Over 20 marketing students from Durham College’s (DC) Faculty of Business put their skills to the test last month during the 2023 Ontario Colleges Marketing Competition (OCMC), the largest and most prestigious marketing competition for college students. This was the first time DC had a full team attend the competition and compete in all 11 categories – placing in three of them.

The DC team had many notable accomplishments during the competition – including ranking second in the Prospect Pitch category, third in the Retail Marketing category, and fifth in the Marketing category. For the first time, DC’s high-ranking team included two first-year students, including Shara James, a mature learner from Jamaica who’s completing her first year of DC’s Business – Marketing diploma program.

“Being a member of the OCMC team was an awesome experience, especially since I was only one of two first-year students ever chosen to represent DC in the competition,” said James. “Not only did I place second in the Prospect Pitch category with fellow-student Chiara Moore, but I also made some amazing friends. When I decided to enter, I never imagined it would have been such a life changing experience.”

OCMC attracts more than 300 participants from 13 colleges across the province. A dozen different case categories challenge the competitors to think creatively and strategically within set guidelines, testing their ability to work well under pressure and to leverage the skills they’ve gained inside the classroom.

Jonathan Carrigan, marketing professor and program coordinator at DC, said the experience of competing at this event is a great way for students to test their marketing expertise, enhance their confidence and resiliency, and develop critical skills that they will rely on in their future fields.

“I’m extremely proud of the outstanding work our students displayed at OCMC this year,” said Carrigan. “Witnessing a full team compete at OCMC was very rewarding and it goes to show the level of enthusiasm and passion our students have for what they do.”

Carrigan also praised the team lead, Meghan Scanlon, who was instrumental in organizing the team’s participation. “Meghan was the driving force behind this year’s recruitment efforts, she led the design and production of our team sweaters, organized team spirit initiatives, helped with critical communications, and so much more,” he added. “Meghan has proven herself to be a true leader, a fierce competitor, and an amazing human being.”

Scanlon credited the team’s success to the hard work from each member, “Seeing the amount of hard work, effort, and dedication that each team member put in was tremendous, they should be proud of themselves,” she shared. “They all dominated the competition, showed a high level of ambition and left a mark that made all of us #DCProud.”

First-year Journalism – Mass Media students had a valuable opportunity for experiential learning at Durham College (DC) earlier this month.

The ‘Community Listening’ event, held at the new Centre for Innovation and Research, was part of the Voices in Durham project, a partnership between the Regional Municipality of Durham and DC. The theme of the event was ‘reporting on fair and equitable stories in the diverse region of Durham.’

“We’re talking to key leaders in the Region of Durham about how journalists can approach them, how they can tell stories, how to gain trust in their communities, and how to really build rapport and to look for stories that the students wouldn’t normally know about,” explained Journalism faculty member Joanne MacDonald.  

By simulating a press conference, the event allowed students to experience the work of a professional journalist, and each of them had a unique role to play, from moderating the discussion to taking notes and snapping photographs.

One of the guest speakers was Dr. Vidal Chavannes, Director of Strategy, Research and Organizational Performance at Durham Regional Police Service. He saw the event as an ideal opportunity to speak to the future reporters who will shed light on important news and issues.

“I’m happy to participate in any opportunity to connect with young people who are interested in telling the stories of the residents of Durham,” he said. “Any time you’re able to hear other people’s life stories, I think it helps you understand just how different that we are, but also how much we have in common.”

First-year students Bryson Betts and Sunmeet Kour served as the event hosts, leading the discussion before turning the microphone over to their assembled classmates. The panelists touched on a variety of topics, from the importance of inclusive local news to the best way for reporters to approach their communities.

DC’s young journalists will benefit greatly from the experience, according to professor Teresa Goff.

“When you’re working in journalism, you need to know your audience. We want them to feel comfortable going out into the community and doing interviews, but we also want them to understand the diversity of Durham,” she said. “We want to get the students thinking about amplifying voices that we don’t often hear.”

Fittingly, the guest speakers for the event were six community members who are working hard to create change, including;

• Wosen Beyene, Manager of the Ajax Welcome Centre and Immigrant Services (Community Development Council Durham)
• Vidal Chavannes, Director of Strategy, Research and Organizational Performance at Durham Regional Police Service
• Jon Colwell, Visual Artist, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation
• Akuah Frempong, Clinical Services Coordinator at Inner City Health Associates, Member of Congress of Black Women of Canada (Oshawa/Whitby Chapter), and Member of Durham Region Anti-Racism Taskforce
• Lisa McIntosh, Director, Income, Employment and Homelessness Support
• Raveena Rajasingham, President, Canadian Tamil Congress, Board of Directors

A group of five students from the Faculty of Business made Durham College (DC) history recently during the 2023 Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) PrimeTime Sports Case Competition. The team placed second – ranking above competitors from across Canada with their strategic and innovative business solution.

Sheldon Koufman and Ian Ellis, Sport Management faculty and DC’s Case Competition coaches said the experience of competing at this event is a great way for students to hone their skills, develop and improve their network, enhance their teamwork and resilience, and to try to solve real-world problems they may encounter in the sports business industry after graduation.

“The team had a blend of diverse talents that came together to exemplify a cohesive unit,” said Ellis. “Their dedication to planning and preparing for the competition was truly admirable, and ultimately, their ability to collaborate and a shared passion for excellence culminated in an outstanding result that highlighted the team’s strategic thinking and collective intelligence.”

The MLSE PrimeTime Sports Case Competition is run by seasoned sports executives Brian Burke and Trevor Whiffen and attracts students from post-secondary institutions across Canada. This year, students were challenged with developing a digital engagement project – focused on increasing customer engagement and loyalty for MLSE and its brands.

The DC team strategized and pitched a loyalty program that connects to all MLSE apps and their associated sponsors. Through their proposed idea, customers and corporate sponsors would be rewarded with points for future purchases.

Dylan Foster, a Sport Business Management student and the team’s captain, attributes the team’s success in part to their classroom experience.

“The skills you have to develop to be successful in this program translate very easily to being a successful team. Everyone is on the same page, working towards the same goal and our combination of skills made us a force to be reckoned with,” Foster said. “It was an amazing experience and an honour to compete and to represent Durham College at such a competitive event. The team building and preparation with the team was just as rewarding for me as the second-place win.”

Time flies when you’re leading the way.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023 marks the 30^th anniversary of the Durham College (DC) Whitby campus. Over the last three decades, what started as a converted chocolate factory has grown into a high-demand campus that is addressing the training needs in the Durham Region and beyond with a range of post-secondary, apprenticeship and corporate training programs across multiple disciplines. Since its inception, the campus has produced thousands of skilled graduates who have gone on to support our local, provincial and national economies.

“With a special focus on skilled trades, hospitality and horticulture, the campus’s classrooms, labs, shops and training facilities provide a dynamic, experiential-learning environment for DC students and community partners,” said Rebecca Milburn, Whitby campus principal and executive dean, Faculty of Skilled Trades & Apprenticeship and Hospitality & Horticultural Science.

The campus is home to many unique learning environments including an urban farm, outdoor classroom, learning living labs and Bistro ’67, to name a few.

Clair Cornish, a professor in the Faculty of Skilled Trades & Apprenticeship, has had a front row seat for much of the expansion after arriving in 1999.

“It has been a joy to be involved in the evolution of the Whitby campus, from just a single building delivering a few skilled trades and apprenticeship programs to a complete post-secondary campus that now delivers a variety of programs to a diverse student population.”

Robert Nokes, a mechanical technologist in the Welding and Fabrication Shop, has a unique perspective on the growth of the Whitby campus. As a DC student in 1982, he had to make do with the small welding shop that was available at the Oshawa campus at the time. In 2003 he rejoined the DC family as a tech in the Welding and Machining areas. The facilities he worked in were far beyond what he’d used during his time as a student, and they’ve continued to expand since then.

“The government has made investments in trades at the Whitby campus, allowing state of the art equipment to be purchased and larger shops to be built,” he said. “Our student numbers have been growing and growing every year as the demand for skilled trade workers grows.”

For DC president Don Lovisa, the expansion of the Whitby campus has been a true passion project. He has overseen the creation of state-of-the-art new facilities like the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, the Ontario Power Generation Centre for Skilled Trades and Technology, and the brand new PROTO and Electric Vehicle Lab.

“Throughout my tenure, it has been truly remarkable to witness the growth of our Whitby campus. What began 30 years ago as a modest offshoot of our main campus has evolved into a destination for over 4,000 students each year,” he said. “I’d like to thank everyone, employees, community and students alike, who have played a part in the last three decades of success at the Whitby campus. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this remarkable learning space.”