Algonquin College students won first prize in the inaugural Mayor’s Cyber Challenge Cup on Saturday, beating out teams from Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, and La Cité. Continue reading AC students win Mayor’s Cyber Challenge Cup!
Under the theme of “dream big,” Algonquin College’s Pembroke campus held its first TEDxPembroke event this past weekend, drawing a sell-out crowd. The Saturday afternoon event featured seven speakers, including the CEO of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, Mark Lesinski, and the Director of Emergency Services for Renfrew County, Michael Nolan. Continue reading Sell-out crowd attends Pembroke campus’s first TEDx event
A strong AC contingent joined the excitement and inspiration of WE Day on Wednesday, as volunteers and participants, along with 16,000 other students and educators.
The event is part of a movement that gives people the tools to change the world and uses stadium-sized events and star power to spark the change. Continue reading AC volunteers, students, employees among 16,000 at WE Day
The 2016 edition of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges was released on Thursday — and Algonquin College continues its upward performance.
The College is now in 20th spot in the rankings, up from 24th in 2015.
“This is a great motivation boost for our Algonquin College community as we continue to deliver in our strategic priorities around innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Cristina Holguin-Pando, Director, Partnerships, Applied Research & Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. “It’s a journey that really gained momentum through our current strategic plan, and will be consolidated in the new strategy documents that will see Algonquin College at the forefront, delivering an education model based on innovation and entrepreneurship leadership in a few years ahead.”
Other stats from the report include:
• Algonquin’s research income rose 51.1 per cent from the previous period, taking the fourth spot in research income percentage growth.
• Algonquin is now third in the number of paid students conducting research among Canada’s large colleges.
• Algonquin takes the seventh spot in the country in terms of faculty members leading research projects.
• In total grants received from the federal government’s Tri-Council (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) in the 2011-2015 period, Algonquin ranks fourth across Canada with more than $6 million research income.
“It is truly rewarding to evidence the college’s success by consistently increasing the number of faculty, and of course students, engaged in applied research projects,” said Holguin-Pando. “While it is always exciting attaining growing levels of funding, the reality is that funding availability is in decline, making it increasingly challenging.”
The report, compiled by Research Infosource Inc., noted that combined research income of 15 Ontario colleges fell by 4.6 per cent.
“Although many individual colleges performed well the total Ontario college income drop of 4.6 per cent somewhat underperformed the national trend of 0.5 per-cent growth,” said Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource, in a press release. “Of concern is that industry funding of college research in the province declined by -21.8 per cent, falling to $2.9 million. The positive news is that the number of formal research partnerships grew by 37.6 per cent and the number of completed research projects expanded by 17.5 per cent.”
And Holguin-Pando said there are plenty of signs that Algonquin is on the right track.
“The best indicator, the real success story here, is in our ability to provide our faculty and our students with opportunities to meaningfully engage with industry partners in solving real-life problems that are at the cutting edge of technology,” she said. “This is what we do best.”
More information, and the full rankings, are available here.
The Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour was on the AC campus Friday afternoon to take part in a conversation to mark the end of Women’s History Month.
Mihychuk joined Algonquin College President Cheryl Jensen and three other women on a panel discussion held in The Hub on women in non-traditional fields. About 60 people gathered for the panel and 1,000 others watched online.
The minister spoke about how she was one of the first women hired as a geologist under a government “affirmative action” program, and yet some 30 years later sees that women are still underrepresented in non-traditional fields.
“It just doesn’t make sense to exclude 50 per cent of our people from the STEM sector,” she said, referring to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics streams.
Cheryl, who trained and worked as a chemist, said we should be used to women taking their places in leadership in government, industry, academia and elsewhere, and she pointed as examples to many of the women leaders here at Algonquin College.
“We believe that the best person for the job is the best person for the job,” she said. “We want everyone to sit at the table.”
Also on the panel were Nathalie Méthot, manager of the Office of Research and Innovation at La Cité, Algonquin College Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning student Joan Bailey, and Crystal Michaud, Algonquin College alumna from the School of Hospitality and Tourism and an entrepreneur.
The panel was emceed by Kathryn Rielander, Professor and Coordinator, Electrical Engineering Technology Program.
Women’s History Month, which ends Monday, celebrates the achievements of women and girls as trailblazers throughout our history.
Read a release about the event here.
The first sacred fire at Algonquin College was lit in the C building courtyard Thursday afternoon, celebrated by more than 100 people who gathered outside just as it began to snow.
Indigenous Cook Pre-Apprenticeship Program student Rohahes Mitchell played the drum as the ceremony began, and elder Barbara Hill welcomed those gathered to the “Caring for the Spirit” celebration on behalf of the Algonquin Nation. Elder Peter Decontie prepared the smudging bowl and, after Cheryl addressed the gathering, lit the sacred fire.
Cheryl said the fire was like a light or a beacon for guiding the college forward as it builds a new Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship.
“This centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Algonquin College and our Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship is for you,” she said. “It is for you to bring new ideas for all of us here at Algonquin.”
She said the college would be looking to the Indigenous community to help articulate what the centre should look like, how it should function and what it should do.
In his remarks, Ron Deganadus McLester, Algonquin’s recently appointed Executive Director and Special Advisor to the President on Aboriginal Initiatives, challenged those gathered to consider what Indigenous entrepreneurship looks like, and how it might differ from traditional entrepreneurship, where entrepreneurs “start their own businesses, take their own risks and reap their own rewards.”
He told the gathering what he thought Indigenous entrepreneurship might look like: “Indigenous entrepreneurship is to focus on our community, our young people and our elders.”
After the lighting of the fire and the smudging, in which dozens of people participated, the crowd moved inside, where they heard the Ottawa River Singers perform drumming, watched dancer Ben Wawatie, in full regalia, perform, and were invited to participate in the dancing.
Inside, those gathered also had a chance to give their ideas about the new Indigenous entrepreneurship centre by answering a survey. They also heard from two Indigenous entrepreneurs.
The afternoon was capped with a barbecue.
Photo: Dancer Ben Wawatie
| Ottawa — Algonquin College will be lighting its first sacred fire on campus this Thursday as a way of celebrating the new Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship.
“We are very excited to bring this one-of-a-kind Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship to Ottawa,” said Algonquin President Cheryl Jensen. “And the name of this event, Caring for the Spirit, speaks to our sacred fire and to what we hope to achieve, which is nurturing not only the minds of our learners, but also the unique spark that makes them who they are.” The ceremony will also include a special prayer by Elder Barbara Hill Dumont, a performance by the Ottawa River Singers, and personal stories from some of Algonquin’s most successful Indigenous entrepreneurs. “This is a chance for us to reach out to our College community, especially our Indigenous students, and really nurture the spirit of the new Institute,” said Ron Deganadus McLester, Algonquin’s new Executive Director and Special Advisor to the President on Aboriginal Initiatives. “We want to focus on the possibilities of the future while also remembering, and respecting, our past.” The new $44.9 million Algonquin College Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Learning Centre and Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship, formally announced Oct. 12, was made possible in large part thanks to a $21.9 million grant from the Federal Government through the Strategic Investment Fund for Post-secondary Education Institutions and $2.9 million from the Province of Ontario. The Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship will be the first of its kind on a college campus in Ontario and will be designed in consultation with Indigenous communities and be based on Indigenous business principles. The project is scheduled for completion in 2018. |
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| When: Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016 Where: Algonquin College, 1385 Woodroffe Ave., Ottawa Location: C Building Courtyard (In the event of inclement weather, ceremony will be held indoors in the Library) Time: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information: The mission of Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success. Algonquin College, an Ontario public sector community college, does this by offering hands-on, digitally connected, experiential learning in more than 185 programs. Based in the Ottawa Valley, Algonquin College is the largest polytechnic institute in Eastern Ontario. |
Ottawa — Algonquin College marked one of its most important announcements today with a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Learning Centre and Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship — a state-of-the-art facility scheduled to open in 2018. President Cheryl Jensen was joined by Anita Vandenbeld, Member of Parliament for Ottawa West-Nepean, the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Honourable Bob Chiarelli for the ceremony. Jensen gave special thanks to Vandenbeld and Chiarelli for “their stalwart support.”
The new $44.9 million Algonquin College Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Learning Centre and Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship was made possible in large part thanks to a $21.9 million grant from the Federal Government through the Strategic Investment Fund for Post-secondary Education Institutions and $2.9 million from the Province of Ontario. Jensen said that the College has always been a champion of innovation, and today’s announcement made that clear. “We have enjoyed so many ‘firsts’ here at Algonquin, but today is arguably the most important ‘first’ of all,” she said. “It is the day when we are claiming our future and sending the strongest signal possible about our identity as a college. Is a day when we proudly say, ‘This is who we are.’ ”
The project, which will take approximately two years to complete, will feature facilities for testing and development, simulations, competitions, collaborative project development, as well as entrepreneurial support in the growing field of cyber security. The Institute for Indigenous Entrepreneurship will be the first of its kind on a college campus in Ontario and will be designed in consultation with indigenous communities and be based on indigenous business principles. “When indigenous learners arrive at Algonquin College, they will find a place that echoes their heritage, providing the kind of foundation they need to succeed,” said Jensen. “And these learners will take that success, and the confidence that comes with it, to their homes and communities.” “I have experienced firsthand Algonquin College’s impact in our community as an educator and bridge builder. With this investment we are ensuring Algonquin College will continue to provide a world-class education,” said Vandenbeld, who made the joint federal-provincial announcement to a capacity crowd in the College’s library, the site of the renovation. “Transforming the library into this modern, collaborative learning facility will provide access to the tools and technologies our students and community need to experiment, to create, and to innovate.”
Minister Chiarelli said the provincial government was “proud to support” the project. “We know that providing access to high-quality education and training facilities is critical to building the highly-skilled workforce we need to support good jobs and economic growth,” said Chiarelli.
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For more information: Ruth Dunley, Communications Officer Public Relations and Communications, Algonquin College Office: 613-727-4723 ext. 6452 Mobile: 613-406-0970 dunleyr@algonquincollege.comAbout Algonquin College: www.algonquincollege.comThe mission of Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success. Algonquin College, an Ontario public sector community college, does this by offering hands-on, digitally connected, experiential learning in more than 185 programs. Based in the Ottawa Valley, Algonquin College is the largest polytechnic institute in Eastern Ontario.
The three-month intensive entrepreneurial boot camp SUMMIT consisted of 14 young and passionate entrepreneurs with a drive to move their businesses forward.
Managers of the boot camp, Leanna Verrucci and Patti Church, were searching for students with a “fire in their belly” who were ready to make a change, build on their ideas and further their entrepreneurial knowledge.
The SUMMIT program is an environment for entrepreneurs with a wide range of ideas – everything from Pierre Destin’s SixOne3 Media, which offers media production services, to Gillian Cochrane’s Ottawa EcoDome, the world’s largest bio dome.
Participants of the program are thankful for the mentorship, support, and skills they have gained throughout the summer program. These risk-takers haven’t only benefited from the help of fellow mentors, but also from each other. The participants explain their gratitude towards being exposed to other imaginative and creative minds – they feed off of each other.
“SUMMIT helps people to make their dreams come true,” said international student Bei Zhang (College Thriftshop).
SUMMIT has helped participants move past just an idea and onto solid, viable business with the assistance of funding, mentorship and resources.
“I feel well equipped and ready to go to take on new challenges. I love to recommend it to anyone and everyone,” said Godfrey Joekumar (BookPort) when asked about his thoughts on the SUMMIT program, “it’s a great program to go into and have your business more forward fast.”
To see SUMMIT2016 in action, watch our YouTube video.
More than 70 high school guidance counsellors from across Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec got more than they bargained for when they participated in this year’s Forum, held for the first time at the Pembroke campus.
Many of the counsellors were visiting the picturesque campus for the first time, and despite a nasty north wind blowing off the Ottawa River, they ventured outside to watch some outdoor adventure students kayak in the choppy waters, just outside the campus.
That was one of several stops as part of a campus tour that also included a show-and-tell of the impressive mobile science unit used by environmental technician students while in the field, and a demonstration by bachelor of science in Nursing students in one of the high fidelity nursing labs.
The day was capped with an inspirational address by two-time Canadian Olympic athlete Melissa Bishop, who reminded the counsellors of the important role they play in helping high-school students make post-secondary choices. She advised them to let their students know that it’s OK to change directions in their life journey, adding, “life begins at the end of the comfort zone.”
Bishop has been pushing herself out of her own comfort zone for years. She graduated from high school and went directly to the University of Ottawa, before transferring to the University of Windsor where she became an elite athlete, leading her to Olympic appearances in London in 2012 and Brazil in 2016.
Her plan was to attend an American university, but when an athletic scholarship opportunity didn’t arise, she chose to attend university in Canada. Bishop now admits her first post-secondary choice didn’t work out, admitting she only applied to one university program. She says had it not been for her aspirations in track and field, she probably would have attended college, but her transfer to the University of Windsor allowed her to earn a degree with a plan to be a teacher when she retires from running.
She won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan Am Games and a silver medal at the 2015 world championships. At the Rio Games, she just missed the podium finished fourth in the 800-metre final. Bishop plans on taking one more shot at an Olympic medal and has already started training for the 2016 Olympiad.