Ottawa Life magazine has put Cheryl on its 2016 list of Top 25 People in the Capital. The magazine called Cheryl “a transformational force” at the college, and credited her with raising the college’s profile in the community.
“A lover of innovation and excellence, Jensen has reached out to governments and other post-secondary institutions in the city, and has developed partnerships with businesses small and large,” the magazine says in its profile.
Cheryl also told the magazine that the people of Ottawa made transition to this city from her hometown of Hamilton an easy one.
“Everything about the city is to me extremely appealing,” the magazine quotes them as saying. “But the fact that I was made to feel at home so quickly has just been an absolutely wonderful experience.”
To read the full profile, click here and go to page 29.
IgniteAC hosted an open house last week welcoming 175 visitors to learn about and open up discussions on innovation and entrepreneurship at the college.
“This week was so exciting — to see and speak to all the students at the college who were interested in innovation and entrepreneurship and to give them insight into all the ways that we can help them,” said AC Entrepreneurship Manager Leanna Verrucci. “Our goal at the centre is that anyone who walks through our doors, be they students, faculty or staff, leave with an answer to their question. If we are unable to help them through the people, programs and resources that we have here at the college, then we direct them to who can help them in the larger Ottawa ecosystem.”
Open house week offered students help to understand the offerings available to them and hear about personal experiences shared by four SUMMIT2016 graduates; Godfrey Joekumar (Startup Algonquin and BookPort), Len Bunce (Safe Point), Patrick Mahaffy (Go-Free), and Gillian Cochrane (Ottawa EcoDome).
SUMMIT is a three-month summer entrepreneurship boot camp designed to offer students workshops, offsite events, funding, mentoring, and the confidence to move their ideas forward.
“The most helpful thing I got from Summit was meeting my mentor,” explains SUMMIT2016 graduate Len Bunce. “She was helpful and pushed me a lot. She was instrumental in my making progress.”
“You might fail, you will probably fail — learn from that mistake and keep going forward. Everyone here wants to help and that’s the beauty of this,” said SUMMIT2016 graduate and Startup Launchpad founder Godfrey Joekumar when asked about his experience with the IgniteAC Centre.
Andrew Foti, Executive in Residence and Chris Doré, Entrepreneur in Residence, both known as EIRs, were also available during open hours last week to answer questions and provide guidance to interested entrepreneurs.
“It’s a huge step in the right direction. Creating the environment where students can come in with creative and innovative ideas, and then implement them in the real world. A lot of people come in here with a big idea, but no direction. We have a ton of services that help guide them,” said Doré when asked how IgniteAC has impacted the college’s entrepreneurship resources. “There are people here that have these dreams and that’s what this centre is about — fulfilling these dreams and giving them a shot to achieve something better than themselves.”
Doré will continue to be available in the centre for “Ask the EIR” open hour sessions on Wednesdays from 12 to 3 p.m. and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning the week of September 12th.
The centre is tangible evidence of the college’s commitment to EXPOSE, ENGAGE and ENABLE innovation and entrepreneurship. IgniteAC is a hub that provides co-ordinated, integrated and seamless services to students and faculty who have curiosity or aspirations around entrepreneurship to ensure they have access to the range of people, programs, partnerships, education and resources available to them within the College and the wider Ottawa ecosystem.
This diverse ecosystem consists of people and organizations such as; Startup Garage, Lead to Win, L-Spark, Invest Ottawa, The HUB, YENGO, TIE Ottawa, Collab Space— to name a few — who help support young entrepreneurs and innovators in Ottawa.
The IgniteAC Centre launched in February 2016 and is located on “Main Street” in the C Building of the Ottawa campus. It offers three boardrooms and two areas for entrepreneurs to congregate and work. Space will be provided on a first-come-first-served basis and available for entrepreneurship-related activities — starting a business, moving a business forward, meeting with clients.
“Ignite” your spark at Algonquin College’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (C151).
Aug. 11, 2016 (Ottawa) — The Algonquin College Board of Governors has directed senior management to take steps for the transfer of responsibility of the Algonquin College Saudi Arabia campus back to Colleges of Excellence.
“After more than a year of negotiation, we were unable to come to an agreement that would have met our financial objectives,” said Algonquin College President Cheryl Jensen. “We have said from the beginning that the Jazan Campus must be financially viable for us to continue operating.”
Algonquin College Saudi Arabia is announcing this decision now to ensure Saudi officials have sufficient time to complete the transfer before students begin the fall term on Sept. 18.
In 2009, Algonquin College was among several educational delegations from around the world that had answered Saudi Arabia’s call for expertise in educational reforms in that country, working with representatives from government and education sectors to raise the profile of vocational learning opportunities.
In 2013, Algonquin College Saudi Arabia was one of many international post-secondary institutions to submit a bid to operate a campus for men and women — it won the right to operate the Jazan campus for men for a five-year term.
Colleges of Excellence is the Saudi authority responsible for establishing relationships with more than a dozen post-secondary institutions from around the world. These international schools have aided the Kingdom’s bid to expand applied training, particularly in the trades, to satisfy the growing need for skilled workers in the desert country.
The Jazan campus, which opened in 2013, is part of a broader international portfolio that is an overall net contributor to Algonquin College.
Algonquin College Saudi Arabia estimates the transfer of operations will cost approximately $4.3 million, which will be funded through existing International and Ancillary contingency reserve funds.
Doug Wotherspoon, Vice-President, International and Strategic Planning, noted the College will not draw on any taxpayer dollars.
“International operations at the College are not funded by the provincial government,” said Wotherspoon. “I think it’s important that taxpayers understand that revenues from other non-funded operations will offset any losses incurred by our Jazan campus.”
There will be no implications for Algonquin College’s employees and operations in Canada.
“Our goal is to work with Colleges of Excellence to ensure a smooth transition,” said Wotherspoon. “We want to provide Colleges of Excellence time to accommodate students’ needs before we fully withdraw from the campus.”
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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.
Jazz Aviation LP is pleased to announce a further commitment to Canada’s future professional pilots with a renewed agreement between the airline’s Jazz Aviation Pathway Program (“Jazz APP”) and Algonquin College’s Aviation Management – General Arts and Science program.
“We’re pleased to continue working together on pilot safety and professionalism with Algonquin College,” said Steve Linthwaite, Vice President, Flight Operations, Jazz. “The Jazz APP scholarships are an important addition and we applaud the hard work demonstrated by this year’s inaugural winners.”
First signed in 2010, the industry-leading agreement between Jazz APP and Algonquin includes collaboration on training and curriculum to promote safety and professionalism, while providing relevant information on industry best practices. The Jazz APP is aimed at establishing a direct career path for qualifying graduates including flight simulator evaluations, student scholarships, and the opportunity for Algonquin’s top-performing Aviation Management graduates to transition to first officer positions at Jazz.
Two awards were recently created to recognize Jazz’s commitment to safety and professionalism:
The Jazz Aviation Pathway Award for Professionalism. Awarded to a full-time student in his or her final year of the Aviation Management program for outstanding contributions to safety, leadership and professionalism. The Award consists of a $3000 scholarship and an opportunity to participate in the Jazz Aviation Pathways Program selection process. The award recipient is selected by the Algonquin program chair or designate in consultation with Jazz to ensure the criteria as outlined are respected. On May 27, 2016, Jazz awarded the inaugural Aviation Pathway Award for Professionalism at Algonquin to Francis Daoust from Ottawa, ON.
The Jazz Aviation Pathway Award for Professionalism and Diversity. Awarded to a full-time student in his or her final year of the Aviation Management program who has self-identified as Aboriginal, a person with a disability, a visible minority, or female; for outstanding contributions to safety, leadership and professionalism. The Award consists of a $3000 scholarship and an opportunity to participate in the Jazz Aviation Pathways Program selection process. The award recipient is selected by the Algonquin program chair or designate in consultation with Jazz to ensure the criteria as outlined are respected. On May 27, 2016, Jazz awarded the inaugural Aviation Pathway Award for Professionalism and Diversity at Algonquin to Laura McAtamney from Ottawa, ON.
“We thank Jazz Aviation for their support of our students through this collaboration, which provides meaningful assistance and encouragement to our students in aviation programs,” said Chris Janzen, Dean, Faculty of Technology and Trades. “Congratulations to both Francis and Laura on their outstanding success – we wish them well in their future careers.”
Since 2007 Jazz has been actively involved in shaping the curriculum and training of Canada’s future professional pilots through active engagement with aviation colleges and universities. In 2015, Jazz rebranded these efforts under the Jazz Aviation Pathways Program banner. To-date, Jazz has announced agreements between the Jazz APP and the following aviation colleges and universities: Algonquin College, Confederation College, Mount Royal University, Sault College, Seneca College and Western University.
Congratulations to Algonquin College professors Amanda Keon, Leann Nicholson, and Bruno Rocha who were all honoured with Capital Educators’ Awards at Thursday night’s EduGala.
The annual event, held here at the College, recognizes “the achievements of outstanding educators and celebrates public education in our community – across the entire spectrum from kindergarten to PhD.”
Professor Keon teaches Communications in the School of Health and Community Studies, Professor Nicholson teaches Technical Communications in the Faculty of Technology and Trades, and Bruno Rocha is a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Technology Program, School of Advanced Technology. All three were lauded for their unique approaches to education at the College.
• Professor Keon believes that “learning is a dynamic and ongoing process” and says she strives to provide students with many opportunities to enhance and demonstrate their learning;
• Prof. Nicholson uses 3D printing, mobile learning, and social media to engage students in her classroom, connecting learners with industry experts via presentation fairs and workshops;
• Prof. Rocha believes “in a fun learning environment,” using examples from his industry experience to “engage, encourage and inspire” students, and to foster a desire for life-long learning that will help them find their path in the world.
Congratulations also go out to four other Algonquin professors — Cheryl Dowell (School of Business), Susan McCaig (School of Health and Community Studies), Bradley Moseley-Williams (School of Media and Design), and Nader Shureih (School of Media and Design) — who were all finalists this year.
Iain Barrie taught and mentored hundreds of students who went through the College, and in doing so shaped not only their careers, but also the Ottawa radio scene. (Facebook)
Alumni of Algonquin College’s Broadcasting — Radio program are mourning the passing of retired instructor Iain Barrie.
Barrie taught and mentored hundreds of students who went through the College, and in doing so shaped not only their careers, but also the Ottawa radio scene.
Barrie died Saturday and many former students have expressed their gratitude for his guidance.
“He was a legend,” said Jeff Mauler, popular co-host of Hot 89.9’s morning program. “He taught me, mentored me, and inspired me.”
Barrie’s influence also extended to airwaves far beyond the capital.
“Iain Barrie’s lessons have reverberated in my mind since I have graduated from Algonquin,” said alumnus Nathan Bernier, an award-winning reporter and host for the NPR station in Austin, Texas. “He motivated us to work hard to achieve our best, and he gave us the tools we needed to do it. Iain forsaw the technological shifts transforming the world of audio entertainment, and he told us how to prepare for them. I will always think of him as my first radio teacher, and will never forget his oft-repeated advice to ‘let your attitude determine your altitude.’ ”
Still other alumni took to social media to express their feelings about Barrie.
Ryan Lindsay, now a host at Ottawa’s New Country 94, touched upon Barrie’s impact in a tweet:
Tonight, my soul feels a little bruised. #IainBarrie was an incredible man, who did everything he did to push you, to succeed. Rest now, BB
While Connie Bernardi, program director MAJIC 100 (CJMJ), posted a touching tribute on her Facebook page:
“Iain Barrie was a role model, teacher, a mentor and a cherished friend. He saw something in me all those years ago at Algonquin College that I couldn’t see in myself … He encouraged me and motivated me — even during those times when I wanted to walk away from the radio world,” she wrote. “There will never be enough ‘thank you’s’ for all his guidance, advice and his words of wisdom … not just about work but about life. I will miss him tremendously. My life was immeasurably better with him in it. I am so grateful and blessed that we crossed paths.”
You can read the full obituary for Iain Barrie in the Ottawa Citizen.
A unique one-year program started this week for 20 pre-apprentices from across Canada.
Over the next year, participants will learn the typical skills expected from a cook pre-apprenticeship, such as food theory, knife skills, classical kitchen language, and practical food preparation – the unique part of the program is how these skills are applied. Participants will receive opportunities to prepare traditional Indigenous meals, with opportunities to cook game meat including beaver and moose.
The Indigenous Cook pre-apprenticeship program is designed to prepare learners with the base of knowledge needed to pursue a Cook apprenticeship or other studies. The program starts with 15 weeks of skills upgrading, followed by 12 weeks of in-school Level 1 apprenticeship training, and finally an eight-week work placement in the Ottawa food services industry.
This pre-apprenticeship offering was developed through a unique partnership led by Wes Wilkinson, Academic Manager for Algonquin College’s School of Hospitality and Tourism. Supporting him to bring it to life with Indigenous content are consultants like Chef Marie-Cecile Nottaway of Wawatay Catering, and instructors like Julie Baily.
“I am pleased to see there is interest in this unique program,” said Wilkinson. “The feedback and response from the Indigenous community – across the country – has been overwhelmingly positive, as a means of reconnecting with their traditions while receiving valuable skills they can bring back to their communities or to the culinary industry. Algonquin College thanks our Indigenous community partners for their support and acknowledges their participation in the development of this program.”
“We are working together with communities to improve outcomes for Indigenous students, and to change the way we relate to and reflect the knowledge systems of first peoples,” said Cheryl Jensen, President. “I want to acknowledge the Provincial Government for recognizing the importance of funding programs such as these. Rethinking both curriculum and program delivery through community engagement is fundamental.”
Joining Algonquin College for today’s launch was Ontario’s Deputy Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Sheldon Levy to acknowledge his Ministry’s financial support for this program and the example of partnership with Indigenous communities it represents.
For this first part of the program, the pre-apprentices have theory courses on Mondays and Tuesdays and are in the culinary labs on Thursdays and Fridays.See photos from the launch.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Leader and MPP Patrick Brown toured Algonquin College’s Pembroke Waterfront campus this afternoon as part of a visit to the Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke riding with local PC MPP John Yakabuski.
Brown and Yakabuski toured the campus between 3 and 4 p.m., and afterwards visited the Pembroke campus’ Employment Services office in downtown Pembroke. Annually, the Employment Services office supports more than 1,000 people who are looking for career information and work opportunities.
“We were pleased to welcome Mr. Brown to our campus and thank him for his interest in our college,” said Cheryl Jensen, President, Algonquin College. “Rural campuses like our Pembroke campus are strong contributors to the local economy and local employment, and we were pleased to see that recognized through this visit.”
“We believe our campus is among the most innovative regional campuses in rural Ontario and we were pleased with the opportunity to showcase our facilities and the programs that we deliver to Ontarians,” said Campus Dean, Karen Davies, following the visit.
The new Pembroke Waterfront campus building was opened in Fall of 2012, expanding student spaces, programming, and services for the Pembroke campus’ close to 1,000 full-time students.
Brown’s visit was part of a weekend stop in Pembroke.
Ottawa Life magazine has put Cheryl on its 2016 list of Top 25 People in the Capital. The magazine called Cheryl “a transformational force” at the college, and credited her with raising the college’s profile in the community.
