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Creative Arts students from Red River College continue to blaze trails in the realm of online publication, having recently launched their own "ePubs": interactive magazines designed specifically for the iPad's Adobe Viewer app.

The consortium of RRC-ers — comprised of second-year Graphic Design students and Advertising majors from the Creative Communications program — spent the better part of their academic year writing, designing, programming and publishing the ePubs, which are now available for free download (link to downloading instructions below).

The ePubs — which include motion graphics and video, and feature ads for both Red River College and Berns & Black Salon & Spa (this semester's advertising client) — were created with college-aged students in mind, says CreComm instructor Kenton Larsen.

“An advertising professional does a lot more today than just write copy,” says Larsen. “This project is a great opportunity to show that RRC, Creative Communications, and Graphic Design aren't spinning their wheels in the bygone days of the communications biz, but continue to keep moving forward at the forefront of the industry.”

The ePub project was funded by an award from RRC's Program Innovation Fund, which was established to support technological innovation and continuous improvements in academic programming at the College.

See Larsen's blog for links to examples of the students' ePubs, and for detailed instructions on how to download the entries to your iPad.

Now here's a mafia you wouldn't mind messing with.

Several decades' worth of Creative Communications students (known in local media circles as the "CreComm Mafia") gathered yesterday to pay tribute to a colleague, mentor and friend: departing Red River College instructor Steve Vogelsang, who'll be moving to British Columbia at the end of the school year.

The combined send-off and reunion, held at The Roblin Centre downtown, drew upwards of 250 people — many of them current CreComm students who were taping their final "Live At Five" newscast of the year. The majority, however, were recent graduates and media colleagues who'd returned to thank Vogelsang for the impact he's had on their careers.

"It was in second year that Steve said to me, 'Martin — you should try anchoring,'" recalled recent CreComm grad Shannon Martin, who entered the program intending to study print journalism, but now works as Global Winnipeg's late-night anchor.  

"I didn't want to do it, but I did — and I loved it. Steve was the turning point in my broadcasting career."

Vogelsang joined the RRC team in 2002, following a long and distinguished career with CKY-TV (aka CTV Winnipeg). In the ensuing years, CreComm students have benefited greatly from his knowledge and experience, and from the countless curriculum-related initiatives (among them, the aforementioned "Live At Five" newscasts) he's had a hand in implementing.

"Being able to share that experience with enthusiasm and humour has made him a favourite here on campus," said RRC President Stephanie Forsyth.

Vogelsang, for his part, seemed genuinely touched by the tributes. While addressing those gathered, he referenced common qualities among the so-called mafia, including "a certain hunger, a certain desire, and certain self-destructive tendencies that cause you — against your better judgment — to put up with instructors like me."

"When you survive something like that, you're bound together with all those people who survived it right along with you," he said. "That characteristic is what brings us together as alumni. It's what makes it easier for me to go, because I'll be taking that with me."

Click here for more information on RRC's Creative Communications program.

(Left to right): CreComm students Andrew Parker, Dylan Hughes and Michelle Choy show off Upper Cruster, a magazine celebrating — what else? — Winnipeg's upper crust.

They've still got a year to go before graduating, but students in Red River College's Creative Communications program can already call themselves published writers.

The students — who've spent the last few months working on a term-long magazine project — showed off the fruits of their labours yesterday at the annual Creative Communications Magazine Fair.

Working in groups of three to four, students guide their magazines from inception stage to finished product — responsible for everything from articles and photographs to advertisements and marketing strategies.

"One of the reasons we have this project is that it brings together skills from a lot of different courses," says CreComm instructor Karen Press. "(Students) get to use their writing skills and their layout skills, and of course they're matching content to their audience — magazines are an especially good vehicle for targeting audiences."

This year's batch of entries included magazines devoted to Winnipeg's historic architecture, the transgendered community, coffee and tea beverages, and moving out on your own for the first time (among many others).

A panel of industry judges — among them, recent CreComm grad Jeffrey Vallis, whose SANDBOX Magazine (a co-creation with fellow CreComm-er Braden Alexander) has been making waves in local fashion circles — also weighed in on the students' work, awarding cash prizes to those deemed especially impressive.

The prizes, sponsored by the Manitoba Magazine Publishers Association, went to the teams responsible for Thingamajig (Best Overall — Ashley Wiebe, Pamela Wankling, Michael Badejo, Brian Bulos), Lomo (Best Design  — Garrick Kozier, Ryan McBride, Alex Rohne, Jordan Thompson), and Burlap (Best Content — Albertine Watson, Veronica Neufeld, Kevan Hannah, Jaremy Ediger).

Click here for more information about RRC's Creative Communications program.

Students from Red River College's Culinary Arts program are helping to raise money for disaster relief efforts in Japan.

Natasha Dyck and Jesse Friesen — recent Culinary Arts grads working at Tre Visi and Lobby On York, respectively — are both featured in the inaugural edition of the Canadian Culinary Federation's Made in Canada: A Collection of Recipes from Canada's Junior Chefs, an 18-month calendar highlighting the accomplishments of junior chefs from coast-to-coast.

Proceeds from the sale of the calendar were originally to go towards the 2011 Bidvest World Cooks Tour Against Hunger in South Africa, as well as the Junior Chefs Initiative in Canada. But Culinary Arts instructor Tim Appleton says his students have decided to instead donate $10 from every $20 calendar sold to World Chefs Without Borders, a humanitarian aid initiative by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS).

To order a calendar, contact Tim Appleton at tappleton@rrc.mb.ca.

To introduce young people to career options in technology and trades-related fields, Red River College runs a series of technology workshops throughout the year. One of our most popular options is the Saturday morning "Introduction to Electronics" sessions run at our Exchange District Campus.

RRC student Luke Marvin shot a fun video about his experience helping teach the basic concepts of electronics — including voltage, current and resistance –  to junior high students as part of this year's workshop.

An eco-friendly car being designed by a team of Winnipeg engineers could soon power demand for a new era in energy efficiency, says a Red River College instructor.

For the last several years, designers and engineers from local firm Kor EcoLogic Inc. have been hard at work on the "Urbee" — a low-energy passenger vehicle that's powered by electricity and ethanol, instead of fossil fuels.

"It has the potential to drastically reduce the amount of non-renewable energy we use," says RRC instructor Andrew Warren, who's been involved with the project off and on for the last 15 years.

"We've calculated that we can go 30 miles a day on energy gathered from the sun. So theoretically, you could buy this car and not have to put gas or hydro power into it — you'd just charge it from the solar panels on your roof at home."

Warren and his colleagues, under the direction of company president (and RRC alum) Jim Kor, were inspired to create the Urbee — short for Urban Electrical with Ethanol as Backup — after building a model of a human-powered transit system for the Seattle Bicycle Show.

Guided by the same principle — that of travelling the furthest distance possible while consuming the least amount of energy — they turned their attention to a passenger car, which they originally entered in the 2010 Progressive Automotive X-PRIZE competition.

The Urbee — a sleek-looking three-wheeled model — finished in the Top 30 of 111 entries, and also resulted in a treasure trove of media attention for the Kor team.

Read More →

Red River College's Aircraft Maintenance Engineer program has been recognized by the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces (DND/CF), for enhancing the career opportunities available to graduates who may be considering a career in the military.

According to the notification that accompanied the recognition, RRC's Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) program has "accelerated the career opportunities for graduates of (the) program who may be considering a career in the Canadian Forces by providing them with advanced standing as an Aviation Systems Technician."

The notification also points out that AME students who may be considering a career in the military are eligible to receive a salary (with benefits) and support to offset tuition and materials if they're enrolled through the Canadian Forces Non-Commissioned Member — Subsidized Education Plan.

"This means that students wishing to join the DND can enroll or be currently enrolled in RRC's AME program, and tuition and related expenses will be paid by the DND," explains Dennis Doersam, Director of RCC's Stevenson Campus. "As well, they will receive a salary and benefits while attending the program. Upon graduating, they receive credit for the training and time spent in the AME program."

Once enlisted, students will receive basic DND training (as well as military-specific technical training), and will start at a salary substantially greater than the minimum enlisted salary. The accreditation provides students with better access to jobs within the military, Doersam says, while the training qualifies them for Civilian AME training certification, should they wish to apply.

Click here to learn more about the Subsidized Education Plan; for more details, contact Master Warrant Officer Paul Lucas (at the Canadian Forces Recruitment Centre in Winnipeg) at paul.lucas@forces.gc.ca or 983-3680 (ext. 246).

Click here for more information about RRC's Aircraft Maintenance Engineer program.

A pair of Red River College graduates are featured prominently in the first-ever Canadian Culinary Federation calendar celebrating junior chefs from across the country.

Culinary Arts grads Natasha Dyck and Jesse Friesen — now working at Tre Visi and Lobby On York, respectively — are both featured in the inaugural edition of the Federation's Made in Canada: A Collection of Recipes from Canada's Junior Chefs, an 18-month calendar highlighting the accomplishments of junior chefs from coast-to-coast.

The calendar features images of (and links to recipes for) Dyck's pan-seared Atlantic salmon and Friesen's lobster salad, along with a number of additional mouthwatering entries. Proceeds from the sale of the calendar go towards the 2011 Bidvest World Cooks Tour Against Hunger in South Africa (click here for more info), as well as the Junior Chefs Initiative in Canada.

Click here to view biographical information for all the junior chefs featured in the calendar, or to print out the monthly recipes. (Don't worry if you can't find Dyck's or Friesen's recipes just yet — they're being rolled out slowly, on a month-by-month basis.)

Click here for more information about RRC's Culinary Arts program.

Red River College's Rebels Men's Volleyball team wrapped up their third straight season of undefeated play over the weekend, winning their fourth straight Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) Championship Saturday night in front of 400 spectators.

The 2011 MCAC Final 4 Volleyball Championships, held last Friday and Saturday at RRC's recently-upgraded North Gym, saw the Rebels men's and women's teams playing host to squads from Canadian Mennonite University, Assiniboine Community College, Providence College and College universitaire de Saint-Boniface.

The Rebels men's team took the top spot at the tourney — besting the CMU Blazers with a 3-1 win, and finishing first in regular season standings with 12 wins and no losses. The women's team finished fourth in the tournament (the top spot went to the Providence College Freemen), but ranked second in regular season play with a 9-7 record.

The men's team's final match was a bit of nailbiter: Though RRC won the first, third and fourth sets (27-25, 25-20 and 25-15, respectively), CMU clinched the second with a 25-21 win. The second set also had to be delayed briefly after Rebels setter Curtis Sawatzky collided with teammate Dave Glass, opening up a cut on Glass's forehead.

"The guys have always responded to adversity this year," said Rebels head coach Dan Gilbert after the final. "With Dave (Glass) going out with that cut above his eye, and even though we dropped that set, it was the challenge we needed to really spark us."

Rebels hitter Jacoby Dueck's strong performance over the weekend earned him Final 4 MVP honours, while teammate Tom Oosterveen and CMU's Todd Reimer were named players of the game.

In related news, Dueck, Oosterveen and Erik Hansen were named 2010-11 All-Conference Selections (Oosterveen was also named Regular Season MVP), while on the women's side, Carley Dupuis and Amy Nachtigall earned All-Conference Selection honours.

For more information and standings, see mcacathletics.ca

A commentary on International Women's Day from RRC President Stephanie Forsyth:

Today is International Women’s Day, and a time to reflect on the change and progress that has occurred in our society for women. The media is full of statistics about the progress (or lack thereof) that women have made in the past decade and they are worth taking time for consideration.

In Canada, women still earn less than men for the same work, a gap that is widening for women with university degrees; women serve on fewer than 15% of corporate boards, and; women are all but absent from powerful political positions. This latter statistic is all the more interesting when one considers that women constitute 52% of Canada’s population. With women holding only 22% of the seats in the House of Commons, Canada ranks 52nd in the world in representation of women in the national parliament, behind many poor countries, including Rwanda and Afghanistan.

Today, 43% of Aboriginal women live in poverty in Canada, double the percentage of non-Aboriginal women and significantly more than the number of Aboriginal men.  The 2010 Sisters in Spirit study shows that 582 Aboriginal women have been murdered or gone missing in Canada since 1970, with 39% of the cases having occurred since 2000. While Aboriginal women make up only three per cent of the population, they comprise 10 per cent of the murder victims in the past 20 years.

Throughout the world thousands of women are victims of violence and rape, women and children are still dying from starvation at alarming rates, and abuse continues to proliferate regardless of social or economic status or education achievements.

While the focus of International Women’s Day is women, ultimately it is about fighting for humanity and dignity.  It is crucial that we take time to not only reflect on the incredible disparities that still exist in society but more importantly, to do what we can to make a difference.

Happy International Women’s Day.