-year student in the Computer Programmer
• In second place, Matthew Wierzbicki, a third-year student in the Computer Programmer Analyst
• In third place was Nicholas Carpenter, also a third-year student in the Computer Programmer Analyst program.

The AI entrepreneurship challenge is a pitch contest designed to highlight the power of AI in unique and innovative business applications. Entrepreneurially minded students presented their ideas to a panel of expert judges and competed for the cash prize we are about to award, as well as support from the FastStart team.

• In first place was Sylvia Raposo, a second-year student in the Computer Programmer Analyst program.
• In second place, Julie Doucet, a first-year student in the Entrepreneurship and Small Business – Business
• In third place was Gregory Barnes, a second-year student in the Electromechanical Engineering Technology

This is also the first year the Researcher Award of Excellence was given out, in recognition of an outstanding employee who contributes to the college’s culture of research. Nominations were so strong, two recipients ended up being selected for 2017-2018. Congratulations to Dr. Michael Williams-Bell from the School of Health & Community Services and Dr. Lynne Kennette from the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, on your achievement.

Durham College (DC) International is making sure the international student experience comes first with the launch of a pioneering mobile application for those looking to study in Canada. The Durham Assist app is a one-stop shop for students, providing all the information they need to know about studying in Canada and at DC.

Developed in partnership with Canadian developer Maple Assist Inc. and three other Canadian colleges, the Durham Assist app is currently being piloted with potential and new students coming from India. The application provides international students with relevant, comprehensive information about studying in Canada and the DC student experience specifically. 

The app is designed to streamline communication between the college and international students, simplify the application and study permit process, ensure students are better prepared for the cultural and academic transition to Canada and support transportation and arrival planning and services.

Sponsors of the project include Air Canada, Scotiabank and India-based HDFC Bank. These and other sponsors have committed to providing student users with special offers for items such as flights, bank fees, exchange rates and arrival packages that include bedding and other early arrival needs.

Students in India can download the app from the Apple App Store and Google Play.  Once the pilot is complete, the app will be made available more broadly.

DC’s international team opted for a mobile application to improve student service based on the ever-increasing prevalence of smartphones around the world. Based on the success of the pilot project in India, the college will look at expanding the app to other countries with students looking to pursue post-secondary education in Canada.

As of January 2018, DC is home to more than 1,445 international students, representing 61 countries from around the world.