Durham College (DC) kicked off the new year by celebrating with Stanley – Lord Stanley that is. On Monday, January 8, the Stanley Cup – North America’s oldest and most revered championship trophy in professional sport – visited the college with DC alumnus and Keeper of the Cup Phil Pritchard.

DC students, employees and alumni were on hand to pose for photos with the one-and-only Stanley Cup and to speak with Phil. In true Canadian spirit, butter tarts and hot chocolate were also provided.

A graduate of DC’s Sport Administration program, Phil Pritchard has been taking care of the Stanley Cup since his first week on the job at the Hockey Hall of Fame more than 20 years ago. Now vice-president and curator at the famed hockey museum, Phil received a DC Alumni of Distinction award in 2016.

Durham College and Lakeridge Health have signed a five-year collaboration agreement focused on growing experiential learning, applied research and innovative education to address issues in health care.

“Durham College and Lakeridge Health have a long history of working together and this agreement illustrates the ways in which our values so closely align,” said Debbie McKee Demczyk, dean of the college’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE). “This is an exciting new chapter in our relationship – one that will provide exceptional opportunities for our students and faculty and make positive impacts on the quality of health care our community receives.”

Under the agreement, the college and hospital will collaborate to explore and pursue the following five objectives:

• Identify and develop initiatives focused on creating practical, scalable and sustainable solutions to health care issues.
• Work with companies to develop, disseminate and potentially commercialize technologies.
• Develop and coordinate joint experiential learning opportunities, applied research and innovative educational activities.
• Contribute to seminars, workshops and academic initiatives that drive the business goals of both organizations.
• Share access to facilities, equipment, systems, information and data within the boundaries of protecting confidentiality and personal information.

The collaboration agreement supports two specialized areas of research for ORSIE and Durham College: enabling technologies of the future and cultivating healthy lives and resilient communities. It also aligns with the college’s first degree program, the Honours Bachelor of Health Care Technology Management (BHCTM), announced earlier this year. The first program of its kind in Canada, the BHCTM program aims to address an identified need in the health care sector for professionals with a hybrid skill set of expertise in medical technologies, life sciences and business practices.

Lakeridge Health is a five hospital health system with approximately 15 community locations across Durham Region and 6,000 employees dedicated to providing excellence – every moment, every day. For Lakeridge Health, this partnership supports a pathway to innovation with a focus on excellent patient care and the potential to increase opportunities for experiential learning and applied research.

“Innovation is one of the core values of Lakeridge Health, and we are looking forward to working in partnership with Durham College to develop innovative health care solutions while working with students, faculty and community partners,” said Len Kleine, director of Business Development, Lakeridge Health, and one of the organizational leads for Innovation.

Students in Durham College’s (DC) Fire and Life Safety Systems Technician and Firefighter – Pre-Service, Education and Training programs recently volunteered their time and community spirit to raise $1,463 for Camp Bucko, which gives burn survivors ages seven to 17 the opportunity to attend camp for one week during the summer.

On Friday, December 15, they were able to present a cheque to representatives from the camp in the culmination of their planning and fundraising efforts. Raised during Fire Prevention Week, the funds are the result of multiple initiatives, which were organized by more than 100 students. These included a boot drive, fire fighter challenge where participants were given the chance to dress in fire fighter gear to complete an obstacle course and a meet and greet with Molly the Fire Dog.

Photo credit: Aly Beach, second-year Journalism – Print and Web student.

Durham College’s (DC) Office of Development and Alumni Affairs gave new meaning to the term ‘coffee break’ for alumni with their Brewing Memories Coffee Tour (BMCT).  The travelling series of events was part of DC’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017 and saw the college host coffee breaks throughout the year at 50 workplaces that employ DC graduates. This month, the tour wraps up after more than 50 stops.

The BMCT was designed to provide opportunities for the college to re-connect with its graduates, hear their success stories, learn about their career paths and in turn, share with them the new and exciting things happening at DC – all while enjoying free coffee, tea and baked goods. Each attendee had the opportunity to share details of their program and received a commemorative ‘DC alumni at work’ sticker to be proudly displayed at their workplace.

The Office of Development and Alumni Affairs gathered with alumni in workplaces such as DC’s Oshawa and Whitby campuses, Durham Regional Police Services, Ontario Power Generation and Bombardier Transportation. The BMCT traveled outside of Durham Region, with stops at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and the HMCS BYTOWN Officers’ Mess in Ottawa.

The tour also gave international alumni the opportunity to connect by engaging with former DC students in British Columbia, Romania, Turkey, Japan and England. The five alumni came together through DC’s Global Class to share their memories of DC and updates on their careers. Participants also learned about new college developments and took questions from audience members watching live, both in-class and on the web for a truly unique BMCT stop.

Durham College (DC) has been named one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for 2018. This is the seventh time the college has received this honour.

DC is proud to be acknowledged for the work being done on campus to create opportunities for professional development and personal wellness for the college’s more than 790 full-time employees, including faculty, administrative and support staff. Highlights of that work recognized by the Top Employer program this year include DC’s annual Retreat with the President, a forum for staff to provide feedback and share ideas for improvement as well as the college’s diversity working group, which helps develop and implement strategies and initiatives related to student and employment diversity. The program also commended DC for encouraging employees to lead active, healthy lives by subsidizing memberships to the state-of-the-art Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre, which also offers massage, physiotherapy and other extended healthcare services.

Greater Toronto’s Top Employers is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This special designation recognizes the Greater Toronto Area employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work. Organizations are judged on several categories including physical workplace; work and social atmosphere; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

For more information, please visit www.canadastop100.com/toronto/.

In early November, as part of its participation in the Kenyan Education for Employment Program (KEFEP), Durham College (DC) hosted four days of workshops for delegates from five Kenyan national polytechnics. The delegation’s visit to Ontario marked the beginning of Durham’s KEFEP partnerships, facilitated through Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan).

In addition to a workshop hosted by Algonquin College, one of DC’s Canadian partners, touching on the Greening of Technical Vocational Education and Training, a diverse, cross-sectional group of DC employees delivered workshops on the following subjects:

• Leadership and Change Management
• Gender Mainstreaming
• Industry Engagement and Program Advisory Committees

The Kenyan delegation also had the opportunity to connect with members of the DC leadership team (DCLT), including president Don Lovisa, Dr. Elaine Popp, vice-president, Academic; Mark Herringer, dean, International Education; and Moreen Tapper, dean, Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment. During a roundtable discussion, DCLT participants shared personal stories of their career development, as well as experiences with change management and leading teams through organizational transitions. Their Kenyan counterparts then shared details of their own experiences in connection with the evolution of Kenya’s post-secondary education system, including the recent change to college-led responsibility for curriculum development.

KEFEP is a five-year initiative focused on strengthening and supporting technical and vocational education and training in Kenya. It is funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada and facilitated by CICan. DC has been contracted on two separate KEFEP project with different mix of Kenyan and Canadian partners, to work together to achieve the overarching KEFEP goals through a partnership of 3.5 years. A vital component of DC’s internationalization strategy and efforts, partnerships such as KEFEP are great examples of partner-driven capacity-building projects that work towards sustainable results and professional development opportunities for all parties.