Health-care education at RRC Polytech enters a new chapter today with the opening of its new Interdisciplinary Health and Community Services Simulation Centre. This facility, the first of its kind in Manitoba, will begin training the province’s future health leaders in January.

The Simulation Centre is a groundbreaking interdisciplinary facility that will revolutionize health-care training in Manitoba. It’s the first centre in Manitoba to focus on nursing, allied health professions and community services, with 16,630 square feet of state-of-the-art learning space at RRC Polytech’s Notre Dame Campus.

“The Simulation Centre will maximize education opportunities and provide immersive and collaborative training for our health and community care programs,” says Fred Meier, the College’s President and CEO. “As one of the largest trainers of health-care professionals in the province, this is an exciting new frontier in how we can better train and prepare students to be confident in their careers and make an impact in our communities throughout the province.

“Simulation is critical, as it ensures students in all programs have access to immediate experiential training opportunities vital to graduation, gaining experience that helps better prepare them for the clinical environment and being job ready on day one.”

Using state-of-the art, high-fidelity simulation equipment and live actors to create small- and large-scale activities and mock scenarios, the Simulation Centre will provide students from 13 programs with real-world experiences that mirror the realities they will face in the workplace. These training opportunities will equip them to fill vital and in-demand career roles in Manitoba’s health-care system from their first day on the job. Read More →

Transformational gift — the largest in RRC Polytech’s history — positions the College to produce the talent and expertise vital to the continued success and growth of Manitoba’s creative industries.

For more than 70 years, creative thinkers have explored ideas and sharpened their skills at RRC Polytech. Today, a $15-million gift from the Schroeder Foundation paves the way for continued growth and opportunity in the creative arts for the College, its students and the province of Manitoba.

Creative industries are at the core of RRC Polytech, and they are growing in Manitoba thanks to a local talent pool that continues to thrive.

The Schroeder Institute of Entertainment and Media Arts has been created to support those industries — and the province — in reaching the next level in this period of growth by ensuring that a pipeline of newly skilled local talent continues to flow and fill crucial industry roles, while engaging more deeply with industry partners and undertaking exciting opportunities to foster innovation through applied research.

Manitoba is increasingly becoming more competitive in creative areas across the prairies, the country and beyond. More productions are being filmed in Winnipeg and throughout the province, and more creative businesses are opening their doors while local companies are making their mark beyond our borders. Local training and talent are crucial to the success of the businesses that choose to operate here, and that is where RRC Polytech — and the Schroeder Institute — come in.

“RRC Polytech and the Schroeder Foundation have a shared vision for the future and what we can make possible through education, collaboration and research,” says Fred Meier, the College’s President and CEO.

“The Schroeder Foundation’s decision to make this tremendous investment in RRC Polytech reflects that there are visionaries invested in our community who recognize the value of what we are doing here to support students on their way into careers in creative industries. This gift today will enable us to create so many more opportunities for Manitobans and our creative industries together.” Read More →

This week, RRC Polytech unveiled its new Indigenous entrepreneurship acceleration and incubation initiative, Mittohnee Pogo’ohtah (Mittohnee), in the Roundhouse of Manitou a bi Bii daziigae — the College’s downtown hub for technology, collaboration and community.

A first of its kind in Manitoba, Mittohnee transforms experiential learning, entrepreneurship and innovation into business opportunities for Indigenous Peoples in Manitoba.

“Creating opportunities to advance Indigenous entrepreneurship is a role that RRC Polytech must play as we continue to support student success in Manitoba,” says Jamie Wilson, the College’s Vice-President, Indigenous Strategy, Research and Business Development.

“Lifelong learning is second nature and something we pass down from generation to generation. Mittohnee Pogo’otah (Mittohnee) is such a lesson, one my father learned in his youth from an older member of our community on a hunting trip. It means ‘If you are going to do it, do it right. If you don’t know how to do it right, learn how.’ This is where we can bring together the discipline and innovation to learn how.”

Mittohnee helps Indigenous students start their own businesses as they graduate out of RRC Polytech’s entrepreneurship-based Social Innovation and Community Development program.

It does so by connecting them with a network of resources and expertise focused on process, people, leveraging existing capacity and addressing relevant recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s 96 Calls to Action.

It also supports established Indigenous entrepreneurs or band-operated businesses looking to pivot, scale up or enter new joint ventures by serving as an experienced, independent third party.

The College’s ability to remove barriers and create better access for Indigenous entrepreneurs to become successful and drive the province forward is made possible by the power of partnerships with the federal and provincial governments, and generous corporate partners like TD Bank Group and Canada Life.

“Through Mittohnee, we will create the space and provide the right resources and mentorship to help transform the business ideas that Indigenous students develop in the classroom into successful ventures that can positively impact their community,” says Wilson.

“This is a uniquely Manitoba example of economic reconciliation in action, and with support from the province, alongside other funders, this will be the first post-secondary institution to offer this unique initiative here in the province.” Read More →

RRC Polytech has become the first post-secondary in Manitoba to the sign the SDG Accord, committing to embed the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into its education, research, leadership, operations, administration and engagement activities.

The 17 SDGs represent an ambitious call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. They align with the values in RRC Polytech’s strategic plan and directly support the College’s commitments.

“Our primary objective is training the workforce of today and tomorrow, so we are uniquely positioned to lead transformative change and build a more sustainable future — and the SDGs are a valuable tool to help us focus our efforts,” says RRC Polytech President Fred Meier.

“Sustainability is a journey without a final destination, so we’re prepared and excited to build on the current initiatives led by our Environmental Stewardship and Campus Renewal team and broaden our approach to include research, academics and all areas of College operations.”

The SDGs are a global blueprint for all people around the world to improve health and education, reduce inequality, spur economic growth and tackle climate change. They aim to achieve peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. While each goal has its own separate objective, they are indivisibly linked and interdependent.

“We can’t have good health and well-being without clean water, and we can’t have sustainable, inclusive communities without reducing inequality,” says Sustainability Specialist Stephanie Fulford. “So while the goals are ambitious, they reflect the scope of our global challenges, give us real targets to strive toward and a pathway to achieve them.”

“We also recognize that to achieve these goals will require all of us, in every sector of society, to work together — which is why formally signing the accord is so important.” Read More →

RRC Polytech and Siemens, a global digital technology leader, have partnered to deliver the first courses and programs available to Manitobans through the College’s new Price Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics.

The Level 1 Siemens Mechatronic Systems Certification program — the first of its kind in Manitoba — is accepting registrations and is open to recent graduates of RRC Polytech’s manufacturing programs, as well as workers in the manufacturing industry who are looking to upskill and reskill. Students who complete the Level 1 program will also have the opportunity to enrol in Level 2 later in 2024.

“The Price Institute was established to meet the emerging needs of Manitoba’s manufacturing sector by providing opportunities for students and those currently employed in the sector to access leading-edge training and applied research,” says Fred Meier, President and CEO, RRC Polytech.

“These first offerings from the Price Institute present an exciting first step in answering the call for training that advances technology adoption across all areas of manufacturing and embeds Industry 4.0 concepts.”

Alongside the first offering of the Siemens program in Manitoba, the Price Institute will offer a suite of micro-credentials starting later this fall with an Introduction to Ethical Hacking and more offerings beginning in 2024 that include Cloud Computing, Data Analysis and Intro to IT Automation.

“Finding and retaining skilled talent is a priority for industries across the country,” says Joris Myny, Senior Vice-President, Digital Industries, Siemens Canada.

“To meet this demand, it is crucial that the tools, opportunities and networks are made available to students and to a current workforce looking to upskill. We congratulate RRC Polytech on the establishment of the Price Institute, and look forward to partnering in support of industry in Manitoba.”

The Manitoba chapter of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) reported having 2,130 job vacancies in the third quarter of 2022, citing a shortage of advanced skills. These initial and future offerings through the Price Institute are essential to upskilling and reskilling to narrow the skills gap in this vital sector in Manitoba’s economy.

While these offerings are just the beginning, they represent the leading-edge subject matter and collaboration between industry and academia that Dr. Gerry Price envisioned would occur at the Price Institute.

For more information on RRC Polytech’s Institute of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics, visit rrc.ca/priceinstitute.

To register and learn more about the Price Institute’s Siemens Mechatronics Systems and Certification program or our upcoming micro-credentials, visit rrc.ca/amm.

RRC Polytech has partnered with Graphic Design graduate Leticia Spence — an Ininew artist and entrepreneur from Pimicikamak in Treaty 5 Territory — to create an original design for Orange Shirt Day and Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which is tomorrow, Sept. 30.

“Orange Shirt Day: Every Child Matters is a solemn day where we recognize and honour residential school survivors and those who never made it back to their families,” says Carla Kematch, Director, Truth and Reconciliation and Community Engagement at RRC Polytech.

“It’s a day where we take action and raise awareness of the efforts that Indigenous communities and advocates make to find Indigenous children and bring them home. The world needs to know what happened at residential schools and why this work is important. Expressing our message through Indigenous art, teachings and symbolism is how we can heal.

“We’re so honoured to have worked with artist and alumna Leticia Spence. She shared her knowledge and skill to help convey this message of justice and created such a striking and meaningful representation of Every Child Matters.”

Spence graduated from the College in 2019 and has done work for Indigenous Tourism of Canada, the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, among many other organizations. She created the new Orange Shirt design in consultation with a committee of Indigenous staff members at RRC Polytech.

Spence’s design is intricate and intentional. As with the beadwork she observed family members creating while she was growing up, she wanted to ensure that the Orange Shirt design incorporated the intended energy represented by the Every Child Matters movement.

“I want whoever is wearing this t-shirt to feel a sense of hope and strength as they honour those who are currently being found, while also knowing that it’s okay to create space to honour themselves, as either direct residential school survivors or intergenerational survivors,” says Spence. Read More →

RRC Polytech is hosting its fifth annual Truth and Reconciliation Week to mark the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, on Sat., Sept. 30.

The week begins Monday, Sept. 25, with the Fall Equinox celebration at Manitou a bi Bii daziigae, and will span over two weeks of student-, staff- and community-led sessions aimed at educating participants about the many different facets and responsibilities of Truth and Reconciliation.

“When RRC Polytech held its first Truth and Reconciliation Week five years ago, two people were leading the charge,” says Jamie Wilson, Vice-President, Indigenous Strategy, Business Development and Research.

“Today, Truth and Reconciliation Week is supported by almost 90 volunteers across all campuses, allowing the College community to come together to learn from and engage with Indigenous People.”

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada calls on post-secondary institutions to create a more equitable and inclusive society by closing gaps in social, health and economic outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities and people.

RRC Polytech’s second strategic commitment is to “commit to Truth and Reconciliation, and pursue equity, diversity and inclusion in everything we do.”

Truth and Reconciliation is not just about providing equal opportunities to Indigenous learners — it is also about educating the publics RRC Polytech serves of the true histories that have often been neglected by western textbooks and reconciling potential dissonance with facts as related by Indigenous scholars, historians and Knowledge Keepers. Read More →

Today, the Agora of Red River College Polytechnic’s (RRC Polytech) Manitou a bi Bii daziigae building will transform into an action-packed racetrack. It’s no Formula 1 – more like Formula 1/18 – as the vehicles in question are 1/18^th scale, fully autonomous race cars with all-wheel drive, monster truck tires, an HD video camera, and on-board computer.

It’s all part of the Winnipeg DeepRacer Competition, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) – a race that invites anyone aspiring to gain machine learning skills to compete. Eight student teams from RRC Polytech are in the running to achieve AI greatness, all while deepening their learning and building on skills they’ve built in the classroom.

“Today is the perfect display of some of the abilities that students in our Data Science and Machine Learning program are practicing everyday,” said Fred Meier, President and CEO, RRC Polytech. “AWS’s commitment to providing fast and agile opportunities for key learning outcomes makes working together a natural fit.”

With AWS DeepRacer, people quickly learn to train, evaluate, and tune machine learning models in a virtual simulator before competing on the track – a learning model that aligns with RRC Polytech’s own commitment to providing flexible, relevant training for the digital leaders of tomorrow.

“RRC Polytech is committed to meeting the emerging needs of students, as well as employers and industry – and we know that there’s a huge demand in industry for reinforcement and machine learning skills,” continues Meier. “Today’s event with AWS highlights that machine learning is not some far-off, futuristic concept – it’s the here and now, and students and industry are both eager to adopt it.”

This week, RRC Polytech celebrates the first cohort of students to successfully complete its Shelter Support Worker Micro-credential program, designed with industry partners to address skill gaps, meet community needs and improve staffing levels and delivery service in homeless and family violence shelters across the province.

Supported by Gender Equity Manitoba, the program is the first of its kind in Manitoba, and the result of a collaborative effort between the College and the Manitoba Association of Women’s Shelters (MAWS). It aims to provide essential skills and knowledge for individuals involved in or aspiring to work in homeless and family violence shelters.

“The successful class we are celebrating today will have an immediate impact providing frontline services and support to Manitobans in need of refuge,” says Dr. Christine Watson, Vice-President Academic. “Their accomplishment highlights the power of partnership and reinforces RRC Polytech’s strength of adapting our learning model quickly to respond to the evolving demands of our community by delivering crucial training through micro-credentials.”

Courses in the virtually delivered program include basic terminology and concepts, fundamental skills with specialization in homeless shelter support or women’s shelter support, a capstone project and a 20-hour practicum for learners to gain real world experience. Read More →

RRC Polytech’s Language Training Centre has become the Centre for Newcomer Integration, with support from a generous donation of $300,000 from BMO Financial Group.

The newly renamed Centre builds on the LTC’s strong foundation and successful reputation. The funding from BMO — announced yesterday alongside an unveiling of the Centre’s new signage — will allow staff to explore new opportunities to engage stakeholders, expand partnerships and align support services based on client needs.

“BMO’s recognition of the positive impact that RRC Polytech is making in the settlement sector, and their eagerness to invest in our ability to help prepare newcomers both linguistically and culturally to contribute quickly to Manitoba’s economy, is a source of tremendous pride — and a demonstration of the power of partnership,” says Fred Meier, RRC Polytech’s President and CEO.

“This generous gift will allow us to build on the success of our language training programs and better coordinate with our partners and stakeholders to ease the transition into Manitoba’s communities and workplaces for newcomers.”

With a priority of opening doors through strategic community engagement, the Centre offers a variety of services to help newcomers successfully settle and contribute to Manitoba’s communities and workplaces through language and communication training, employment preparation services and support services such as community building events, short-term counseling, and referrals to partner organizations. This work will evolve as additional partnerships with stakeholders are established.

“BMO is committed to making progress for a thriving economy, and a sustainable and inclusive society,” says Kristen Kennedy, BMO’s Regional Vice-President, Personal Banking, Prairies Central Region. “RRC Polytech’s Centre for Newcomer Integration will provide newcomers to Canada with valuable resources to help them find employment opportunities and achieve real financial progress.” Read More →