Last month, the first cohort of students in Hollow Water (Waanibiigaaw) First Nation’s Educational Assistant program gathered alongside their instructor and family members to celebrate their graduation with a ceremony and feast.

The community-centred celebration allowed the grads to share their accomplishments with loved ones and community members. They were gifted materials from their community to create their own ribbon skirts to wear to the ceremony.

Instructor Patricia Stouffer says it was important to the grads to take part in a ceremony, not just for themselves but so young people could see the accomplishments possible for them in their community.

Hollow Water First Nation is a tightknit, welcoming community located on the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg, over 200 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. Stouffer says her students’ ability to remain close to home while studying was crucial to their success in the program.

“One of the biggest things is having support from home and not experiencing culture shock,” she explains. “It’s hard enough to transition into education, and having this opportunity right in the community opened doors for the students who were a part of this program.

“Being in their community allowed them to keep their values and connection to family alive and well throughout their education and get the support that only being close to home can provide.”

Chloe Seymour is one of the eight graduating students and is already working right in her community at Wanipigow School. She says it felt nice to be recognized at the ceremony and for her community members to see how hard she’d worked — echoing Stouffer’s sentiment that close proximity to educational opportunities is crucial.

Seymour held two part-time jobs while in the program — jobs she would’ve had to give up if she’d been required to travel to another part of the province to complete the program. It was also important to her that she could set an example for kids in Hollow Water.

“I’m glad I got to show the youth in my community that they don’t have to leave their home to continue their education, and that they can be successful, just like I was,” she says.

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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.

As Manitoba continues to grow, there’s no question that the demand for skilled tradespeople is as high as its ever been.

According to the province’s labour gap statistics, trades such as automotive service technicians, carpenters, electricians and construction labourers are some of the most in-need career paths over the next five years.

Trades, though, can be a male-dominated space. According to a 2020 study by BuildForce Canada, just five per cent of the 1.1 million trades people in Canada identify as female. While this is a significant increase from where the industry was 10 years ago (3.7 per cent in 2008), it shows just how important equal representation and creating space is when it comes to young women entering trades.

Enter the Girls Exploring Trades and Technology camp, or GETT. Started by RRC Polytech in 1999, GETT is a summer camp at the College’s Notre Dame Campus where instructors and staff help introduce young girls aged 12 to 14 to a variety of trades — free of charge.

“The girls get exposure to a whole lot of different non-traditional career options for them,” says Christina Lambert, who has been running the camps since 2006.

In a whirlwind four days, camp participants are introduced to plumbing, woodworking, cabinetmaking, welding, robotics, transportation, bricklaying, and more. At the end of their camp experience, each participant brings home a project made using experience earned in the camp: a desk lamp built with iron pipe. Read More →

A virtual connection between a patient and doctor sounds simple in concept. In execution, though, it’s a challenge from both medical and technological perspectives.

In Manitoba, that’s where QDoc comes in. The local startup has created a solution that’s taken off in the mainstream since its launch last year. And with software development help from RRC Polytech students along the way, co-founders Dr. Norman Silver and David Berkowits believe they have a service that is not only winning awards now, but is also set for rapid expansion in the near future.

Launched in May 2022, QDoc is an online application that connects patients to doctors in real-time. Thanks to a custom algorithm, patients can log in and request to see a doctor. QDoc then sends a message to doctors informing them that a patient is there to be seen, and the two can meet in an encrypted online appointment at a time that fits within both schedules.

Today, 90 doctors across several specialties are on QDoc, including general practitioners, emergency doctors, pediatricians, obstetricians and ophthalmologists. Silver says that annualized, QDoc is set to see 50,000 patients use their system in Manitoba alone in 2023.

“We’ve had great feedback,” he says. “From the individual patient side, it’s unbelievable to have access like that.

“Patients who may have had to drive hours to see a doctor, with QDoc that really isn’t necessary. Doctors can talk through things that are maybe more labour-intensive where the patient may otherwise need to go in, but all factors considered — could be a snowstorm, could be the middle of the night, could be a young kid in the equation — that kind of stuff, it’s much better to try something at home first.” Read More →

Tattoo and multimedia artist Shayre Curé says her art is often specifically created for the enjoyment of clients and customers, whether it’s displayed in their houses or on their skin.

This year, Curé partnered with RRC Polytech to create an original Red Shirt design to honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S) and to support the Mínwastánikéwin Truth and Reconciliation Award for Indigenous students.

“As a Métis artist, my goal is to create art that brings awareness to this important issue,” says Curé. “I want my art to not only reflect cultural heritage, but to inspire future generations to continue the fight for justice, equality, and empowerment.”

The new design portrays a woman with the emblematic handprint over her mouth representing the “No More Stolen Sisters” movement, which was launched to express the outrage and grief over the loss of so many women, girls and Two Spirit people that — in many cases — could have been prevented. Curé worked in collaboration with a committee of Indigenous staff at the College to come up with the concept.

Her relationship with RRC Polytech first began earlier this year, when the Indigenous Student Support Centre purchased a piece from her entitled “The Silent Genocide on Turtle Island.” Read More →

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.”

The tattoo on the back of Leon Mann’s hand says Rasva-apina, the Finnish translation for a term sometimes used to describe a mechanic. The tattoo is a permanent tribute to a four-week trip he took to Finland earlier this year as part of RRC Polytech’s Outbound Student Mobility pilot project.

The project aims to help students — especially those from under-represented groups — strengthen their global skills and competencies, boost their career capacity, expand their professional network and ultimately enrich Manitoba’s economic and social prosperity.

It’s already put Mann, an automotive student with roots in Lake Manitoba First Nation, on a path he would never have thought possible a short time ago. He almost didn’t fill out the program application.

“I was feeling stuck in place and thought, ‘You can’t do that, you can’t achieve that, it’s too prestigious.’ But one of my instructors pushed me, so I applied. Now, I still can’t believe I was there.”

Mann traveled to Finland in February with almost a dozen other RRC Polytech automotive students and instructors. The trip counted towards their program’s work experience requirement and exposed them to on-site training and cultural exploration.

Outbound Student Mobility launched in 2019 thanks to funding from Global Skills Opportunity (GSO), an Employment and Social Development Canada initiative jointly administered by Colleges and Institutes Canada and Universities Canada (CICan).

“Study and work abroad programs are invaluable learning experiences that ensure students are culturally literate, resilient, adaptable and ready to succeed in an increasingly globalized world,” says CICan President Denise Amyot.

A recent CICan report shows 2,556 students Canada-wide have participated in the program. Three quarters of participants identified themselves as members of underrepresented groups — Indigenous students, low-income students and students with disabilities — who would not have had the opportunity to study abroad if it wasn’t for this project. Read More →