October 29 marked a milestone for innovation and collaboration at the Inspire Conference, where over 900 students and 100+ industry professionals came together to explore the theme: “Future-Proof: Skills and Mindsets for a Disrupted World.”

The conference wasn’t just an event—it was a movement. Designed to prepare students for careers that don’t yet exist, Inspire focused on agility, curiosity, and innovation as the keys to thriving in a rapidly changing world.

With around 50 different sessions, participants explored topics that challenged conventional thinking and sparked new ideas.

Student Quote
“Keynote was GREAT! Steve brought some thought-provoking ideas to me around instilling an innovative culture.”

Highlights from the Day

• Dynamic Agenda: Around 50 different sessions, all aimed at bridging the gap between education and emerging career paths.
• Networking Opportunities: Students connected with professionals at our Exhibitor Lounge, gaining insights into real-world challenges and building relationships.
• Theme in Action: Many of our sessions reinforced the importance of adaptability and lifelong learning in today’s disrupted landscape.

Student Quote
“All sessions were excellent. I learned so many things for my career pathway.”

Why It Matters

The Inspire Conference is more than a single-day event—it’s a catalyst for transformation. By fostering collaboration between academia and industry, it equips students with the tools to navigate uncertainty and seize opportunities.

Looking Ahead

As we reflect on the success of this year’s conference, one thing is clear: the future belongs to those who are ready to adapt, innovate, and lead.

Thank you to our Session Room Sponsors Northfield IT and Canada Life; and to our Exhibitors MB Blue Cross, ID Fusion, Johnston Group, ISACA Winnipeg, New Media Manitoba, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, Pollard Banknote, and Exchange Technology Services.

Stay tuned for next year’s Inspire Conference and continue building the skills that will shape tomorrow’s world. Visit rrc.ca/inspire for more information.

Calling all women and non-binary people! If you are good with people and adapt easily to change, join us to learn the skills that will help you become a problem solver in any setting.

Red River College, Tech Manitoba’s MAVEN program and local tech companies want to help you retool for a career in tech. Join our conversation and learn about the many fulfilling and lucrative opportunities in the field of technology. The event is FREE and includes beverages and a light snack.

Why Attend this Important Session Geared to Women?

• Gain a better understanding of careers in technology
• Meet and talk with industry representatives
• Learn about pathways to exciting career opportunities
• Experience live demonstrations and meet current IT students and educators

Register

It’s amazing what can happen in a year and it’s certainty more incredible when you consider the speed at which technology is evolving! Red River College’s Applied Computer Education department has been using technology to simplify education for students and educators alike. Between January 30 and 31^st, we invite you to visit us at the DisruptED Conference to find out what we are doing in the areas of virtual reality, project management, and online learning. We’ll be on hand to help you participate in one or more technology demonstrations.

Demonstrations

Humanizing Technology with VR

We’ve been using VR in the classroom over at the ACE Project Space to help students improve their presentation skills. Using this tool along with encouragement from our instructors, students have gone from terrified to terrific in less than a term. Take a test drive and see for yourself the difference VR makes!

Simplifying Project Management with Ralphware

With the high number and variety of industry projects entering the ACE Project Space every term, our resident project space instructor, Ralph Dueck, found a need to provide a quick, simple, effective, and repeatable way of managing agile projects using the Scrum methodology with students and their clients. See how Ralphware has been used effectively over the past two years to keep students on track in a fast-moving project-based environment.

Using Online Learning to Create Mentorship Opportunities

The competency-based education (CBE) model has been used at the ACE project Space to provide students with opportunities to develop and prove their skills. The focus is less on lectures and more on experiential education and mentorship. Instructors in Applied Computer Education are updating their courses to enable their course content to be taught in online and blended learning formats. Learn how you can incorporate online learning in the classroom while freeing up time for providing in-class mentorship opportunities.

About the Conference

DisruptED Future is a two-day conference where the local tech industry and educational institutions meet to inspire the next generation of innovators. The conference is being held at the RBC Convention Centre located at 375 York Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

On January 15, 2020, representatives from the Winnipeg office for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) delivered an information session on their sustainability campaign to students at the ACE Project Space.  The IISD, whose mission is to champion solutions to our planet’s greatest sustainability challenges, created the AquaHacking Challenge, an initiative and competition designed to attract bright young minds who have the desire and ability to address our most urgent water issues.

Pauline Gerard, Deputy Director, IISD-ELA and Corporate Secretary, talked to our BIT, BTM, InfoSec, and PTEC students about the challenges the IISD is working to resolve in protecting and cleaning up our fresh water resources and species right here in Manitoba. Lake Winnipeg, which is the 11^th largest fresh water lake in the world, is under threat due to excessive pollutants entering the watershed. The lake also serves as the sole source of potable water for many northern communities and supplies a significant commercial fishing stock. Gerard called for students’ help in assisting the organization in signing up to develop technology-backed ideas and solutions to stop further degradation of our precious fresh water resources.

Pauline Gerard, Deputy Director, IISD-ELA and Corporate Secretary describes AquaHacking

Gerard guided students through the process of developing sustainable ideas by working on a common challenge affecting the agriculture sector today: providing agriculture producers with cost-effective solutions for managing drainage and the climate. The students were split into groups to discuss ideas around how the problem could be solved. One student from each group shared their idea to the audience. Ideas involved Internet-connected sensors, apps, and more.

The five challenges the IISD is working on for Lake Winnipeg include:

• Providing agricultural producers with cost-effective solutions for water and land management
• Assessing fish populations and health using non-invasive techniques
• Preventing microplastics from entering the lake
• Enabling local testing of drinking water quality in remote northern communities
• Financing sustainable development initiatives by connecting individual and group funding sources

The AquaHacking Challenge is an 8-month long competition for the best ideas, connecting teams of innovative people with mentors from industry and workshops to create innovative and sustainable solutions. Technology-minded youth between the ages of 18 and 35 are encouraged to register to be part of a solution team for this competition, which starts in February with winners declared in October. Winners will receive part of a $50,000 prize pool to fund further development of their solutions.

To learn more about the AquaHacking 2020 Challenge for Lake Winnipeg and how to participate, visit https://bit.ly/HackLakeWpg or stop by the IISD booth on January 31^st during the DisruptED Conference at the RBC Convention Centre.

Entrepreneurs and members of Red River College faculty enjoyed a catered lunch & learn presentation about the funding opportunities provided by Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization that builds partnerships between industry and post-secondary institutions to support industrial and social innovation in Canada with the ultimate goal of commercializing academic research.

Brent Wennekes, Director of Business Development (Manitoba) at Mitacs, described how their Accelerate program pairs entrepreneurs and companies working across all sectors of the economy with student research opportunities. Mr. Wennekes provided details about the funding model and the application process, which include a $7,500 contribution from a business in exchange for a $15,000 research award from Mitacs to support a research student intern for four months. Mitacs funding has spearheaded many of the four-month projects delivered at the ACE Project Space.

Mitacs funding recipient and CEO of ioAirFlow, Matt Schaubroeck, described his experience of having leveraged Mitacs funding while working a full-time job to kickstart his new venture. Mr. Schaubroek’s company is building an AI-supported solution using a network of temperature sensors to provide building owners and tenants with the data they need to increase energy efficiency. The research student embedded at the ACE Project Space as part of the ioAirFlow project was integral in building a marketable solution that won stage time at the Falling Walls Lab pitch contest in Berlin.

Stephen Lawrence, ACE Project Space Coordinator, shared the opportunity and process that lend to entrepreneurs the application development skills of fourth term students at the ACE Project Space with support from Mitacs. Mr. Lawrence described how the mutually beneficial relationship provides students with valuable real life project experience while providing entrepreneurs with the ability to bring their ideas to fruition.

To learn more about how to bring your business ideas to life at the ACE Project Space, please contact Stephen Lawrence, ACE Project Space Coordinator or visit our ACE Project Space web site.

The Information Security program from the Applied Computer Education department at Red River College is only in its second year, yet interest in the program and the field of information security has never been greater. And it shows. The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) student group at Red River College hosted its first ever annual mini-conference on Halloween at the ACE Project Space and it was a full house with over 70 students in attendance. Part of this group included high-school students from Seven Oaks School Division Met School and Maples Met School. Students enjoyed presentations from industry experts and one of our own information security instructors.

Along with a free pizza lunch and Halloween themed treats, students were treated to the following presentations by Deloitte, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, Auditor General of Manitoba, and Red River College:

Introduction to ISACA (Certifications and Resources)

Presented by: Fraser McLean, CPA, CA, CISA, CRISC, Senior Manager, Risk Advisory at Deloitte Canada

Fraser described the information security landscape, the ISACA organization, career options available for students as well as key activities including penetration testing, incident response handling, and cybersecurity red team versus blue team scenarios. He also talked about the certifications and resources recognized by industry.

Fraser McLean, a senior manager for risk advisory at Deloitte Canada, discusses the career opportunities in information security

Internal Audit 101

Presented by: Catarina Sousa Machado, CPA, CGA, CISA, Senior Audit and Risk Management Professional at Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation

Catarina educated students on the internal audit profession from an accounting perspective and contrasted it with the technology focus of information security professionals. She described the roles comprising internal audit, the importance of internal auditing to organizations, as well as the certification paths that are available.

Catarina Sousa Machado, a senior audit and risk management professional at Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation, talks about the internal auditing profession

Social Engineering: Human Element of Information Security

Presented by: Ganesh Sharma, FCA(India), CISA, CISM, CISSP, CIA, SAP Certified, Principal, IT Performance Audits at Auditor General of Manitoba

Ganesh shared the financial impact of data breaches on organizations and how social engineering allows these breaches to occur. He provided details on the time required to resolve incidents and the types of social engineering attacks, their methods of delivery, as well as points of exploitation, including people, processes, and technology.

Ganesh Sharma, a principal IT performance auditor from the Auditor General of Manitoba, discusses the financial impact of data breaches

Forensic Analysis

Presented by: Stephen Jay, Information Security Instructor, Red River College

One of our instructors, Stephen Jay, walked students through various aspects of forensic analysis in information security. He used examples of image analysis and demonstrated a multitude of tools that can be used to perform forensic analysis.

Stephen Jay, a Red River College information security instructor, describes how image analysis is performed as part of forensic analysis

Interested in hosting a similar event for students?

For information about hosting an event at the ACE Project Space, please contact Stephen Lawrence, ACE Project Space Coordinator at (204) 224-2712.

The Department of Applied Computer Education would like to congratulate all of our 2019 student award recipients for their achievements over the past year.

Students were selected across all of our IBIT, BIT, BTM, and InfoSec programs. The Applied Computer Education Awards presentation brochure contains the complete list of awards and recipients.

Download the Awards Presentation Brochure

Each spring, RRC’s Applied Computer Education Department runs Technology Camps for high-school students of all genders and to middle-school girls out of the Exchange District Campus. The camps allow young people to explore different technologies through diverse hands-on activities.

Building connections and bringing learning opportunities

In spring 2019, Red River College staff members, Stephen Jay, Cristy Kubara and Marnie-Leigh Boulet, brought the highly successful Technology Camps to three different schools in Brazil.

This unique opportunity came about after the Chair of ACE, Haider Al-Saidi, went with a delegation to Brazil in the fall of 2018. While there, he made connections with several schools that were interested in bringing the RRC Technology Camps to their students. After some follow-up communication, the camps were scheduled at the Pan American Christian Academy, Metodista Bertioga school and the Metodista school in Sao Paulo.

Similar to the Technology Camps in Winnipeg, the objective of the camps in Brazil was to show students what the Information Technology industry is all about and to potentially get them interested in a career in I.T. The camps also provided students with new material and experiences they may not have otherwise encountered.

The students who attended were a mix of male and female high school students (grade 10-12) and each camp had approximately 25 attendees. The day involved four different sessions that were one hour each, topics included, web development, database development, networking and web security. Stephen Jay taught each camp, while Cristy Kubara and Marnie-Leigh Boulet acted as E.A.’s.

A positive experience for the students

Not only were the camps a positive experience for the students, but the instructors also came away with success stories that made it all worth it for everyone involved. “One of the schools we went to didn’t have a data projector, which meant we had to improvise. I was writing security injections on a whiteboard. Even though the technology was sub-par, the students were helping each other, they were learning and getting it,” recalls Jay. “At another school, there were a group of kids in the back row that were ‘too cool’ to engage. As the day went on, we were able to get their attention through technology.”

“Going to Brazil and meeting all the people was such a wonderful experience,” adds Kubara. “They are so warm and welcoming. The students were so excited and willing to learn. The first thing they would talk about was wondering about how cold it is in Canada, and ‘is it really cold?’ We showed them pictures of the snow and told them how we embrace the winters rather than hide away from it. Most of them said they weren’t afraid of the cold, because it would be a better life for them in Canada.”

At the moment there are no set dates for another round of Technology Camps in Brazil, but the schools and RRC instructors are both hoping to organize something as soon as next spring.

View photos of the Brazil Technology Camps

Three representatives from the Applied Computer Education (ACE) department made the journey to Brazil this spring to participate in a series of meetings and events. The trip comes after a successful visit from the ACE department along with RRC’s International Education office in September 2018.

Stops in Fortaleza, Brasília, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro

Cristy Kubara, Marnie-Leigh Boulet and Stephen Jay went on the follow-up trip in March 2019, stopping in Fortaleza (Northeast), Brasília (Brazil’s capital city, Centre-West), São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Southeast).

The goal for the ACE department during their trips was to position RRC as the institution of choice for Brazilian students who want to further their studies, specifically in the Information Technology (IT) sector in Winnipeg. On the most recent trip; RRC ACE staff visited four post-secondary institutions, presented their custom designed technology camps to high school students and participated in one of the most popular educational trade shows in Brazil.

They visited the Higher Education Institute of Brasília, the Pan American Christian Academy, Metodista and the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology in Ceará. They explored various collaboration ideas, including joint programs, partnership on applied research activities, academic exchanges, along with special projects and internships for Canadian students.

Another important aspect of the trip was meeting with the Canadian Trade Commissioners to first thank them for the great job they are doing representing Canada in Brazil, and to also learn more about how RRC can enhance the ACE department’s brand in Brazil.

“As this was my first time in Brazil, it was imperative for me to understand what Brazilians want to know when it comes to choosing Canadian institutions for their higher education” said Marnie-Leigh Boulet. “We discovered that the main reason why international students from Brazil choose Canada for higher education is to increase chances of receiving gainful employment upon graduation.”

Raising awareness about ACE programs in Winnipeg

International recruitment fairs in Brazil tend to be very well attended, but most potential students are only familiar with the major cities in Canada, specifically Vancouver and Toronto. “One thing we did find was that while we were promoting our programs and the college, we also had to promote Winnipeg and Manitoba,” said Boulet.

“One of the first things they asked was how cold it was,” added Kubara. Winnipeg is much smaller in comparison to Sao Paulo (population of 19 million people), so many of them liked the idea of Winnipeg.”

The recruitment fairs ended up being a great success, with over 350 connections made with people who are interested in Red River College programs.

Although the trip is over, the work isn’t finished, RRC is currently focused on formalizing a partnership with several Brazilian post-secondary institutions.

The Applied Computer Education (ACE) department at Red River College has arranged a trip for students within the Business Information Technology, Business Technology Management, and Information Security programs to experience the cultural mecca of Geneva, Switzerland. The trip will take place between July 31st to August 7.  Students have been asked to provide their deposits by May 3rd to guarantee their spot on the trip. To ensure we meet our goal of 20 students, we are asking for your support to sponsor a student for this trip. We estimate the cost for each student at $2,500.

We have prepared a Sponsorship Package that includes details on sponsorship benefits, who to contact, as  well as the proposed trip itinerary. Your support will go a long way to providing students with valuable international experience.

Download the Sponsorship Package