News

Congratulations to Red River College alum Michael Dacquisto (Culinary Arts, 1996), who took top prize at last night’s Gold Medal Plates gala at the Winnipeg Convention Centre.

The annual event, held in partnerhsip with the Canadian Olympic Committee, marks the ultimate celebration of Canadian excellence in food, wine, athletic achievement and entertainment.

Dacquisto, head chef at the Kenaston Avenue restaurant of the same name, faced stiff competition from a number of the city’s premier chefs, among them fellow RRC grads Cameron Huley (12 Resto Bar), Adam Donnelly (Segovia Tapas Bar), Terry Gereta (Mise, Haute Prairie Cuisine), and Osten Rice (Wasabi Sabi).

Huley (Commercial Cooking, 1997; Apprenticeship Cooking, 1999) won the event’s silver medal, while bronze went to Sydney’s at the Forks chef Michael Schafer. Having won the gold medal, Dacquisto now moves on to the Canadian Culinary Championships in Kelowna, B.C., in February, where he’ll compete against chefs from all over the country.

Photo courtesy Winnipeg Free Press.

Red River College is proud to congratulate plumbing instructor W. Hal Hokanson, who received one of two Instructor of the Year honours handed out at this week’s 2011 Apprenticeship Awards of Distinction.

Held annually by Apprenticeship Manitoba and the Apprenticeship and Certification Board, the awards celebrate those who’ve shared their time and talent in training apprentices, thus contributing to the development of certified journeypersons with a special passion and pride for their trade.

“Plumbers are the protectors of the potable water system in Canada. If we don’t do our jobs properly, people can die,” Hokanson told the Winnipeg Free Press. “I spend a lot of time discussing ethics and the responsibilities of what we’re doing with my students. There’s a lot of discovery, a lot of moments of enlightenment. On the job, they learn how, but they rarely discuss why.”

Hokanson, who’s only been teaching at RRC for four years, has already been nominated twice for Instructor of the Year honours. Click here to read a full profile that ran in the Winnipeg Free Press.

The 2011 Alumni Dinner is right around the corner. The annual gala event, which provides an excellent opportunity for Red River College grads to reconnect with old friends and their alma mater, is taking place on Friday, November 18 at the Fairmont Winnipeg (One Lombard Place). Read More →

MCAC President Larry Shannon (left) with RRC goalie James Rosney, the Rebels' player of the game in Sunday's match against U of W.

The Red River College Rebels Soccer teams ended their first Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) season on a high note this past weekend. The College played host to the MCAC Soccer Championships, and both our women’s and men’s teams played their best soccer of the season.

The women’s team lost a semi-final match on Saturday to the University of Winnipeg, which put them in the bronze medal game on Sunday against Canadian Mennonite University. The women’s team was well-prepared for the game and played solidly throughout, taking the game by a score of 3-1 for the bronze medal win!

The men’s team entered the championships as the #3 seed, and upset #2-seeded Providence University College in the semi-final on Saturday by a score of 2-0. The win put the men in Sunday’s final against the #1-ranked U of W, whose squad features players from the Canadian National Team program and pro ranks. Playing inspired ball, the Rebels took the game into injury time tied at 1-1, before the Wesmen finally scored two more goals to make the score 3-1.

It was an excellent showing for the new RRC soccer program, which earned bronze and silver medals the very first year. For more information, or to see pictures and video of the MCAC Soccer Championships, visit the MCAC website at www.mcacathletics.ca.

Red River College President Stephanie Forsyth commended the Government of Manitoba on its commitment to expanding skilled trades training in today’s Speech from the Throne.

“We know industry needs significantly more skilled workers to fill labour gaps and keep up with the growth of the Manitoba economy,” explained Forsyth. “Red River College is under increased pressure to produce more advanced skilled graduates but aging facilities and infrastructure hamper our ability to respond. The plans announced today will enhance opportunities for students and increase our province’s competitiveness.”

Central to those plans is a pledge to build a new Skilled Trades and Technology Centre at Red River College’s Notre Dame Campus.

When completed by 2015, the new Centre will comprise 320,000 square feet of space that will allow for all construction trades and related programs to be housed in a single location. This flexible, sustainable learning space will encourage collaboration between students, and will incorporate state of the art digital and mechanical technologies.

This project will be one of the largest capital developments in the history of Manitoba’s college system, and will allow the College to train approximately 1,000 additional students and apprentices each year in high priority construction trades programs like carpentry, electrical and plumbing. Read More →

Due to scheduled maintenance, the following Red River College systems will be unavailable beginning Friday, October 21st at 12:00 noon until Saturday, October 22nd at approximately 6pm: WebAdvisor, online course registration, and online applications.

Ding Tinxuan, President of Henan Business College, with RRC President Stephanie Forsyth.

Red River College has expanded its international reach with the recent signing of an agreement with Henan Business College (HBC) of Zhengzhou, China, to offer a joint program in Hotel Management.

Under the terms of the agreement, students will complete two years of study at HBC, followed by a year at RRC’s soon-to-open Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. Succesful graduates will receive a diploma from both institutions. RRC will also send instructors to China to teach courses to HBC students enrolled in the joint program.

“This agreement builds on our existing relationships with colleges and universities across Asia,” explained David Leis, Vice President of Business Development for RRC. “Red River College is a Canadian leader in providing hospitality management education, and joint programs like this allow us to share our expertise with the rest of the world.”

HBC has already recruited 40 students for the initial intake of the program, and the first class is expected in Winnipeg in September 2013.

Founded in 1960, Henan Business College offers programming in business administration and applied arts to over 11,000 students. Henan is Manitoba’s sister province in China.

Join Red River College (RRC) on Oct. 26, 2011 at the Western Canadian Aviation Museum for a discussion about the latest in vision-enabled robotic technology from an international expert in the field of robotics and machinery vision.

Michael Monnin, Products Manager, Robots & Vision, Wayne Trail Technologies, will provide a practical guide of the technology currently available to manufacturers interested in more intelligent robot solutions.

Read More →

Red River College (RRC) and the Manitoba Environmental Industries Association are hosting back-to-back Clean Energy events on Oct. 17, 2011 at the College. 50 by ’30 will be leading a Lunch and Learn and this will be immediately followed by an event hosted by the World Alliance for Decentralized Energy (WADE).

Click here to learn more.

In the Year of Too Much and Too Little Water in Manitoba, a chance encounter at an environmental conference has led to the Manitoba launch of Ethical Water: Learning to Value What Matters Most at the Roblin Centre (Exchange District Campus) of Red River College on October 18^th.

One of the authors, Bob Sandford, was a guest speaker at a conference in Calgary this past June where he met Peter Denton, who teaches ethics and sustainability at Red River College. The annual joint conference of the Canadian Colleges Environmental Network (CCEN)/Canadian Universities Environmental Science Network (CUESN) was on the theme of “water,” and Denton was attending out of interest and as a CCEN Director. Read More →