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ACCE Kicks Off 10th Anniversary Celebrations with Industry Breakfast

ACCE BuildingTuesday morning started bright and early for the folks gathered around their computer screens to kick off celebrations for the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE), which turns 10 this year.

The virtual breakfast was a thank you to the industry leaders who have donated and supported the ACCE vision since its inception, a celebration of the landmark building and all it represents, and a glimpse of its future.

Chris Hahn, Dean of ACCE and the Perth Campus, acted as the event’s host.

“In this 10th anniversary year, we want to build on what we think is the excellent reputation of the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence,” he said, noting how amazing it was to watch the centre being built a decade ago and how far it had come.

During the breakfast, attendees heard from industry leaders, Algonquin students and alumni, and members of the Algonquin Executive Team about what ACCE means to them.

John DeVries, President of the Ottawa Construction Association, spoke about the joint vision of the College and industry to bring all the trades together with designers and project management under one roof, and how ACCE has succeeded at doing just that.

DeVries said the construction industry feels like a part of that success: “We really feel we’re tied to Algonquin.”

Steve Barkhouse, President of Amsted Design-Build, and a board member at the College who helped fundraise for the construction of ACCE, spoke about how the building was a symbol of what Algonquin wanted to do for the trades as a whole. He described the old trades building at Algonquin as run down and set back on campus, an analogy for how the trades were once sometimes viewed as a second-class, second-choice career. The new building—with its award-winning design, LEED-platinum certification, and prominent position—made the statement that trades were a first-class, first-choice career, which is precisely the message the College and its partners wanted to send.

Barkhouse also outlined the challenges the trades now face due to a shortage in workers, stating that Algonquin grads “are the leaders of the future.”

Current student Elisa Matte, as well as graduates Ikechukwu Njoku and Jaidyn Brown, also attended the breakfast to share their experiences studying in ACCE.

Matte, who studied in the culinary program at Algonquin in the ’90s and had now returned to do the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician Program, called the ACCE space “unique and inspiring.”

“Being a woman re-educating in the skilled trades is already a challenge,” she said, “but being in a space like this, with bright, natural lighting—it’s really inviting.”

Njoku, a graduate of the Building Construction Technician program, spoke to the audience from his car at a job site, decked out in a hard hat. He talked about how he immigrated from Nigeria shortly before starting the program, and described just how well it prepared him to enter the workplace in his new country.

“We always had what it took to model real-live scenarios,” he explained. “It was easy for me to adapt in the real workplace, which is amazing.”

Brown, who studied in the Welding and Fabrication Techniques program, was unable to join the celebration live, but had recorded a video clip for the event, in which she spoke glowingly of the program, and said that as a woman in the building, she always felt “very well-respected and well-appreciated.”

“I recommend any course in that building,” she added. “I don’t care what course it is. I recommend it.” Brown now works as a welder at Twin Equipment Ottawa, where she works on the bodies of dump trucks.

Algonquin President and CEO Claude Brulé was also there to share his thoughts about ACCE, which he referred to as a “landmark in the city,” highlighting how 17,400 students had graduated from its programs since it opened in 2011.

Brulé then turned his attention to the future.

“We are ready to help continue to fill the skills gap in Ontario with your help. We are ready for the next 20,000 grads. We are ready for a future focused on sustainability; smart design, modeling and simulation; digitization, connectivity and automation.”

Algonquin College Celebrates Partnership with PCL Construction

PCL plaque unveilingA small group assembled in the DARE District Tuesday to recognize the contributions of PCL Construction to Algonquin College with a ceremonial plaque dedication.

Welcomed by Mark Savenkoff, Vice President, Advancement, the participants admired the new plaque, shared a few words and then visited the Three Sisters Garden. The DARE District, Three Sisters Garden and the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE) have all been generously supported by PCL Construction.

“PCL is special in the sense that not only have they built several of our College buildings but they have expressed an ongoing interest in becoming more familiar with Indigenous culture and we are thrilled to share in their journey,” said Claude Brulé, President and CEO of Algonquin College. “After their original contribution of $50,000 to the DARE District, they pledged $216,000 over six years to the DARE6 initiative, which supports Indigenization efforts on our campus – such as plans currently under development to expand our Three Sisters Garden.”

“We’re a construction business and that makes us tick and it’s great to have the partnership on the business side,” said Paul Knowles, Vice President and District Manager of PCL Construction. “But it also means a lot more to our company to give back and connect with the future of our society and that’s what we love most of all.

“For us as a company it about more than giving money, it’s about having an impact. We’re humbled, we’re very honoured, Thank you very much for this. It means a lot.”

In addition to the funds for the DARE District and Three Sisters Garden, PCL Construction also created a bursary for Algonquin College students. This endowed fund has provided $96,000 to 63 students to date. It supports students in financial need in the Green Architecture and Civil Engineering Technology programs.

To learn more about PCL Construction visit here.

Learn more about the DARE6 initiative here.

ALIBI Music Opens World of Possibilities to Algonquin Students

When Algonquin College students were granted access to ALIBI Music last year thanks to an exclusive agreement, it opened up a world of production possibilities to professionally enhance their projects.

The ALIBI Music Library is a professional music and sound effects platform featured in Hollywood productions and the TV, streaming, video game and advertising industries. The library contains more than 250,000 audio files, including more than 11,000 curated original songs and 6,000 sound effects created by a global array of professional artists.

“ALIBI gives our students access to quality professional music. The fact that it’s copyright-cleared solves a lot of problems because the students aren’t out sourcing music from the Internet that they think they might have rights to. Now there’s a one-stop, where they don’t have to search anywhere else,” said Jeremy Atherton, Program Co-ordinator with Algonquin’s School of Media and Design.

Students enrolled in courses for film and media production, television, radio, advertising, interactive media design, and video game development can access, download and incorporate ALIBI’s music and sound effects content into the projects they create as part of their course curriculum.

Jonathan Parks, Executive Producer and founder of ALIBI Music, built his company from scratch starting in 2010. It now has employees in Los Angeles, London, Portland, San Francisco and music composers contributing from all corners of the world, and it provides the resulting music and sound to all the major studios and productions houses. The next time you’re watching Netflix, chances are the sounds you’re hearing are thanks the ALIBI.

For Algonquin Film and Media Production students like Samantha Green and Samuel Lewis, having access to ALIBI’s deep and rich library has been a huge difference-maker.

“Music is such an important part of filmmaking. The soundtrack is an integral part of setting the emotion in a scene. Finding a trusted resource to license music is often one of the biggest hurdles faced by independent filmmakers. Having access to quality music this year via ALIBI has allowed us to elevate our productions to a professional level,” said Lewis.

Green likes the fact that ALIBI also offers multiple options for one particular song or sound.

“Some songs give you the option to only hear the piano, guitar, vocals or a mix of a few. This makes our creative process and control a lot easier and almost feels like you get to personalize a song in a studio, except it’s all online,” said Green. “During one of our projects, we found this great song, but we felt that there was just a little too much of the strings. By going through the dropdown menu for that song, we were able to find a mix without the strings and it custom-fit our production.”

Atherton said that having access to the ALIBI library marked a “quantum leap” for the College, which was relying on outdated and far less user-friendly resources, which included CDs, prior to the agreement.

“Nothing will deaden a great film like a ’90s soundtrack,” said Atherton. “We have great storytelling from our students and cutting-edge cameras, and now we have the cutting-edge music to match.”

With professors and students all working from the same library, teaching production has become far smoother and time-effective. ALIBI also gives the students a first-hand look at how the industry functions.

“We hold the students to the same standard that the industry would. They have to follow the proper channels, keep the proper paperwork and make sure their business affairs are in order,” said Atherton. “The students can see the prices the industry would have to pay (for ALIBI content), so they also get an understanding of the real-world costs.”

For a samples of Algonquin students’ work featuring ALIBI content, check these links:

Green’s documentary at 14:58, titled ‘Home Run’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDjTtWFpGGw

Lewis’ ‘Pinball & Perogies’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR-3ZE_V6is&t=168s

Algonquin College Announces the Audrey Lawrence AC Online Bursary

Algonquin College is announcing the introduction of the Audrey Lawrence AC Online Bursary which will be awarded to full-time and part-time online learners in financial need.

The new bursary – one of the first of its kind in Ontario – is being established thanks to a generous gift of more than $15,000 from Algonquin Board of Governors’ member, Audrey Lawrence, and comes as the College celebrates the first anniversary of its highly successful AC Online campus.

The Audrey Lawrence AC Online Bursary will represent five separate bursaries. Two $6,000 bursaries will benefit full-time learners, with one preferably directed toward an Indigenous student. Three $1,000 bursaries will also be awarded to part-time students. Bursary application opens in the fall.

“Audrey is a true champion of our learners. Thanks to her generosity the lives of many students will be positively transformed,” said Algonquin College President and CEO Claude Brulé. “In setting out the criteria for this bursary, Audrey wished to support our AC Online campus, understanding its great potential to reach learners. This includes many Indigenous students who reside in more remote parts of the province and the country.”

Having taught Cree students in northern Quebec and being of Cree and Inuit ancestry herself, Audrey has been strongly aware of the needs of both Indigenous and remote learners.  Since then, she has had extensive management experience working in health, education, technology, and human resources in public, non-profit, and corporate sectors. She has served in leadership positions involved with issues affecting Indigenous communities and volunteers her time to numerous causes in the Ottawa region. 

“As a young woman I received a bursary that virtually paid for my College’s tuition. I was so thankful and it was a lifesaver as I was covering all my expenses on my own dime. I always have that memory in my head,” said Lawrence. “As I went on through my teaching career, I was teaching full-time, married, had a baby to care for, all while writing essays late at night to complete my degree by correspondence courses, the early version of distance learning.  I am very empathetic to the needs of distance learners.”

While distance education has long been a hallmark of Algonquin College, since the launch of its dedicated online campus a year ago, there has been a 26 per cent increase in online enrollments. This surge in growth includes over 13,000 unique students and 56,000 online course enrollments, both all-time highs for Algonquin College.

AC Online offers one of the largest selections of online programming amongst post-secondary institutions in Canada. Learners can choose to take a full course load or enroll a few courses at a time. They can opt for multiple start dates including some programs that have monthly intakes, and they benefit from personalized support from staff throughout their learning journey at the College.

Algonquin College Alumnus Created Bursary to Empower Black Students

During last summer’s Black Lives Matter movement protesting racial injustice and police brutality against Black people, Carl Clergé, a 25-year-old risk analyst at Export Development Canada and an Algonquin College graduate, wanted to do his part to help. Clergé decided to reach out to Algonquin and donate funds to a bursary for Black students. Turns out, no such thing existed.

Clergé was not deterred.

“I reached out to Advancement over the summer to donate to a bursary for Black students,” said Clergé. “There wasn’t one, so I asked how I could go about creating one. For me it was remarkable how fast everything went – from my first email to when the bursary was created—it was about a month.”

Clergé pushed forward with an ambitious objective that he quickly reached. “I had a goal of fifteen thousand for the bursary and it took a month and a half to get over that amount,” he said proudly. He was happy with the wide-ranging support. “My employer was on board, one of my former profs made a donation; everyone’s support was appreciated,” he said. “For me personally, and for Black students, I was very appreciative of that of how everything transpired.”

When asked why Black History Month is important, Clergé is quick with his response. “For me, it means celebrating everyone in the past to benefit people in the future. People my age 50 or 60 years ago wouldn’t have had the opportunity to create this bursary,” he said. “We are celebrating people paving the way with [these] actions. I think it’s important and it means a lot to me.”

Clergé studied Business Administration with a concentration in Finance at Algonquin from 2013-2016. He had a positive experience as a student. “I loved my time there,” he said. “It prepared me more for real life than university. I still have connections with certain profs.”

He appreciated the willingness and openness of the College to create a grant for Black students. “The College did a great job of understanding and asking questions,” he said. “When I reached out to the Advancement team and was told there wasn’t a bursary, they called, asked questions and listened.” He said they were open to the idea from the beginning.

His advice from the experience is “never think that anything is not possible. If you have an idea or a vision, try everything you can to make sure it happens. You never know how far you can go.”

To make a donation to the Empowering Black Students Bursary, visit this link.