For the third year in a row, members of RRC’s Student Refugee Program (SRP) Local Committee were on hand to welcome their latest sponsored arrival — former Syrian resident Tariq Ajam — as he touched down in Winnipeg.

Ajam is the third student to arrive in Canada under a sponsorship with the SRP, an initiative of World University Service of Canada (WUSC).

He studied engineering in Syria until 2012, when continued instability in the region prompted him to move to Jordan. There, he completed his course credit hours and started work on his thesis, before applying for an SRP sponsorship so he could enrol in RRC’s Applied Accounting program.

“As an engineer, I always think something related to business might help me to find a good opportunity in life, such as administration or management,” says Ajam, who’ll stay at RRC’s student residence while attending classes downtown. “I really do not want to lose another chance in my life to achieve what I am dreaming of.”

Ajam was greeted at the airport yesterday by a lively delegation from RRC, including Yves Ngendahimna and Wasim Alkabani (shown above, with Ajam in centre), the first and second students to be sponsored under the SRP.

All three students made their way to Canada with help from not only committee members and the larger WUSC network, but also donors such as Albert El Tassi, Scotiabank, and the RRC Students’ Association, whose support and financial contributions make the program possible.

Recently, Scotiabank made a five-year, $100,000 pledge to support the program at RRC, and also established three individual awards worth $1,000 each to support domestic students pursuing careers in the financial services industry.

To join the SRP Local Committee, contact Lauren Konrad, Student Integration Coordinator, at 204.631.3345.

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 →

Starting this year, Red River College students living with schizophrenia will have the chance to apply for a new scholarship available to Manitobans pursuing post-secondary educations.

It’s hoped the new Yes2Me Scholarships — worth $1,000 and sponsored by the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society (MSS) and the Otsuka-Lundbeck Alliance — will help bridge the gap between the 70 per cent of people living with schizophrenia who wish to pursue post-secondary studies, and the 30 per cent currently in the workforce.

The relatively low workforce figure is attributed to both social stigma and a lack of opportunities for those living with schizophrenia and other mental health issues. Research suggests creating pathways to post-secondary education can result in positive outcomes and help address disparities.

“A large part of the recovery process for a person living with schizophrenia — or any illness — is being able to access post-secondary education,” says Chris Summerville, executive director of the MSS. “There are barriers that can stand in the way. This can include stigma, financial burden, lack of accommodation and other issues. The importance of post-secondary education is perhaps even greater for students with a mental illness.” 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 →

As thousands of athletes and spectators descend on Winnipeg for the 2017 Canada Summer Games, a group of Red River College students will be on hand to show them some of our trademark hospitality.

The five students — all of whom are completing the final stages of RRC’s Hospitality and Tourism Management program — are volunteering as team leads overseeing the set-up and operations of the Athletes’ Village at the University of Manitoba.

Their work at the Village will help them fulfill the final co-op term required to complete the second year of their program, in which all five are majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

They first became involved with the Summer Games back in February, when instructor Krista Mask invited Jordon Lanthier, chair of accommodations for the event, to speak to her Rooms Management class about volunteer opportunities.

Mask says the students were immediately enthused, noting the Summer Games experience is perfect for those making their first forays into the industry.

“Many of my students have no work experience when they come to [RRC],” she explains. “And how do you build a resume without having had any paid positions?”

“This is a great opportunity, for them and their resumes — not only do they get to network with different people from all over, it’s also a huge boon in terms of tourism. And without volunteers, these types of events just don’t happen.” Read More →

A set of hockey sticks used by members of the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose have been given new life at the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre (WASAC), where they’ll be used by local youths dreaming of becoming the next Mark Scheifele or Jocelyne Larocque.

The sticks, which were damaged or broken during game play last season, were donated to Red River College by True North Sports and Entertainment, and repaired to nearly-new quality by students in RRC’s Aerospace Manufacturing program.

As part of the program’s curriculum, the students fixed the sticks using a variety of composite materials, then delivered them to WASAC, which since 1999 has been providing Indigenous and inner-city youth with access to sport and leisure activities.

“The kids and staff at WASAC really represent the spirit of community, and we are thrilled to provide them with this new equipment,” says RRC President Paul Vogt. “This project is a fantastic training opportunity for our students, who are learning to work with different composite materials, and as a bonus we are able to provide the younger generation of Winnipeg’s youth with opportunities to grow through sport.”

Vogt was joined at WASAC by RRC instructor Terry Morris (who led the project along with Chris Marek), to present the 18 sticks to WASAC participants, and join them in a game of hockey.

“We are humbled and excited to be recipients of NHL hockey sticks,” says WASAC Kids Camp coordinator Kate Doer. “These sticks were given to our children at summer camp and I know they’ll create many special road hockey memories as the kids imagine themselves as their hockey heroes.” Read More →

Red River College, in partnership with the Peterbilt Motors Company, today welcomed its first group of students to the newly established Peterbilt Technician Institute (PTI) at the Notre Dame Campus.

A first for Peterbilt in Canada, the Institute is a manufacturer-paid training program offered to graduates of RRC’s Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic program, and to those interested in advancing their skills and training so they can become certified Peterbilt technicians.

“[The] College’s strengths in delivering this program come from our faculty’s connection to industry and the expertise they bring along with it,” says Tom Grant, Chair of Transportation and Heavy Apprenticeship Trades at RRC.

“Having this program delivered here will help Peterbilt develop their next generation of technicians, and we’re excited to play an important role in supporting them.”

While the trucking and transportation industry plays a big part in driving Canada’s economy — with more than 25,000 people employed in Manitoba alone — RRC’s experience delivering industry-specific training programs made it an ideal choice when Peterbilt began exploring options for their Canadian dealerships and employees.

“Partnering with RRC will allow us to address the industry-wide shortage of qualified and certified Peterbilt service technicians,” says Kyle Quinn, General Manager at Peterbilt.

“Our partnership will attract the next generation of Peterbilt technicians, who will exceed expectations through exceptional service for our customers and their vehicles.”

The new training program will run for 12 weeks, with the first intake running from June to September. A spring intake is planned for March 2018.

Cypher Environmental and Red River College are marking the launch of a new product line developed by Cypher in collaboration with RRC students.

Cypher’s new Dust Stop Municipal Blend product is designed as a non-corrosive and environmentally friendly alternative to road salts such as magnesium chloride and calcium chloride, offering superior road dust control results.

“Cypher’s new product is a perfect example of how Red River College partners with industry to foster innovation right here in Manitoba,” says RRC President Paul Vogt. “It’s a real success story, as students and faculty worked on this project, our facilities were used, and both the Cypher president and company staff are College graduates.”

The product was launched today at an event attended by provincial Minister of Sustainable Development Cathy Cox, along with a delegation of political representatives from the Belarusian province of Mogilev, who’ve shown interest in the product.

Earlier in the day, RRC took the delegation on a tour of the campus facilities used to develop the Dust Stop Municipal Blend.

“We have been working hard on getting this new product up and running, and we’re very excited to be able to officially launch,” says Todd Burns, president of Cypher Environmental. “This product will create new jobs and revenue for the province of Manitoba and we have a growing international market to cater to.”

Cypher Environmental is a Winnipeg-based company that engineers environmentally friendly, high-quality dust control, soil stabilization, and water remediation solutions and now exports to over 30 countries.

Work on the new product was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).

A group of Red River College Hospitality students got a head start on their summer this year, travelling to Belize in May for two weeks of culinary exploration.

The six second-year students — from RRC’s Culinary Arts and Professional Baking and Patisserie programs — made the trip alongside 14 students from Vancouver Island University.

While in Belize, the group spent time in five different cities and town, exploring everything from bakeries to banana plantations, marketplaces to Mayan ruins, and spice farms to sustainable nature preserves.

They also got a first-hand look at the region’s version of the farm-to-table movement, learning how the raw ingredients in coffee, chocolate, and corn tortillas (among other products) make their way from farmers’ fields to your plate.

“It was incredibly enlightening,” says RRC instructor Cameron Tait, who accompanied the students on the trip.

“There are very few people in the world who get to go from picking fruit in the jungle to making their own chocolate — pouring their own bars and wrapping the finished product themselves. You may get to see bits and pieces of that process if you’re lucky, so to see the whole thing unfold was fascinating.”

In addition to the cultural component of the trip — which also included visits to animal habitats, organic gardens, jungle tours and rum distilleries — the students were able to incorporate a charitable element, as well.

As part of their fundraising efforts, they collected several suitcases worth of school supplies, which they donated to an elementary school in the village of Blue Creek.

A recent Red River College graduate has received this year’s Student Award of Excellence from the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) and Canada Newswire (CNW).

Trenton Burton, who graduated this week from RRC’s Creative Communications program, was awarded the 2017 CPRS/CNW Student Award of Excellence at a gala event in Kelowna on May 30.

The award recognizes student excellence in the field of public relations. Candidates are nominated by their instructors and program coordinators; winners receive a $1,000 cash award from CNW and a complimentary affiliate membership — designed specifically for new practitioners — from CPRS.

A singer-songwriter who earlier this year released an album in support of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Burton recently started a new position as corporate communications representative for Manitoba Blue Cross.

He’s previously worked as communications coordinator for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, and currently serves on the board for CPRS Manitoba.

“When I found out I won [the award], I almost didn’t believe it,” says Burton, who couldn’t attend the ceremony in Kelowna, but sent thanks via a short acceptance video. “There are so many PR students around the country doing great work, and I was honoured that CPRS and CMW chose to recognize me.

“A lot of the credit goes to my PR instructor, Melanie Lee Lockhart, who taught me so much in the past couple years. And of course, I couldn’t have done it without the Creative Communications program in general, since it gave me so many opportunities I wouldn’t get anywhere else.”