Posted on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020
Dear Colleagues and Learners,
It is difficult to believe that it has been almost three months since we temporarily closed our campuses and began to transform how we go about our work and our studies. We concluded our Winter term, launched our Spring term, and now plans are well underway to take us into the Fall term. I know our teams are working hard to ensure we have everything in place to respond to a number of potential pandemic recovery-related scenarios, and the College will be releasing more details regarding our Fall term academic activities by Friday, June 12.
The province’s State of Emergency will be extended through the end of this month, and while this means there are still many restrictions that we must follow, we are still actively planning for the future. The presidents of the Ontario colleges, myself included, endorsed a statement released on Monday that outlines our collective strategies for approaching the Fall term. Together, we have reaffirmed our commitment to protecting the safety of students and employees and have described some of the options we are considering in order to continue providing excellence in programming through remote learning. Our statement also looks at how the colleges are developing guidelines to promote physical distancing in cases where hands-on instruction is delivered on campus, as well as protocols for cleaning, and rules for using personal protective equipment (PPE). You can read the full statement here. Read more >
Posted on Friday, May 15th, 2020
“I would definitely recommend co-op to another employer. It’s definitely the smartest way to hire young people.”
These were the comments of Lynn Ferron, a Principal with architectural firm HOK and a recent recipient of the Outstanding Contribution to Algonquin College Cooperative Education Award.
Ferron, an Interiors practice leader at HOK’s Ottawa studio, is one of five Ottawa-area employers to receive the award this year. As well, five students have been honoured with The Cooperative Education Student Achievement Award. You can check out their profiles here.
The Co-op Department hosts the Cooperative Education Awards of Excellence each year to recognize the contributions of co-op employers and learners. This year, however, the annual celebration and awards ceremony had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 crisis. Nonetheless, the department is still pleased to announce the names of the award winners and offer highlights of their experience with the co-op program. Read more >
Posted on Thursday, April 30th, 2020
Algonquin College has been named among the top animation schools in the world in rankings recently published by Animation Career Review.
Algonquin ranks sixth in the world and fourth in Canada in the category of Top Animation Training Programs, according to the website. The Review bases its rankings on a wide range of criteria, including the depth and breadth of the program faculty, value related to tuition and indebtedness, the graduation rate and student employment data.
Student employment was given greater weight in the current rankings than in previous years. According to Professor Neil Hunter, co-coordinator of the Animation program, 96 to 98 per cent of its students find employment upon graduation.
Rachel Scott is one of those happy new animation professionals. Scott graduated this month and is now working for Ottawa’s Jam Filled Entertainment.
“I basically went from school into a great job,” Scott says. “I knew the program had a terrific reputation for getting employment for its grads. But it was still surprising to achieve this, and in the middle of COVID-19 and problems in the economy.” Read more >
