Want the latest campus safety features and resources — all at your fingertips? There’s an app for that!

Red River College recently launched a free Mobile Safety app that provides users with direct access to RRC Security and 911, as well as specific instructions on what to do in case of an emergency, among other valuable features.

The app — which works on most smartphone platforms — can be used to access RRC’s Safe Walk resource, or to send photos or emails directly to Security. It also provides instant alerts in case of campus closures, lockdowns or emergency situations, even when the app isn’t running.

The Mobile Safety app was released in collaboration with AppArmor, a developer of custom mobile safety applications and emergency notification systems for post-secondary and private institutions in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. AppArmor also partnered recently with the University of British Columbia, Georgian College, Centennial College and the University of Florida on similar safety resources.

“Their staff worked with us every step of the way to design exactly what we were looking for,” says Dave Clarke (shown above), Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at RRC.

RRC’s Mobile Safety app can be downloaded for free from the App Store, Google Play and BlackBerry World.

Learn more at the College’s Safety and Security Blog.

Red River College helped make history last week, joining with every post-secondary institution in Manitoba — as well as the Manitoba School Boards Association — in signing the Indigenous Education Blueprint, an unprecedented commitment to advance Indigenous education in the province.

The transformational framework is the result of a new partnership between Manitoba’s public school boards and the post-secondary education sector, now united in their efforts to enhance Indigenous education and reconciliation, and to make Manitoba a global centre of excellence for Indigenous education, research, languages and culture.

The Blueprint takes action on recommendations made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and will translate into success for Indigenous students and their families, thereby enriching the lives of all Manitobans.

“Indigenous youth are one of the fastest growing populations in Canada,” said RRC President Paul Vogt. “They are our future — our future leaders, entrepreneurs and builders — and the next generation of our country. As colleges, we have a responsibility to work with other partners to continue to build upon our diverse range of post-secondary programs that support Indigenous learners on their educational journey.”

Next steps include such action items as establishing a steering committee with all signatories, creating a collaborative website and social media platform, and hosting a conference on Indigenous education.

The partners who met Friday to sign the historic Blueprint include RRC, the University of Manitoba, the University of Winnipeg, Brandon University, Université de Saint-Boniface, Canadian Mennonite University, University College of the North, Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, Assiniboine Community College and the Manitoba School Boards Association. Read More →

Temperatures outside may be dropping, but Yves Ngendahimana — the first Red River College student to enrol as part of the newly-launched Student Refugee Program — is still enjoying the warmth of a Winnipeg welcome.

Ngendahimana, who arrived in Canada from the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi, joined RRC’s student body through a sponsorship agreement and partnership with World University Services of Canada (WUSC).

After becoming a permanent Canadian resident in Toronto on Aug. 26, he made his way to Winnipeg, where he was greeted at the airport by RRC staff and members of the College’s local Student Refugee Program Committee.

Since then, he’s experienced a number of “firsts” — chief among them, a winter with actual snow — but says he’s feeling comfortably connected to the College community thanks to the efforts of the local SRP Committee, the RRC Students’ Association, and the College’s Campus Living office.

“My experience has been really awesome — there is a good family here,” says Ngendahimana, who’s currently studying Applied Accounting at RRC’s Exchange District Campus. “The College is a really good environment for studying and learning.” Read More →

Red River College culinary students went whole hog on a recent kitchen competition that doubled as a mouthwatering showcase for locally sourced products from Manitoba Pork.

Last Friday at Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, students from RRC’s Culinary Arts program took part in the 2015 Manitoba Pork Cook-off, a reality TV-style showdown in which they were tasked with creating dishes suitable for an upscale restaurant.

The annual event builds on the longstanding partnership between RRC and Manitoba Pork, and allows both partners to introduce new recipes for market, while showcasing innovative applied uses for Manitoba pork.

As part of the competition, students were asked to prepare an appetizer and an entrée, then present their dishes to a panel of judges consisting of Manitoba Pork reps, local chefs and RRC faculty.

The winning dishes are listed below: Read More →

A cabinetmaking instructor from Red River College has won a prestigious provincial training honour from Apprenticeship Manitoba.

Todd Birtwhistle received this year’s Instructor of the Year honour at the Manitoba Apprenticeship Awards of Distinction, which recognize excellence in training and education.

An employee at the college for the last eight years (and himself an alum of RRC’s Apprenticeship Cabinetmaker program), Birtwhistle picked up the award at a reception in Winnipeg on Nov. 5.

His students describe him as an excellent instructor who enables apprentices to develop technical skills and self-motivation by giving them the tools and information they need to succeed, while also allowing them to make mistakes and supporting them when they take on increasingly complex tasks.

In addition, he encourages his students to strive for excellence and to take responsibility for their own learning, while always being there to assist and answer questions.

Birtwhistle (shown above, working with Grade 9 students during RRC’s Take Our Kids to Work Day) is known for regularly arriving early to open the Carpentry shop for his class, and for staying late to help students master difficult concepts or tasks. Read More →

Red River College ranks first among its Canadian contemporaries in the category of research partnership growth, and eighth overall on a new list of the nation’s Top 50 research colleges.

Announced today, the findings mark the third year in a row that RRC has placed in the Top 10 of the annual ranking, first released by Research Infosource in 2013.

“Applied Research & Commercialization at the College continues to create and deliver more applied research and innovation resources for our partners and the communities we serve,” says RRC President Paul Vogt.

“Next to workforce-ready graduates, applied research offerings are key to our business community. They have led to many innovations in products, production methods and services delivered by Manitoba enterprises.”

Along with leading the nation in partnership growth (a new category), RRC increased its ranking in total number of research partnerships from twelfth to sixth, and total number of research projects from fifteenth to eleventh.

Read More →

Red River College’s culinary winning streak continues, thanks to a recent sweep by our graduates at the prestigious Gold Medal Plates competition in Winnipeg.

Norm Pastorin, a 2002 alum of RRC’s Culinary Arts program, took the podium’s top spot at the Oct. 16 event, where he was joined by fellow grads Jesse Friesen (2009) and Melissa Makarenko (2006) in second and third place, respectively.

Pastorin (shown above at centre) is chef at The Cornerstone Bar and Restaurant in Osborne Village; Friesen (left) is chef at 295 York downtown, and Makarenko at Resto Gare in St. Boniface.

Pastorin’s winning dish — confit salmon with bacon-quinoa-salmon roe, pickled shallots, tamagoyaki and soy-ginger-anise glaze — earned him a gold medal at this year’s gala, which doubles as a fundraiser for the Canadian Olympic Foundation’s Own the Podium program.

Each year, the event finds local chefs battling each other and the clock — with just 90 minutes to prepare and serve their creations to 500 assembled guests.

Each chef also faces scrutiny from a panel of judges, which this year included RRC’s Jeff Gill (Director of Food Services at the College) and former staffers Mike Green (Peg City Food blogger and one-time Master Chef Canada competitor) and Luc Jean (chef at Mon Ami Louis, and winner of last year’s Gold Medal Plates competition). Read More →

A human resources coordinator at Red River College is among those working to help newcomers to Manitoba achieve success, as part of a new provincial advisory council supporting government efforts to meet labour market needs.

Suenita Maharaj-Sandhu, Workplace Equity and Diversity Coordinator at RRC, will serve on the new Manitoba Advisory Council on Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, an amalgamation of the Manitoba Immigration Council and the Manitoba Ethnocultural Advisory and Advocacy Council.

Maharaj-Sandhu is serving on the Council’s Multiculturalism and Citizenship Committee, alongside members of the Winnipeg Police Service, the Manitoba Islamic Association, the Immigrant Centre Manitoba, and the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology.

She was recommended to the council through her longstanding work with organizations and individuals pursuing inclusion and diversity, including the RCMP Diversity Committee (of which she’s a member) and related groups such as Manitoba’s Islamic community. The new council members represent a diverse range of provincial sectors, including business, education, labour and social services.

“The Manitoba government is committed to helping newcomers succeed in our province,” Labour and Immigration Minister Erna Braun said in a written release last week.

“This new council will continue the good work of its predecessors by providing timely expertise and feedback to government as we work together to increase immigration to Manitoba to meet labour market needs, and to provide protection and resettlement for refugees, all of whom contribute to both our economy and our increasingly diverse and multicultural communities.” Read More →

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Red River College has received a $65,000 research grant to continue product development work with a local company specializing in environmental solutions for dust control.

The Applied Research and Development (ARD) grant — awarded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) — will allow RRC’s faculty researchers, staff and students to collaborate with Cypher Environmental staff to continue development and testing of Dust Stop, their dust control and dust suppression product.

This project will significantly enhance R&D capacity at RRC by engaging staff in a challenging multi-disciplinary area of research. The knowledge and experience generated will enrich curricula and teaching in different departments at the College; student engagement will contribute to new applied learning and expose students to real life experiences.

Through the National Research Council – Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP), Cypher has been working with RRC researchers from Civil Technology (Neil Chandler) and Life Sciences (Aman Abrha, Said Hassan and Michael Judge) on different facets of product characterization and testing. Judge and Hassan will lead the next phase of the year-long NSERC ARD project, which commences this month. Read More →

Red River College has been recognized for excellence in building management with a 2015 Earth Award from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Canada.

The award went to RRC’s Heavy Equipment Transportation Centre (HETC), and was presented in conjunction with BOMA’s national conference in Quebec on Sept. 17.

“We have an excellent Facility Management team and this award further demonstrates our hard work and dedication to sustainability,” says Tom Skraba, director of Facility Management at RRC. “I wish to congratulate the team for their tireless efforts.”

BOMA’s Earth Awards recognize excellence in resource preservation and environmentally sound commercial building management. During the selection process, BOMA evaluates a building’s ability to reduce overall environmental risk, provide good indoor air quality, practice green cleaning, recycling, and energy conservation.

HETC is one of the largest industrial training facilities in Manitoba, and one of the province’s most environmentally friendly buildings. Read More →