Durham College (DC) hosted several dignitaries from the government, educational and corporate sectors on July 10 for the National Inventors Hall of Fame™ (NIHF) Reception in the Centre for Collaborative Education’s Global Classroom at the Oshawa campus. During the event, guests took a tour of the first-ever Canadian offering of Camp Invention™ and spoke with camp educators and participants of the non-profit summer enrichment program.

In attendance was U.S. Consul General Greg Stanford; Mayor Dan Carter, City of Oshawa; and John Wrycraft and Evan Bombino of technology leader Johnson Controls Inc., as well as Amy Gorecki, executive director, and Nathalie Rudner, president-elect, of the Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario/L’Association des professeurs de sciences de l’Ontario.

Camp Invention is a program developed by the non-profit NIHF, in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It was held at the DC Oshawa campus from July 8 to 12 and provided a unique experience for children to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). National Inventors Hall of Fame (Canada) is the Canadian non-profit organization responsible for introducing NIHF’s ground-breaking innovation ecosystem to young inventors in Canada. The one-week program was funded by the United States Embassy in Ottawa and U.S. Consulate in Toronto.

Overseen by four teachers from both the Durham District School Board and Durham Catholic District School Board, and five counsellors, Camp Invention’s 2019 Supercharged™ program allowed campers the opportunity to learn about ocean navigation and survival skills on a remote island, conduct mock DNA tests on farm animals and learn to protect their own ideas. As an added bonus, at the end of the week, each camper brought home their own robot.

The Durham College (DC) Board of Governors (BOG) is pleased to announce Ivan DeJong and Michele James as the new board chair and vice-chair, respectively, effective Monday, July 1, 2019. The appointments are for a one-year term.

Ivan is co-owner of Youngfield Farms in Nestleton, which was started by his family in 1953, and he has been involved in local organizations including the Durham Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Durham College Community Choir and the Canadian Food Grains Bank. In 2013, Ivan received the Diamond Jubilee Medal for community service.

With a career in health care spanning 30 years, Michele is the vice-president of People and Transformation at Scarborough Health Network and her diverse portfolio includes oversight of the human resources function for the organization’s 5,200 employees and 1,600 volunteers. Michele has also been involved in local organizations and is currently the volunteer chair of the Advisory Committee for the Black Physicians Association of Ontario.

The BOG is responsible for the governance of DC and, as such, is accountable to the students, employees and communities the college serves for ensuring that it is effectively and appropriately managed to achieve its established mandate and to provide needed services.

As chair, Ivan will be responsible for ensuring the board meets its responsibilities and established mandate through leadership, openness and transparency.

On June 20, Durham College (DC) held a commemorative ceremony to plant hero trees at its Whitby campus, as part of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign.

Created with a mission to plant two million trees along and within the communities adjacent to the 401 Highway of Heroes, the campaign is a living tribute to the members of the country’s Armed Forces, including DC alumni and the 117,000 men and women who died in conflicts since Confederation.

College employees joined DC President Don Lovisa, along with the Lords women’s varsity softball team and Mike Hurley, executive director of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign, to plant the first tree.

Special thanks goes out to DC professor Shane Jones and several of our Horticulture – Technician and Horticulture – Food and Farming students, for the role they have played in getting the land ready for the planting.

On June 19, more than 450 Durham College (DC) employees took time to invest in themselves by joining their colleagues for a day of thoughtful discussion, growth and knowledge sharing at the college’s Professional Development (PD) Day 2019.

Indigenous student advisors Julie Pigeon and Peggy Forbes led attendees in a smudging ceremony to start the day in a good way before CFL legend and community builder Michael “Pinball” Clemons delivered the program’s keynote address.

The former coach and player for the Toronto Argonauts football team captivated the room with an empowering presentation in which he talked about personal perseverance and the importance of teamwork.

Attendees then broke out into smaller groups to attend three concurrent sessions over the course of the afternoon. This year’s event offered employees a choice from 25 presentations delivered by their colleagues on a variety of timely subjects from meditation and esports to creative problem solving, time management and more.

PD Day is an annual event, organized by the college’s Human Resources department, which enhances employee engagement using thought-provoking presentations and opportunities to reconnect with colleagues and recharge through exposure to new ideas and skills.

With more than 800 full-time employees and approximately 1,000 part-time employees, DC is one of the region’s largest employers and provides more than $900 million to Durham Region in positive economic impact annually. Events like PD Day are one of the many initiatives that help make DC one of the GTA’s Top Employers.

Durham College (DC) is proud to be a sustainable campus and works hard to encourage and empower the DC community to live sustainably every day. These efforts have also earned DC the greenest employer designation for the third year in a row.

As part of the college’s commitment to sustainability, DC hosted numerous green events throughout the month of April in celebration of Earth Month, emphasizing the small and big actions that students, employees and the greater community can take to contribute to sustainability. These events included:

• RecycleMania. On April 1, DC challenged students and employees to test their waste-sorting skills in The Pit. Faced with a collection of items that are commonly placed in the wrong bins, participants gave their best guess on whether each item could be recycled or was destined for the landfill.
• #MugLife Week. From April 8 to 12, as part of DC’s efforts to reduce the use of single-use disposable coffee cups and water bottles, the college invited all members of the DC community to share photos of them using reusable mugs on social media.
• Guided Nature Walk and Campus Clean-up. On April 17, DC and Ontario Tech University joined forces with a team of 25 students and employees to clean up litter along the west border of the Oshawa campus next to the Oshawa Creek. Joined by Traditional Knowledge Keeper Rick Bourque, the event began with a Smudging Ceremony and Rick shared the traditional history and importance of the Oshawa Creek, as well as information about traditional medicines that could be found nearby.
• Nature-Based Meditation. On April 22, which is also Earth Day, DC students and employees were treated to a guided meditation in Polonsky Commons led by health promotions co-ordinator, Heather Bickle. The meditation facilitated personal reflection on our connection to nature and the earth beneath our feet.
• Glow in the Dark Yoga. Hosted at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre on April 29, 20 employees participated in a yoga practice that encouraged intention setting for sustainable living. Held in the dark, with only glow sticks and glow paint as a light source, participants practiced mindfulness while reducing electricity consumption in the process.

On Earth Day, DC also announced that it has finished construction on its Simcoe Geothermal Field, and will begin harnessing 550 tons (1.9 megawatts) of clean, sustainable geothermal power through the Energy Innovation Centre (EIC) to fuel the energy needs of the Gordon Willey block beginning this summer.

Above ground, the finishing touches on the EIC are under way, which will soon provide an exhibit-like atmosphere where students and the public can learn more about how the geothermal system works and view system diagrams and performance metrics.

The official opening for the Simcoe Geothermal Field and EIC is set for Fall 2019, but you can learn more at www.durhamcollege.ca/geothermal. The Simcoe Geothermal Field and EIC are being completed in partnership with Siemens Canada, who has provided not only valuable industry knowledge but has contributed as the primary contractor for the project.

Durham College (DC), Ontario Power Generation (OPG), and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB) are pleased to announce they have joined together to offer a three-week pre-apprenticeship program, providing essential boilermaker industry training.

Managed and delivered through DC’s Corporate Training Services (CTS), the pre-apprenticeship serves as an introduction to the boilermaker trade and provincial apprenticeship program. Its inaugural session begins on Monday, April 29, with four additional intakes scheduled throughout the summer which will train 100 new pre-apprentices.

The training program was created to help address the projected skilled trades’ shortage of boilermakers in Ontario. OPG, Bruce Power, and the Electrical Power Systems Construction Association (EPSCA) have been working on a province wide plan to mitigate the resourcing risks for contractors and owners, ensuring sufficient capacity exists to execute the volume and complexity of work at all the utilities, safely and on budget. Successful applicants will be referred for work at OPG sites, training with senior staff and learning their craft in the nuclear industry. The program is also being supported by the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCNI).

Within the energy industry boilermakers build and maintain nuclear, hydroelectric and coal-fired generating stations, as well as oil-sands extraction plants, oil refineries, liquefied natural gas processing plants and other facilities. They also work in the mining, chemical, pulp and paper, cement and potash industries. The scope of a boilermaker’s work can include everything from specialty welding to hoisting, positioning and installing huge components of massive industrial plants, to project management and co-ordination of workers in other trades.

Those interested in a future boilermaker apprenticeship opportunity can visit www.boilermaker.ca/apply.

For the third year in a row, Durham College (DC) Sport Management students spent their fourth semester organizing a collegiate Hockey Helps the Homeless (HHTH) tournament in support of Durham Outlook. With tournaments held nationwide, HHTH lets hockey lovers skate alongside their peers while also making a difference in the lives of Canadians experiencing homelessness. The tournament on March 29 raised over $20,000, helping the 365-days-a-year soup kitchen continue to serve the most vulnerable residents of Durham Region.

On April 18, a cheque was proudly presented to Durham Outlook’s director of fundraising, Reisha Prasad, and directors Colin Deyong and Joanne Bolahood by Nadine Lamarche, program co-ordinator for DC’s Sport Administration and Sport Management programs, and her students.

A major project facilitated through their Sport and Event Marketing class, students began brainstorming for their HHTH event prior to the start of the semester and applied for co-chair positions last fall. During the class, students worked together to form sub-committees that focused on game day operations, sponsorship, player recruitment and marketing, which allowed them to apply their skills and interests to the planning, organization and execution of a real-world sporting event. Other groups from the class organized events such as the Esports Classic, a competitive gaming tournament, and Sport Management Alumni Reunion this semester.

“Within the sporting industry it’s imperative for students to receive hands-on training in a variety of areas of sport,” said Nadine Lamarche. “Experiential learning lets us show our students what it’s like working in various sectors and helps them gain networking skills and experience that will help grow their resumes prior to applying for their field placement and eventually for jobs post-graduation.”

While students were able to give back to their community in a meaningful way through HHTH, they also opened up opportunities for potential employment down the road. Three DC students, including one this year, have secured field placements with HHTH, helping the organization run tournaments across the country. Additionally, two DC grads have also found permanent work with the organization as tournament operations co-ordinators.