News

Each year, the Red River College Students’ Association presents a Teaching Award of Excellence in recognition of one instructor’s outstanding teaching practices and dedication to students.

The recipient of this year’s award is Treena Chabot, an instructor with RRC’s Applied Commerce and Management Education (ACME) department.

Back when Treena Chabot was of babysitting age, she used to seat her younger sisters in desks and assign them homemade quizzes.

No surprise, then, that she went on to build a career in education — or that her passion for making a difference in people’s lives has led to recognition from her very own students.

An instructor with RRC’s Applied Commerce and Management Education (ACME) department, Chabot got her start at the College’s Portage Campus in 2000, where she taught Office Technician courses for the School of Continuing Education.

She moved to the Notre Dame Campus a year later and joined the ACME team (then known as Marketing Management), where she developed the Office Management major and taught various Business Administration courses.

Having earned both a Bachelor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Manitoba, Chabot was uniquely well-suited to work with students in RRC’s business programs.

Over the years, she’s taken a lead role on a number of related initiatives, including the development of the College’s new Human Resource Management major, and last year’s launch of First Impressions — a speed-dating-style networking event that has already led to employment opportunities for a number of RRC business students.  Read More →

Six Red River College students were among the Team Manitoba members who picked up medals at last weekend’s Skills Canada National Competition in Saskatchewan.

The students were part of a team of 60 high school, college and apprentice-level participants in the annual Olympic-style competition, which took place May 27-30 at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon.

All told, Team Manitoba brought home 27 medals — 10 gold, 11 silver and six bronze — from the event, which saw 550 young students and apprentices from across Canada competing in 46 different trades areas.

“I wish to congratulate Team Manitoba on their medals … and also to recognize our staff’s support,” says David Rew, interim president of RRC, which hosted Team Manitoba’s provincial qualifying rounds on April 9 of this year.

“Our College is committed to supporting skilled trades, as not only the host site for the annual Skills Canada Manitoba Competition, but also on a national level, with a large contingent of staff attending and supporting by judging, volunteering and contributing through the National Technical Committee.” Read More →

Red River College was recognized twice last month for excellence in building management and environmental responsibility, picking up a pair of honours at BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) Manitoba’s 2015 Awards of Excellence.

The College’s wins both came in BOMA’s Earth Awards category, with downtown’s Roblin Centre recognized in the Mixed-Use Building division, and the Notre Dame Campus’s Heavy Equipment Transportation Centre (HETC) in the Light Industrial category.

The Roblin Centre’s award celebrates a number of sustainable milestones, including a recent retrocomissioning process that focused on documentation and training to help improve energy efficiency and identify energy-saving opportunities.

BOMA’s Awards of Excellence program is designed to align with program requirements of BOMA Canada and BOMA International.

Last year, RRC’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI) was recognized in the Multi-Use Building category. The Roblin Centre, HETC and PGI are all included on BOMA’s BESt (Building Environmental Standards)-Certified Buildings list.

Shown above: Murray Hiebert, Exchange District Campus Maintenance Manager; Tom Skraba, Director, Facility Management; and Dave Wozny, Technical Officer.

The College paid tribute to its largest group ever of Bravo Award recipients last month, during a reception that brought together staff and instructors from a wide swath of departments and program areas.

At the seventh annual Bravo lunch, held in the Jane’s dining room at the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, RRC paid its highest level of recognition to employees who put the College’s core values into action by modelling leadership, professionalism and innovation in their work practices.

“Many of your co-workers, in the nominations they submitted about you, talked about how they aspire to conduct themselves with the care and compassion you demonstrate to others,” interim president David Rew told recipients.

“They see how you lead through your actions, and they want to learn from you in the way that you motivate others. They are inspired to perform with the same work ethic and skills that you bring to your roles.”

This year’s recipients include: Read More →

Red River College earned a bronze award for Innovation in Applied Research this week, during the closing gala of College and Institute Canada’s (CICan) annual conference in Winnipeg.

The award celebrates the College’s dynamic applied research partnership with Manitoba Hydro.

“We are pleased to be recognized for the work we have done with Manitoba Hydro, one of our most important research partners and graduate employers,” said David Rew, interim president and CEO of RRC. “What an excellent opportunity to celebrate our research achievements in sustainable technology and design.”

The College’s research collaboration with Manitoba Hydro has focused primarily on green building design and technology, and on the electrification of vehicles. Two of its most notable projects include Manitoba Hydro’s award-winning energy efficient downtown office tower and more recently, the all-electric transit bus.

“Our partnership with RRC has fostered an environment for creative integration on leading-edge technology that contributes to a more sustainable future,” said Scott Thomson, president and CEO of Manitoba Hydro. “We view our relationship with the College as an important driver for long-term change that will promote continued innovation and advancement of energy efficiency in Manitoba.” Read More →

Big ideas led to big returns at this year’s Independent Professional Project (IPP) presentations, where students from Red River College’s Creative Communications program raised nearly $30,000 for a range of worthy charities and causes.

CreComm’s IPP component consists of two full-credit courses in which second-year students are tasked with conceptualizing, planning, marketing and executing an independent project that falls under one of three categories: research, promotional or creative.

The projects themselves take a wide range of forms, including events, documentaries, promotional videos, websites, books and novellas, musical endeavors, and advertising, marketing and promotional campaigns.

Often, they include a fundraising component. This year’s beneficiaries included Siloam Mission, KidSport Winnipeg, the Manitoba Down Syndrome Society, Resource Assistance for Youth, the Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba, Canadian Physicians for Aid and Relief, The Wasichana Fund, the Margaret Pidlaski Scholarship Fund, and the Health Sciences Centre’s Adult Eating Disorders Program.

All told, the projects raised a total of $29,568 for the above-mentioned organizations. Read More →

Red River College alum Paul Charette, former CEO of Bird Construction, and his wife Gerri have donated $1 million towards the establishment of a research chair for RRC’s School of Construction and Engineering Technology (SCET).

The province will provide matching funds to create the new chair position, which will be called the Paul Charette – Manitoba Applied Research Chair in Sustainable Construction.

“We are humbled by Paul and Gerri’s generous commitment and very pleased that the province has responded with matching funds,” says David Rew, interim president of RRC. “It’s an excellent show of confidence in SCET, and in our nationally recognized applied research program.”

The new position will support student learning while helping the construction industry develop innovative processes, technologies and applications to reduce costs, boost productivity and create more sustainable infrastructure. The Chair will also lead SCET’s research program.

“Being a 40-year veteran of the construction sector, it’s clear that research and innovation are lagging far behind other sectors,” says Charette. “I believe that sustainable infrastructure is what our industry really needs to move toward.” Read More →

A group of 700 middle school students joined Hon. Kevin Chief, Minister of Jobs and the Economy, at Red River College’s Stevenson Campus today, as he officially proclaimed May 25–29 Aerospace in Manitoba Week.

Chief made the announcement while attending Aviation and Aerospace in Manitoba (AAiM) Day, an annual event that draws Grade 6 students to RRC to learn more about the province’s thriving aerospace and aviation industries.

While at Stevenson, students were given a first-hand look at some of the concepts they’re learning about in the “Flight” module of their Grade 6 curriculum, including aircraft inspection, fundamentals of flight, manufacturing, rocketry and craters.

Additional Aerospace Week activities include a special supplement in the Winnipeg Free Press on May 25, an industry networking breakfast meeting on May 27, and a community-building volunteer event at Siloam Mission on May 29.

Learn more about AAiM Day, made possible each year by RRC, the Manitoba Aerospace Human Resources Council and a dedicated group of 150 volunteers.

Nancy Wheatley, Dean of the School of Construction and Engineering Technologies at Red River College, is pleased to welcome Shari Bielert as the new Chair of RRC’s Civil Engineering Technology department, effective May 4, 2015.

Bielert is a graduate of the Civil Engineering Technology’s former Engineering Design and Drafting program (now Architectural/Engineering Technology). She also earned her Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Architecture) from the University of Manitoba, and recently completed a Master of Education degree, also at the U of M.

After completing her RRC diploma and (first) degree, Bielert was employed as a structural design technologist in the building components industry. She was a founding member of the Canada Green Building Council’s MB Chapter, and continues to be a green building advocate.

Over the past 15 years, Bielert has served as an instructor for three Civil Engineering Technology programs – Architectural/Engineering Technology, Environmental Technology and the Construction Management degree.

Her most recent experience in the department has been as the coordinator for Technology Solutions for the Workplace, and as the program coordinator for Construction Management and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Technology.

A new Skilled Trades and Technology Centre at Red River College will train up to 1,000 students each year for well-paying jobs, and provide industry with the highly-trained employees needed to expand and be competitive in a challenging international economy, it was announced today.

“Manitoba is building like never before and jobs in the skilled trades will be in greater demand as our economy expands,” said Premier Greg Selinger. “We want to provide students with the training they need to begin a great career and build their futures right here at home.”

A $60-million investment in the new 100,000-sq.-ft., state-of-the-art facility will boost trades and technology education space at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus by more than 30 per cent, Selinger said. The centre will be an important hub for the province’s skills training strategy and will be a key factor in increasing Manitoba’s workforce by 75,000 highly-trained people by 2020, the premier added.

“I wish to applaud the Province of Manitoba for continuing to invest in skilled trades and the ongoing investment in Red River College. This new facility will allow us to continue to enhance and expand our offerings in skilled trades education and further allow us to build on our work in many technology sectors,” said Interim RRC President David Rew.

“Not only will the Skilled Trades and Technology Centre further expand our applied learning environment, but it fosters a collaborative approach among many of our program areas that will have a positive impact on our pre-employment training, applied research projects and overall student success.” Read More →