News

The College paid tribute to its largest group ever of Bravo Award recipients last month, during a reception that brought together staff and instructors from a wide swath of departments and program areas.

At the seventh annual Bravo lunch, held in the Jane’s dining room at the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, RRC paid its highest level of recognition to employees who put the College’s core values into action by modelling leadership, professionalism and innovation in their work practices.

“Many of your co-workers, in the nominations they submitted about you, talked about how they aspire to conduct themselves with the care and compassion you demonstrate to others,” interim president David Rew told recipients.

“They see how you lead through your actions, and they want to learn from you in the way that you motivate others. They are inspired to perform with the same work ethic and skills that you bring to your roles.”

This year’s recipients include: Read More →

Red River College earned a bronze award for Innovation in Applied Research this week, during the closing gala of College and Institute Canada’s (CICan) annual conference in Winnipeg.

The award celebrates the College’s dynamic applied research partnership with Manitoba Hydro.

“We are pleased to be recognized for the work we have done with Manitoba Hydro, one of our most important research partners and graduate employers,” said David Rew, interim president and CEO of RRC. “What an excellent opportunity to celebrate our research achievements in sustainable technology and design.”

The College’s research collaboration with Manitoba Hydro has focused primarily on green building design and technology, and on the electrification of vehicles. Two of its most notable projects include Manitoba Hydro’s award-winning energy efficient downtown office tower and more recently, the all-electric transit bus.

“Our partnership with RRC has fostered an environment for creative integration on leading-edge technology that contributes to a more sustainable future,” said Scott Thomson, president and CEO of Manitoba Hydro. “We view our relationship with the College as an important driver for long-term change that will promote continued innovation and advancement of energy efficiency in Manitoba.” Read More →

Big ideas led to big returns at this year’s Independent Professional Project (IPP) presentations, where students from Red River College’s Creative Communications program raised nearly $30,000 for a range of worthy charities and causes.

CreComm’s IPP component consists of two full-credit courses in which second-year students are tasked with conceptualizing, planning, marketing and executing an independent project that falls under one of three categories: research, promotional or creative.

The projects themselves take a wide range of forms, including events, documentaries, promotional videos, websites, books and novellas, musical endeavors, and advertising, marketing and promotional campaigns.

Often, they include a fundraising component. This year’s beneficiaries included Siloam Mission, KidSport Winnipeg, the Manitoba Down Syndrome Society, Resource Assistance for Youth, the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba, Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief, The Wasichana Fund, the Margaret Pidlaski Scholarship Fund, and the Health Sciences Centre’s Adult Eating Disorders Program.

All told, the projects raised a total of $29,568 for the above-mentioned organizations. Read More →

Red River College alum Paul Charette, former CEO of Bird Construction, and his wife Gerri have donated $1 million towards the establishment of a research chair for RRC’s School of Construction and Engineering Technology (SCET).

The province will provide matching funds to create the new chair position, which will be called the Paul Charette – Manitoba Applied Research Chair in Sustainable Construction.

“We are humbled by Paul and Gerri’s generous commitment and very pleased that the province has responded with matching funds,” says David Rew, interim president of RRC. “It’s an excellent show of confidence in SCET, and in our nationally recognized applied research program.”

The new position will support student learning while helping the construction industry develop innovative processes, technologies and applications to reduce costs, boost productivity and create more sustainable infrastructure. The Chair will also lead SCET’s research program.

“Being a 40-year veteran of the construction sector, it’s clear that research and innovation are lagging far behind other sectors,” says Charette. “I believe that sustainable infrastructure is what our industry really needs to move toward.” Read More →

A group of 700 middle school students joined Hon. Kevin Chief, Minister of Jobs and the Economy, at Red River College’s Stevenson Campus today, as he officially proclaimed May 25–29 Aerospace in Manitoba Week.

Chief made the announcement while attending Aviation and Aerospace in Manitoba (AAiM) Day, an annual event that draws Grade 6 students to RRC to learn more about the province’s thriving aerospace and aviation industries.

While at Stevenson, students were given a first-hand look at some of the concepts they’re learning about in the “Flight” module of their Grade 6 curriculum, including aircraft inspection, fundamentals of flight, manufacturing, rocketry and craters.

Additional Aerospace Week activities include a special supplement in the Winnipeg Free Press on May 25, an industry networking breakfast meeting on May 27, and a community-building volunteer event at Siloam Mission on May 29.

Learn more about AAiM Day, made possible each year by RRC, the Manitoba Aerospace Human Resources Council and a dedicated group of 150 volunteers.

Nancy Wheatley, Dean of the School of Construction and Engineering Technologies at Red River College, is pleased to welcome Shari Bielert as the new Chair of RRC’s Civil Engineering Technology department, effective May 4, 2015.

Bielert is a graduate of the Civil Engineering Technology’s former Engineering Design and Drafting program (now Architectural/Engineering Technology). She also earned her Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Architecture) from the University of Manitoba, and recently completed a Master of Education degree, also at the U of M.

After completing her RRC diploma and (first) degree, Bielert was employed as a structural design technologist in the building components industry. She was a founding member of the Canada Green Building Council’s MB Chapter, and continues to be a green building advocate.

Over the past 15 years, Bielert has served as an instructor for three Civil Engineering Technology programs – Architectural/Engineering Technology, Environmental Technology and the Construction Management degree.

Her most recent experience in the department has been as the coordinator for Technology Solutions for the Workplace, and as the program coordinator for Construction Management and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technology.

A new Skilled Trades and Technology Centre at Red River College will train up to 1,000 students each year for well-paying jobs, and provide industry with the highly-trained employees needed to expand and be competitive in a challenging international economy, it was announced today.

“Manitoba is building like never before and jobs in the skilled trades will be in greater demand as our economy expands,” said Premier Greg Selinger. “We want to provide students with the training they need to begin a great career and build their futures right here at home.”

A $60-million investment in the new 100,000-sq.-ft., state-of-the-art facility will boost trades and technology education space at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus by more than 30 per cent, Selinger said. The centre will be an important hub for the province’s skills training strategy and will be a key factor in increasing Manitoba’s workforce by 75,000 highly-trained people by 2020, the premier added.

“I wish to applaud the Province of Manitoba for continuing to invest in skilled trades and the ongoing investment in Red River College. This new facility will allow us to continue to enhance and expand our offerings in skilled trades education and further allow us to build on our work in many technology sectors,” said Interim RRC President David Rew.

“Not only will the Skilled Trades and Technology Centre further expand our applied learning environment, but it fosters a collaborative approach among many of our program areas that will have a positive impact on our pre-employment training, applied research projects and overall student success.” Read More →

The province has tabled new legislation that would provide Red River College with its own enabling act, and ensure appropriate spending and financial oversight while supporting the College’s mandate.

“Red River College is an essential part of our plan to grow the economy and create opportunities for young people to get the skills they need to get a good job here in Manitoba,” Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum said today.

“The proposed new Red River College act would strengthen the College’s financial oversight and governance, so it can continue to meet the needs of students and industry, and remain an important part of Manitoba’s strong post-secondary education system.”

The standalone legislation would build on the Colleges Act by introducing important measures that will allow RRC to continue to fulfil its mandate. Key elements of the proposed legislation would include: Read More →

Red River College’s early childcare training took on a distinctly Italian flair last month, during a six-day conference aimed at teaching the value of the Reggio Emilia philosophy, and the importance of pedagogical research in early child development.

From April 20–25, students of RRC’s Early Childhood Education programs explored Reggio Emilia, a teaching method based on the principle that children are capable and competent, and should have some control over the direction of their learning.

Developed in Italy after the Second World War, the philosophy is making headway in Canadian schoos and daycares — transforming cultural assumptions about children and their intellectual abilities.

“What we want to achieve … is to see how other childcare centres in Winnipeg are benefitting from this type of early childhood education, and to also learn from the experts as to how we can further improve our implementation of the program and how to properly track children’s development through their early years,” says Sue Narozniak, Coordinator of Early Childhood Education at RRC, and chair of the Reggio Inspired Coalition of Educators.

During the conference, Italian childcare experts Filippini Tizianna and Laura Rubizzi (shown above) joined participants as they visited childcare centres across Winnipeg, where they evaluated programming and conducted roundtable discussions about Reggio Emilia and the importance of tracking children’s progress through the early years. Read More →

National Leasing has opened up new doors for students in Red River College’s Business Administration and International Business programs, through a $50,000 donation that has enabled research in the emerging area of social innovation.

The first step of the resulting student project — which culminated last week with a series of judged presentations — was for students to learn exactly what social innovation is, and to identify ways in which it can be implemented in different communities.

Tatjana Brkic, instructor of Applied Commerce and Management Education at RRC, says the ‘social innovation’ tag is one people are still struggling with.

“Social innovation is something that we as a global community have to figure out how to unravel,” Brkic said.

In its most basic form, social innovation occurs when an organization or concept meets a community’s needs. Social innovation fills gaps, addresses social issues, and develops the community. It’s about reducing negatives — like crime and poverty — and boosting economic development. Read More →