News

The City of Winnipeg is expanding its asset management training with the launch of a new tailor-made internal course, developed and delivered with Red River College.

The training consists of a five-day series exploring the nature of managing projects using the City’s Project Management Manual, a framework that ensures investments in projects, resource allocation, monitoring and evaluation are optimized through project life cycles.

“This new training program will help the City of Winnipeg make important improvements to project management oversight by implementing leading best practise throughout civic departments in investment planning and project management processes,” says Coun. Mike Pagtakhan, Council Liaison for Project Management.

“Not only will it foster a culture of excellence by promoting best practices throughout civic departments, it will help standardize the way the City manages projects.”

The new training is a result of recommendations of the 2014 Winnipeg Police Headquarter Construction Project Audit, which included a mandate to develop and deliver training sessions for City personnel involved with capital projects, in order to improve understanding and consistent application of policy.

An added benefit of the new program is that it qualifies for professional development units for employees holding a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation by the Project Management Institute (PMI). It also qualifies as project management educational training hours, a pre-requisite for employees wishing to attain their PMP designation.

All six students enrolled in the first class of a specialized mechanics and technology course will walk out the doors of Red River College and into new careers as certified technicians for Peterbilt Motors Company.

The students are graduates of the new Peterbilt Technician Institute (PTI), launched in partnership with the College earlier this year. The Institute is a manufacturer-paid training initiative offered to graduates of RRC’s Heavy Duty Equipment Mechanic program, and to those interested in advancing their skills to become certified Peterbilt technicians.

For Alexandra Pratt, the experience means getting her foot in the door of a great career.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to get started in a career with such a well-known and reputable company,” says Pratt. “I learned so much through this program, and would recommend it to anyone looking to start a career with the Peterbilt family.”

The six students were the first to complete the comprehensive training program, earning 10 key certifications to earn their designation as Peterbilt Master Technicians.

This new program allowed the students to gain experience in all aspects of the work done at a Peterbilt dealership. Peterbilt Motors Company supplied the curriculum, laptops for the students, three trucks, two engines and specialized tools to help ensure the students’ success in becoming confident in their skills and career-ready by the end of the 12-week session. Peterbilt also trained RRC instructors to deliver the program at the College.

“Red River College is built on supporting the backbone of not only Manitoba’s economy, but many important sectors all across the country and throughout North America,” says Arnold Boldt, RRC’s executive director, Academic. “This new partnership with Peterbilt was a perfect fit when it came to accessing our expertise and state-of-the-art facilities.” Read More →

Jane’s — the flagship fine-dining restaurant run by Red River College’s Hospitality and Culinary Arts program — is now taking reservations, ready to impress new and returning guests with a seasonal showcase of urban-upscale cuisine.

With doors scheduled to open on Sept. 28, students in the program are already hard at work in the heritage-inspired dining room and ultramodern kitchen, putting the finishing touches on a fall menu that includes steelhead trout, bison shortribs and stuffed pheasant. (And that’s just for lunch!)

Housed in the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute in the heart of the Exchange District, Jane’s is marking its fifth year as a foodie-friendly downtown destination — one where every dish is prepared and served by RRC’s students and chefs.

“Jane’s is a unique concept in that it really serves a dual purpose to the culinary community in Manitoba,” says program chair Karen McDonald. “Not only is the food delicious, but this is a place where our customers have the opportunity to taste the very best in culinary excellence inside a state-of-the-art, interactive classroom.”

Since its debut in 2012, PGI has seen upwards of 600 Hospitality and Culinary Arts grads come through its doors, an increase of almost 30 per cent in as much time. According to recent surveys, more than 90% of those who complete the program find work within six months of graduating.

“The employment opportunities in these industries in Manitoba are endless, and when we talk to our students and grads we are proud the feedback is overwhelmingly positive,” says McDonald. “The next time you dine at a restaurant, or attend an event at a venue in Winnipeg, you will very likely cross paths with one of our grads — many of whom got their start working at Jane’s.”

Jane’s re-opens for lunch Sept. 28 – Dec. 13, and for dinner Oct. 13 – Dec. 7. Learn more or make a reservation.

Want to know what’s going on around campus? Need a tool to help promote your event to the College community? Starting this fall, there’s an app for that!

Red River College has launched a mobile-friendly, device agnostic web app called RRC Life, with features unlike those of other college and university apps. Instead of focusing on schedules, grades, links to class sites and other commonly used tools (all of which are available to students through the rrc.ca login), RRC Life is designed to help members of the RRC community — including students, staff and alumni — better engage with College life.

Much of the RRC Life app was conceptualized and developed by our very own students. The College’s Marketing and Web Presence team started the initiative by partnering with Business Information Technology (BIT) students on a curriculum-based project to design and develop a fully functioning web app for the College community.

“We’re very proud of the relationship our faculty and students have developed with our colleagues in Marketing and Web Presence,” says Haider Al-Saidi, Chair, Applied Computer Education (ACE). “Students gain most when they work on real-world problems and solutions, and it’s extra special to be able to do that for your school and fellow students.”

The app — which has a mobile-first design but works on all devices — can be used to access an RRC social media aggregator, an interactive campus maps utility, and a campus-specific user-generated events stream. Staying true to RRC’s brand, the app also allows user to access a real-time stream of job postings for students and grads.

“The goal of the app is simply to increase the quality of life at RRC by informing and engaging our audiences on whatever connected device they happen to have at their fingertips,” says Christian Robin, RRC’s Director of Marketing and Web Presence. “The version that’s out now was completed with help from one of our alumni, Paul Everton (BIT, 2007). The app has an API that will allow us to continue to work with students to test and build out additional functionality, and eventually launch native apps for iOS and Android devices.”

Use the free app today at rrclife.ca.

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.

Double the hives, and double the expected yield: That’s the buzz on the first day of honey extraction from Red River College’s newest rooftop beehives.

Building on the success of last year’s inaugural urban beekeeping project, the College has expanded its partnership with Beeproject Apiaries by adding three new hives to its roster this summer.

As they did last year, bees have been hard at work producing honey atop the fourth floor of the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, as well as at the newly installed hives on the roof of Building A at the Notre Dame Campus. Combined, the six hives will produce an estimated yield of 150 kilograms.

Having the hives on campus gives students and staff to see the College’s sustainability mandate in action. Not only are bees vital to food production in North America, they also promote biodiversity within cities and provide opportunities for people to learn about nature and our food systems.

“A lot of our staff have been interested in visiting the bees and learning about the work they do,” says Sara MacArthur, RRC’s Manager of Sustainability. “Having the hives on our rooftops downtown and at the Notre Dame Campus encourages that kind of accessible learning about what bees do for the environment and the benefits to creating a natural product on campus.”

This year, RRC students and staff were invited to vote on a new name for the Notre Dame Campus honey. The winning name, Creekside Honey, was inspired by Omand’s Creek, which runs along the edge of the campus grounds and through Brookside Cemetery. The creek’s banks are home to a variety of wild plants, flowers and wildlife, and are likely a popular place for the RRC bees to collect pollen.

The resulting honey is bottled to Canadian Federal Inspection Agency standards and will be returned in a few weeks to RRC, where it’ll be used by students in the Culinary Arts program and sold at the second annual Farmers’ Market on Sept. 15. 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 →

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 →

Red River College will be home to a new Smart Factory and will expand its Centre for Aerospace Technology and Training (CATT), as part of a $10-million investment over the next five years by Western Economic Diversification Canada.

The Smart Factory will be located at RRC’s new Skilled Trades Technology Centre – currently under construction and slated to open in 2018 – and will be an applied research space, experiential learning facility, and technology demonstration site. It will combine emerging technology, including robotics, automation, additive manufacturing, high-speed robotic inspection and industrial networking.

The Smart Factory will also enhance learning at RRC by allowing students to experience and work in factory settings, while providing Manitoba companies with access to state-of-the-art equipment, instructors, researchers and students, in order to test and prepare their technologies for incorporation into their own operations.

The CATT enhancements mark the centre’s third expansion, and will include cold spray technology, non-contact inspection and high-speed laser scanning systems, robotic welding seam tracking, a compressor blade profiling system and upgrades of existing digital X-ray, lasers systems and induction heating.

“These new facilities will ensure our students and industry partners in aerospace and manufacturing remain at the forefront of research and training,” says RRC President Paul Vogt.

“This expansion is going to have far-reaching impacts across the province and will be able to serve both the aerospace and non-aerospace industries through direct access to the College’s equipment, facilities and expertise.” Read More →