Our Students

Every year our students find new ways to learn, grow and make a difference. As we have reconnected as a community, students have thrived, welcoming new opportunities and experiences that have underscored their time at Durham College (DC). Whether collaborating with their peers both in and out of the classroom, showcasing their skills in competitions or coming together as a community to support others, DC students, aided by faculty and employees across the college, have gained invaluable skills that help them in their careers and their lives.

In the classroom, DC launched several new programs and delivery models to support students as well as meet industry and community needs. Newly added programs include the Honours Bachelor of Construction Management honours degree, the Web Development diploma, and the Supply Chain Management – Global graduate certificate. We also launched three new pre-apprenticeship programs to increase the number of people who are job-ready in a skilled trade.

Outside of the classroom, students put their skills to the test and won big in a number of local, provincial and national competitions:

• Eight students won awards at the 2022 Virtual Skills Ontario Competition, five of whom travelled to Vancouver, leading the way to silver and bronze medal victories at the Skills Canada National competition.
• Five Project Management students won first place in the Ontario Project Management Competition for Project MEPHY Health, a combined mental and physical health application with a built-in algorithm to check the measurement and placement of a person’s body while correcting posture issues.
• Two Game-Art students made waves at Ubisoft Toronto’s NEXT

Two students in the Culinary Management program were named Canada’s best new student chefs at the Taste Canada Awards Gala in November.

Work-integrated learning continued to be a priority at DC, giving students valuable real-world experience and opportunities in their chosen field. A couple of outstanding examples this year include:

• Launching the RBC Urban Agriculture Work Integrated Learning Program, an exciting new grant opportunity that provided $5,000 of funding to 10 DC student-led initiatives that support urban agriculture. Ten projects from students in faculties across DC were selected, and work is underway to showcase their ideas and passion for improving urban agriculture and sustainability.
• Supporting Enactus Durham College, which was named one of the Central Regional Champions in the TD Entrepreneurial Challenge, a national competition. DC competed against 20 schools in the entrepreneurship category and presented the Founders Drive podcast project, a global podcast aimed at helping young entrepreneurs overcome barriers and inspiring them to be their own bosses.
  
• Showcasing the creative works of our Fine Arts students, which are on display at Durham Region’s headquarters. Fine Arts students in their final year participated in the project as part of their Community Collaboration – Service Learning course, where they worked with community groups to explore critical social and community issues. The public art installation, representing the themes of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, was unveiled in February.