Congratulations to the latest recipients of Red River College’s Lieutenant-Governor’s Medals for Proficiency, which will be awarded tonight and tomorrow as part of our Winter Convocation ceremonies.

Each year, up to four medals are awarded to RRC students who best combine good character, academic and technical achievement, and involvement in College and community activities. This year’s winners are: Read More →

Congratulations to Red River College grad Dan Blair, who was named one of the Future Leaders of Manitoba at last night’s awards gala.

Blair, who completed RRC’s Business Information Technology program in 2015, took the top spot in the FLM’s 20-25 category, where he faced competition from both the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba.

A self-described technology entrepreneur, Blair has launched several companies since graduating from RRC, including Bit Space Development Ltd. — a local consulting firm that helps small- and medium-sized businesses explore and implement such technologies as virtual reality, 3D printing and modern frameworks — and PanoPla, a new Innovation Alley startup that helps businesses, realtors and schools share virtual tours and other VR content.

A regular presence at educational conferences like SAGE (Special Area Groups of Educators) and EdCampWpg, Blair also works with local schools to bring 3D printing, virtual reality and single board computing into the classroom.

As well, he supports and organizes a number of community-based groups, including Winnipeg Android (a user group for Android developers and students), Winnipeg Web and Mobile Developers, Kids Code Winnipeg and Ramp Up Weekend. He was a finalist in Innovate Manitoba’s Pitch Day 2015 competition, and one of the winners of Ramp Up Weekend 7 last spring.

While still a student at RRC, Blair earned a number of recognitions, including the Co-operative Education Manitoba (CEM) Co-op Student of the Year Award in 2014. More recently, he’s been working with RRC’s Accounting and Computer Education (ACE) department, to mentor students and help build a project space where they can work with local startups to build their skills and learn more about business and technology.

Just in time for International Development Week in Canada, Red River College is proud to host a self-guided exhibit showcasing how Manitobans are working to improve the world through their actions at home and abroad.

Global Citizens: Manitobans Working Together for a Better World is on display from Mon. to Fri., Feb. 1-5, in the Roblin Centre Atrium at the Exchange District Campus.

Presented by RRC’s Diversity and Intercultural Services department (in partnership with the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation), the exhibit features photographs, stories and videos showcasing international projects with Manitoba connections.

On Tue., Feb. 2, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., members of RRC’s local Student Refugee Program (SRP) committee will be on hand at the display to discuss their involvement in global citizenships efforts.

Two members of the committee — students Yves Ngendahimana and Emily Regehr (shown above) — recently returned from Ottawa, where they took part in the weekend-long World University Service of Canada (WUSC) International Forum.

“It’s an opportunity for students to come together and talk about international development issues, and how they can promote global citizenship on campus,” says Lauren Konrad, RRC’s Student Integration Coordinator, noting this year’s event featured presentations on such topics as Women’s Economic Empowerment, Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship and Enabling Inclusive Markets. Read More →

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 Red River College student is the first Manitoba recipient of a broadcasting scholarship that promotes equity in the industry.

Creative Communications student Bailey Hildebrand (shown at left) is one of two recipients of the 2015 Jim Pattison Broadcast Group Prairie Equity Scholarship.

Established in 2009 (but not available outside Alberta until this year), the Equity Scholarship seeks to address a shortage of broadcasters from four under-represented groups: Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities, and women.

By supporting the career development of individuals from these groups, Pattison believes it can help the broadcasting industry access an untapped pool of potentially talented employees, encourage diverse viewpoints and backgrounds, enhance relationships with local communities, and broaden the advertiser and audience base.

A second-year CreComm student, Hildebrand is already something of an industry veteran, having begun her on-air career while still in high school in Winkler.

In addition to maintaining good grades and honing her self-described “reporter mindset,” she also hosts an iTunes podcast called Be Plus, which deals with body image issues. She says she feels strongly about industry discrimination she’s witnessed — as both an insider and an outsider. Read More →

They are two of only 15 people living in Manitoba with achondroplasia — a genetic disorder of bone growth that causes dwarfism.

They share the same initials, “VB” and stand 4-foot-2 and 4-foot-4, respectively. But ask world-class athlete Vivek Bhagria if his lifelong love for sport is inspired by his dad, Vikram, and his deadpan reply brings their comparison to an abrupt halt.

“No,” quips Bhagria, who’s currently studying Business Administration at Red River College. “I got into [sports] myself. He’s too lazy.”

His pop might not share his passion for athletics, but it was his kind words of support, when Bhagria was just four years old, that helped him find the courage to chase his dream.

“I was trying to join a soccer team,” recalls Bhagria of his first experience with organized sport. “Little kids were looking at me. I went crying to my dad. I talked to [him] about it and he said, ‘They’re just kids, they don’t know anything.’”

The message hit home for young Bhagria and the results speak volumes about how it fueled his ambition. From those early days in his St. Vital neighbourhood, he’s gone on to be a provincial champion athlete in high school and a podium regular at the 2013 World Dwarf Games (he won a silver in floor hockey and a bronze in volleyball) and the 2015 National Games, held this past August in St. Louis, Mo., where his medal tally rose to four: silver in basketball and soccer; bronze in volleyball and badminton.

He even rubbed elbows with a celebrity: Zach Roloff from TLC’s Little People, Big World recruited Bhagria to be on his basketball team after seeing his skills on Facebook. Read More →

A trio of Red River College students were honoured at the Canadian Marketing Association Awards gala in Toronto last weekend.

Guiliano Bellabono, Reynold Beniza, and Chelsée Cure (shown above, with instructor Melodie Richard at left) won Bronze in the Student Creative Case Study category for their integrated marketing campaign for retailer The Source. All three took RRC’s Creative Communications program, and majored in Advertising during their second year.

In this year’s Creative Case Study category, entrants were tasked with developing an integrated concept that would boost awareness and put The Source back into the consideration set among younger consumers. Their first challenge was to create a new value proposition that embodied the retailer’s youthful, energetic and future-ready tone and matter — one that fit into a one-year, $1-million marketing budget.

The RRC team’s creative honed in on millennials’ desire to update their social media followers with #phoneproblems, #autocorrectproblems, and more. In response, their campaign provided #SourceSolutions to the corresponding hashtags, highlighting issues that could be solved using The Source’s products and services.

The campaign included witty YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and transit ads (and branded content), as well as a direct mail piece.

The CMA gala is Canada’s premiere marketing awards event, celebrating the country’s best work by brands and agencies.