(From left): MET students Graciela Manaois, Eleanor Pangilinan, Tessa Feeleus, Qi Zhao and Marielaine Palileo, with the Stirling engines they built as class assignments.

For decades, mechanical engineering technology has been something of a male-dominated field. But with more and more women now entering the field, enrolment at Red River is reflective of the changing times.

“What’s really unusual about this is I don’t think we’ve had more than about five female graduates in this program — ever,” says Kathy Davis, Technical Communication instructor and co-op coordinator for RRC’s Mechanical Engineering Technology program.

“And now we have nine women enrolled between first and third year. And they’re all doing well, despite the fact that they’re in a tough program, and despite the fact one of them has a very young daughter, another is fresh out of high school, one has English as a second language issues, and another is working full time. How they’re doing it, I don’t know!”

While she’s careful to point out that many of the program’s male students face similar pressures, Davis says it’s great to see more young women currently enrolled, since it suggests a reversal of a decades-old trend in which women have avoided the field in favour of civil or electrical engineering technology. Read More →

It’s back to school week at Red River College, and as always, students are marking their return to class with a few extra-curricular celebrations.

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Red River College students led the way for a Manitoba delegation that earned the highest number of gold medals at the recently held 17^th Canadian Skills Competition in Quebec City. The annual Skills Canada National event took place from June 1 to 4.

Team Manitoba received a total of 24 medals, including 13 Gold, 5 Silver, and 6 Bronze. The teams from Ontario and Quebec each earned 10 Gold medals, while the Alberta and British Columbia delegations each finished with 7 Gold.

Of the Team Manitoba medals, Red River College students won 4 Gold, 2 Silver, and 3 Bronze:

• Andrew Hallmann, CNC Machining (post-secondary) – Gold
• Markus Messerschmidt, Autobody Repair (post-secondary) – Gold
• Ryan Peters, Carpentry (post-secondary) – Gold
• Vasyl Zhukov-Malyeyev, Cabinet Making (post-secondary) – Gold
• Jacob Bell, Brick Masonry (post-secondary) – Silver
• Chad Verplaestse, Sheet Metal Work (post-secondary) – Silver
• Colin Dewitt, Landscape Gardening (post-secondary) – Bronze
• Mackenzie Harman, Landscape Gardening (post-secondary) – Bronze
• Jesse Reimer, Architectural Tech & Design (post-secondary) – Bronze

Congratulations to the RRC representatives, as well as the rest of Team Manitoba, on an excellent showing!

Red River College celebrated the achievements of its Aboriginal graduates at the College's 11th Annual Graduation Pow Wow.

Hosted by RRC's School of Indigenous Education, the event (held May 6, 2011), drew more than 800 graduates, family members and friends.

On June 3, 2011, the SIE will host the College's first ever Aboriginal Art Auction, in support of Aboriginal-focused programming for students. Tickets will be sold until June 2, 2011, at both the Notre Dame Campus and Exchange District Campus bookstores.

For more information or to view images of the available artwork, see www.rrc.ca/aboriginalart.

Students of Red River College's Graphic Design program gave their industry peers an eyeful last week, displaying the products of their individual visions at the 2011 Creative Arts Open House.

Held May 5, 2011, at the Exchange District Campus, the event allowed students, graduates and industry representatives to enjoy an evening of accomplished design work produced by students in RRC's Graphic Design, Graphic Design Advanced, Digital Multimedia Technology, and 3D Computer Graphics programs.

The evening's festivities were bolstered by presentations from two guest speakers: Toronto-based graphic designer Louis Fishauf — who's created logos and brands for such companies as Roots, Molson Breweries and Toronto Life — and cartooning legend Ralph Bakshi, creator of such cult favourites as Fritz the Cat, American Pop, and the animated version of The Lord of the Rings.

Click here for more information about RRC's Graphic Design program.

Creative Arts students from Red River College continue to blaze trails in the realm of online publication, having recently launched their own "ePubs": interactive magazines designed specifically for the iPad's Adobe Viewer app.

The consortium of RRC-ers — comprised of second-year Graphic Design students and Advertising majors from the Creative Communications program — spent the better part of their academic year writing, designing, programming and publishing the ePubs, which are now available for free download (link to downloading instructions below).

The ePubs — which include motion graphics and video, and feature ads for both Red River College and Berns & Black Salon & Spa (this semester's advertising client) — were created with college-aged students in mind, says CreComm instructor Kenton Larsen.

“An advertising professional does a lot more today than just write copy,” says Larsen. “This project is a great opportunity to show that RRC, Creative Communications, and Graphic Design aren't spinning their wheels in the bygone days of the communications biz, but continue to keep moving forward at the forefront of the industry.”

The ePub project was funded by an award from RRC's Program Innovation Fund, which was established to support technological innovation and continuous improvements in academic programming at the College.

See Larsen's blog for links to examples of the students' ePubs, and for detailed instructions on how to download the entries to your iPad.

Now here's a mafia you wouldn't mind messing with.

Several decades' worth of Creative Communications students (known in local media circles as the "CreComm Mafia") gathered yesterday to pay tribute to a colleague, mentor and friend: departing Red River College instructor Steve Vogelsang, who'll be moving to British Columbia at the end of the school year.

The combined send-off and reunion, held at The Roblin Centre downtown, drew upwards of 250 people — many of them current CreComm students who were taping their final "Live At Five" newscast of the year. The majority, however, were recent graduates and media colleagues who'd returned to thank Vogelsang for the impact he's had on their careers.

"It was in second year that Steve said to me, 'Martin — you should try anchoring,'" recalled recent CreComm grad Shannon Martin, who entered the program intending to study print journalism, but now works as Global Winnipeg's late-night anchor.  

"I didn't want to do it, but I did — and I loved it. Steve was the turning point in my broadcasting career."

Vogelsang joined the RRC team in 2002, following a long and distinguished career with CKY-TV (aka CTV Winnipeg). In the ensuing years, CreComm students have benefited greatly from his knowledge and experience, and from the countless curriculum-related initiatives (among them, the aforementioned "Live At Five" newscasts) he's had a hand in implementing.

"Being able to share that experience with enthusiasm and humour has made him a favourite here on campus," said RRC President Stephanie Forsyth.

Vogelsang, for his part, seemed genuinely touched by the tributes. While addressing those gathered, he referenced common qualities among the so-called mafia, including "a certain hunger, a certain desire, and certain self-destructive tendencies that cause you — against your better judgment — to put up with instructors like me."

"When you survive something like that, you're bound together with all those people who survived it right along with you," he said. "That characteristic is what brings us together as alumni. It's what makes it easier for me to go, because I'll be taking that with me."

Click here for more information on RRC's Creative Communications program.

Students from Red River College's Culinary Arts program are helping to raise money for disaster relief efforts in Japan.

Natasha Dyck and Jesse Friesen — recent Culinary Arts grads working at Tre Visi and Lobby On York, respectively — are both featured in the inaugural edition of the Canadian Culinary Federation's Made in Canada: A Collection of Recipes from Canada's Junior Chefs, an 18-month calendar highlighting the accomplishments of junior chefs from coast-to-coast.

Proceeds from the sale of the calendar were originally to go towards the 2011 Bidvest World Cooks Tour Against Hunger in South Africa, as well as the Junior Chefs Initiative in Canada. But Culinary Arts instructor Tim Appleton says his students have decided to instead donate $10 from every $20 calendar sold to World Chefs Without Borders, a humanitarian aid initiative by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS).

To order a calendar, contact Tim Appleton at tappleton@rrc.mb.ca.

Centre, foreground: Neil Cooke, Chair of Transportation, Math & Science at RRC; and Joyce Sobering, Vice-President, Sobering Automotive Centre Ltd., with the team that assembled the 1965 Cobra.

Students from Red River College's Automotive Department have found a new way to re-invest in the community, by using their skills to raise money for a local philanthropic group's scholarship fund.

Over the last year and a half, a team of students and instructors from RRC's Automotive program used their combined mechanical know-how to assemble a 1965 Cobra AC Replica Kit Car, which was supplied by the Red River Exhibition Foundation (the philanthropic arm of the Red River Exhibition Association).

The Foundation, in turn, was able to raffle off the car, putting the more than $40,000 in proceeds towards a scholarship program that helps individuals complete their post-secondary educations. Scholarship funds are used to support five industry sectors: Aerospace, Agriculture & Agri-Food, Automotive, Business, and Tourism.

On Tue., Dec. 14th, 2010, staff and students at the College were joined by Joyce Sobering of Sobering Automotive Centre Ltd., one of the Foundation's founders. Sobering said the Cobra project had a number of objectives: To showcase the skills and achievements of RRC students and instructors, to serve as a recruitment strategy for the automotive industry, and to raise funds to support all five of the Foundation's industry sectors.

"I think both the instructors and the students did a phenomenal job," said Sobering. "I was very impressed, not only with the finished product, but also with the time they committed to the project, and with their enthusiasm and skills."

Click here for more information about the Red River Exhibition Foundation.

Red River College welcomed more new faces than ever before this fall, as the number of full-time students at its eight Manitoba campuses jumped by 5.5%, setting a new enrolment record.

Growth took place across the college, including big jumps in Advanced Diploma (+15.1%) and Fast Track (+45.7%) enrolments.
 
The introduction of RRC’s first two degree programs, in Construction Management and Nursing, has also proven popular with new students.

"Degree programs allow students to obtain a more advanced level of technical training than is available in a traditional two-year diploma program," explained Ken Webb, RRC’s Vice-President of Academic & Research. "These programs have been developed in direct response to industry demand for more highly skilled graduates in certain occupational areas."

Full-time enrolment is also up 17.6% at RRC’s five regional campuses, located in Steinbach, Portage la Prairie, Gimli, Winkler and Peguis/Fisher River.

Those figures should continue to increase in the years ahead, as a new campus under development in Portage la Prairie — located in the historic former Victoria School building — will allow the College to expand training opportunities in the Central Plains region.

While students are increasingly seeing the advantages of a college education — including hands-on learning, instructors with real-world experience and work placement opportunities — RRC officials say finding somewhere to put them all is a growing challenge.
 
"Red River College has been operating at close to full capacity for several years," said Webb. "We’ve been very creative in making use of our existing space, but to continue our critical role in supporting the growth of Manitoba industry, we are going to have to grow ourselves."

Webb said the development of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute in the Exchange District — a new home for RRC’s culinary and hospitality programs and site of the College’ first student residence — will provide some much-needed new teaching space. However, he stresses the college must continue to work closely with industry and government to ensure the facilities are in place to meet the labour demands of the province.