Last weekend, in front of a crowd representing all sectors of the provincial economy, Red River College was honoured with a Long-term Achievement Award by the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

Presented as part of the 34^th annual Manitoba Business Awards gala, the designation recognizes the College’s unwavering dedication to education and to community — a tradition, point of pride, and driving force that has led RRC to become Manitoba’s largest institute of applied learning, and a global leader in research and innovation.

“It may seem unconventional to regard Red River College as a business, but we haven’t achieved this level of success by following convention,” says RRC President Paul Vogt.

“Part of what makes the College such an outstanding place to study, teach and work is our ability to continually push the boundaries and shape Manitoba’s economy every day.”

The Long-term Achievement Award recognizes outstanding achievements made by the Manitoba business community. Nominees are evaluated on sustained growth, contributions to Manitoba employment, and community involvement, demonstrating a commitment of at least 50 years in operation.

From its beginnings in the 1930s as the Industrial Education Centre, to the opening of the Notre Dame Campus in 1963, to the ongoing expansion projects currently underway today, the College has long been celebrated as an institution that’s committed to meeting the needs of Manitoba growing economy.

“We are very proud of our growing partnership model and working relationships with industry — many of whom are also members of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce,” says Vogt.

“We are proud of the entrepreneurs, products, services and innovations that we continue to bring to the market in Manitoba and on a global level, and we look forward to continued successes as we look toward the future.”

Shown above (from left): Judy Murphy, Board Chair, Manitoba Chambers of Commerce; Dr. Christine Watson, Vice-President, Academic, RRC; Tim Silversides, Board Chair, CPA Manitoba; Rebecca Chartrand, Executive Director, Indigenous Strategy, RRC.

Red River College is now the top research college in Western Canada, according to Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges, an annual ranking conducted by Re$earch Infosource Inc. that was released today.

“It’s fantastic to once again be recognized for our overall research efforts and successes in building research and innovation capacity for Manitoba,” says RRC President Paul Vogt. “Our research programming has never been more important as we work to support the increasingly sophisticated needs of current and future graduates, employers and industry.”

This has been a marquee year for the College, with major infrastructure announcements for both its Exchange District and Notre Dame campuses. Applied research has been the impetus for much of the recent growth.

“We now have so much research-related activity happening at the College – all in response to expressed needs by industry and our community,” says Ray Hoemsen, RRC’s Executive Director of Research Partnerships & Innovation. “Being recognized as the top Research College in Western Canada validates that we are not only playing a key role in economic development, but also that our knowledge, expertise and facilities are highly relevant.”

Visit our Research Partnerships & Innovation blog to read more about the top 10 research-related highlights from the past year.

Red River College has launched a number of new bursaries and awards aimed at supporting Indigenous learners, those committed to social justice, and those pursuing studies that support the environment.

Last year, a total of 2,300 financial awards ­­— worth more than $1.5 million — were distributed to students enrolled at RRC.

“Many of our students benefit from access to the awards, bursaries and scholarships made available through the support of local businesses, industry partners, and community organizations and individuals who have made an investment in our students,” says RRC President Paul Vogt.

“This type of an investment not only benefits our students, it helps continue to support the province’s economy, as Manitobans are able to access the skills and training they need to join the workforce.”

In addition to support from donors and industry partners, student awards are also made possible through investments from the province, including matched funding amounts provided to participating post-secondary institutions.

“Manitoba’s economy relies on the success of our students — as about 98 per cent of our alumni live and work here after graduation — and financial awards help alleviate the pressures that many students face,” says Vogt. “This is one of the ways we support student success, which is a key strategic priority at the College.”

Students who are considering applying for a financial award are encouraged to explore the full list, which includes eligibility requirements and application deadlines.

New scholarships and bursaries available this year include: Read More →

A rush of electricity will race through Red River College’s Notre Dame Campus this winter.

For nearly two years, a team of students from the College’s Electrical Engineering Technology and Mechanical Engineering Technology programs have been meeting every Wednesday to design and build a battery-electric race car.

This April, the vehicle will make its raceway debut at the Shell Eco-Marathon in Sonoma, California, where it’ll compete against more than 100 student-made cars from high schools, colleges and universities across North and South America.

The RRC team’s goal? To build the car that can go the furthest distance while using the least amount of energy.

This morning, students offered a sneak peek of their work to RRC President Paul Vogt, while officially announcing the car’s name: SpaRRCky.

“This is one of the best examples of applied learning,” says Vogt. “When you combine industry-led training with highly motivated students and faculty expertise, you can achieve great things. I am very proud that our College is a place where we can turn vision into reality, and I can’t wait to see how our racer performs in California.”

Students can enter the competition in one of two vehicle categories: Prototype, which challenges teams to enter futuristic-looking vehicles with maximized efficiency, or UrbanConcept, which focuses on practical road designs.

For both categories, teams can use any of seven official energy sources, including conventional fuels such as gasoline and diesel, or alternative fuels such as hydrogen, ethanol, gas-to-liquid (GTL), compressed natural gas (CNG), and battery electric technologies. Read More →

One potato, two potato, three potato, four — that and a few hundred pounds more were dug up from Red River College’s community garden today and donated to Winnipeg Harvest in support of the corporate Grow-A-Row challenge.

Staff and students at the College have spent all summer tending to the spuds (and carrots and onions), which will now go to feed families in need.

“Once again, Red River College is proud to support Winnipeg Harvest, and this year we are pleased to donate nearly 3,000 pounds of vegetables from our garden to Winnipeg families,” says RRC President Paul Vogt.

“I want to thank the staff and students who volunteer their time to tend to the garden, and our grounds and Sustainability teams who champion this community initiative within the College. I’d also like to congratulate the Winnipeg Airports Authority and the corporate partners [including Pegasus Publications] who have taken part in this important project to ensure that no one in our community goes hungry.”

Dating back several years, RRC’s involvement with Grow-A-Row is currently championed by Gord McLeod, pavement and grounds supervisor, and Sara MacArthur, director of Sustainability. The College’s garden — a 30’ x 60’ plot of land — has become a community initiative encouraging involvement from both staff and students, who tend and harvest it on a volunteer basis.

The food grown in the garden supports not only the greater community, but also the College’s food bank, organized by the RRC Students’ Association.

The Grow-A-Row initiative, meanwhile, first blossomed back in 1986, when Winnipeg residents Ron and Eunice O’Donovan produced more potatoes in their backyard garden than they could consume. Their donations were so well received by Winnipeg Harvest that the couple encouraged friends and neighbours to also donate surplus produce.

Since then, Grow-A-Row has yielded more than 3.7 million of pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Mayor Brian Bowman and Red River College President Paul Vogt joined students from RRC’s Professional Baking and Patisserie program this morning to mark the five-year anniversary of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute with a friendly pretzel-making bake-off.

The two were assisted by Suzanne Gessler, proud RRC graduate and owner of The Pennyloaf Bakery, a small-batch artisanal shop on Corydon. Gessler coached Bowman and Vogt while sharing her experiences as a baker and business owner — one who set aside her career as a civil servant to attend RRC’s Exchange District culinary school.

Gessler is one of more than 600 graduates who’ve passed through the doors of PGI since it became the new home to RRC’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts in 2012.

“Today we celebrate not only the tremendous impact the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute has had on education in our city, but also the positive impact of the College’s expansion into the Exchange District,” says Vogt.

“Restoring heritage buildings and bringing thousands of students and staff to the area has sparked new economic activity and helped revitalize this iconic community.”

Before its restoration, PGI was home to the Union Bank Tower, Winnipeg’s first and oldest skyscraper — and at one time, the tallest building in Canada. Today, the LEED Gold-certified building houses RRC’s culinary, hospitality and baking programs, as well as the College’s first-ever student residence, which is running at full capacity this year.

PGI is a key component of RRC’s Exchange District Campus, which also includes the nearby Roblin Centre on Princess Street. The campus will soon undergo a massive expansion with the construction of a 100,000-square foot Innovation Centre. Fundraising efforts supporting the new state-of-the-art facility are now underway.

“Red River College continues to be a strong anchor and foundation supporting the growth and revitalization of our downtown and the Exchange District,” says Bowman. “It’s great to celebrate the five-year anniversary of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, a building that continues to help foster round-the-clock activity, and it’s great to see people increasingly recognizing the Exchange as a place to visit, live and spend money.” Read More →

What began as an English language training partnership 30 years ago has grown into an opportunity for students in Northern China’s industrial centre to harness advanced skills in three top industries.

This week, delegates from the Shenyang Institute of Engineering (SIE) are visiting Red River College to continue growing that relationship, and to tour the Exchange District Campus and the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. The delegates were greeted at the Notre Dame Campus Monday morning by RRC President Paul Vogt.

The relationship between the two institutions began in 1987, when RRC and SIE exchanged staff and faculty to offer English language training in Northern China.

Since 2010, students in Shenyang have been able to enrol in joint degree programs for Electrical Engineering Technology, Power Engineering Technology, and Hospitality and Tourism Management. These students have the option of completing the three-year programs entirely in Shenyang — with curriculum provided by RRC — or they can complete their first two years of study in China and travel to Winnipeg for the final year.

The partnership has grown steadily since its early days, with more than 1,000 Chinese students now enrolled for the 2017/2018 academic year.

“It’s connections like this that put Red River College, and Winnipeg, on the map as a hub for the engineering and hospitality industries,” says Vogt. “The hands-on learning students receive is crucial to their success and we’re happy to be able share that with our partners in Shenyang.” Read More →

Red River College’s Stevenson Campus was again the proud facility sponsor for the 14^th United Way Winnipeg Plane Pull — providing the hangar and volunteers for the annual fundraiser, which doubled as the launch of this year’s United Way Annual Giving Campaign.

Nearly 2,000 people joined together Friday to pull 80,000 pounds of plane, while raising money to provide essential supports directly to kids and families in Winnipeg. But the heavy lifting for this event begins long before the first teams get their hands on the rope.

“In order for an event of this magnitude to take off smoothly, it’s all hands on deck,” says RRC President Paul Vogt. “As the facility sponsors, our instructors and staff at the Stevenson Campus are involved in the planning nearly a year in advance — from scheduling classes and program training around the event date, to providing volunteers and working around the clock the day before to clear the hangar and have it set up and ready for participants.”

The 55,000-square foot training facility is home to RRC’s aviation and aerospace programs – making it the ideal location for the Plane Pull each year.

“We’re excited to be back on Stevenson Aviation’s tarmac, which is generously provided by Red River College, pulling together for a better Winnipeg,” says Colin Ryan, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director at BMO Nesbitt Burns, and United Way Winnipeg’s 2017 Campaign Chair.

“More and more, Winnipeggers are reaching out with kindness every single day, sharing our pride and shaping a Winnipeg we can all be proud to call home.” Read More →

Red River College will unveil six new programs this year to prepare students for success in the fields of construction management, IT, engineering, health care and business administration.

The new offerings will equip students to be industry-ready by the time they graduate, through the College’s brand of hands-on learning delivered by highly skilled faculty members.

Many of the skills students will acquire through these programs are in high demand in sectors across the province. According to recent surveys, 98 per cent of Red River College graduates choose to stay and work in Manitoba, a trend that helps meet the needs of our province’s economy.

“The partnerships we have with key industries in Manitoba help drive our decisions on program offerings,” says RRC President Paul Vogt. “We get constant feedback from employers on the skills they are looking for, and what it takes for graduates to find jobs and be at the leading edge of their sectors.”

The new programs include: Read More →

More than 30 international students attending Red River College’s Language Training Centre Summer Institute put their language training into practice — and got a taste of Manitoba’s passion for sport — at this week’s 2017 Canada Summer Games women’s volleyball match between Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The students and instructors are in Winnipeg until Aug. 11, visiting from both the Shenyang Institute of Engineering in Liaoning, China, and the Shaanxi Polytechnic Institute in Shaanxi, China to enhance their English language skills.

“We are pleased to once again welcome international students and instructors to Red River College’s Summer Institute for the fifth year – most of whom are visiting Canada for the first time,” says RRC president Paul Vogt, himself a member of the 2017 Canada Summer Games Board of Directors.

“This program is essential to our continued work building relationships with educational institutions overseas and showcasing the bright future Red River College and the province of Manitoba can offer future international students.”

The focus of the Summer Institute is to balance fun and interactive classroom sessions at RRC with outings to some of the city’s most popular attractions, while helping students build confidence by using English in the classroom and in everyday situations. Since arriving in Winnipeg, students have visited RRC’s three campuses in Winnipeg, and enjoyed learning excursions to CF Polo Park, Assiniboine Park, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, the Canada Summer Games, and Folklorama. Read More →