Durham College (DC) congratulates students Deanna Chaikalis and Matthew Vella who were honoured as award recipients at the Canadian Fire Safety Association’s (CSFA) annual education forum on April 5.

Chaikalis won the $500 Mircom Group Award for her exceptional overall skills focused on fire detection systems, codes, fire protection system design and practical lab skills. Vella won the $1,000 Siemens Canada Award for his outstanding performance in fire detection, codes, fire protection system design, practical lab skills and Auto CAD.

The CFSA is a non-profit organization that works to promote the science and improve the methods of fire protection and prevention against loss of life and property.

Each year, the association awards scholarships to top students enrolled in a fire protection technology program to promote the study and improvement of fire protection and prevention. The recipients of the awards must demonstrate outstanding academic proficiency with a grade point average of more than 3.3.

Chaikalis and Vella are both honours graduates of DC’s Firefighter – Pre-service, Education and Training program. They returned to DC to study in the Fire and Life Safety Systems Technician program to gain higher qualifications and further develop their critical thinking skills in the field of fire safety.

 DC’s Fire and Life Safety Systems Technician program prepares students for career opportunities in the fire industry by providing a curriculum that directly aligns with current employer demands. Students gain a comprehensive understanding of the fire suppression, fire detection, building and fire codes, plans examination, fire protection design and life safety planning.

Durham College (DC) and its Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE) is pleased to announce the official opening of the Centre for Craft Brewing Innovation (CCBI) at the Whitby campus.

Consisting of a pilot brew line and brew lab, which were purchased using a $150,000 Applied Research Tools and Instruments grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the CCBI offers craft brewers access to expertise and state-of-the-art technology, as well as micro-analytical and research services.

The announcement, which took place during a special launch event on March 27, comes in the midst of Ontario’s continued craft brewing industry boom. According to the Ontario Craft Brewers February 2018 fact sheet, this segment was one of the fastest growing in the LCBO, seeing 20 to 30 per cent growth year-over-year and the total economic impact of small breweries is estimated to be roughly $1.4 billion.

“We are very excited about what the centre offers craft brewers,” said Chris Gillis, manager, Applied Research Business Development, ORSIE. “There is so much potential to further innovate by refining brewing methods and recipes, as well as increasing technical knowledge and skills within the industry.”

Under the direction of an experienced microbiologist and brewmaster, the CCBI can help craft brewers address challenges they may be facing, including experimenting with new recipes and flavour profiles, propagating and maintaining yeast strains and conducting scientific analyses to ensure the analytical and microbiological integrity of their beer. This ultimately leads to the creation of a better product within this growing industry.

 In addition to supporting craft brewers, the CCBI also allows students to gain valuable experience by working on research projects with brewers, challenging them to apply what they are learning in class to address real industry problems.

To learn more about the CCBI’s specific offerings please visit www.durhamcollege.ca/ccbi.

On March 24, Durham College (DC) opened its doors to prospective students and their families at the Oshawa and Whitby campuses and Pickering Learning Site for the college’s annual Spring Open House.

The event gave more than 3,000 students and guests the opportunity to explore DC’s extensive facilities, take guided tours, check out support services, including Financial Aid and Awards and the Access and Support Centre, and learn more about the college’s more than 140 full-time programs and hundreds of continuing education offerings.

DC president Don Lovisa, current students, alumni, faculty and staff were all on hand to connect with community members and share their first-hand knowledge and experience related to all things DC.

The college also leveraged social media to provide those who couldn’t make it in person with a window into on-campus activities. A VIP information session about DC’s new Honours Bachelor of Health Care Technology Management program was livestreamed (a recording is still available) as were campus and residence tours.

Anyone who missed the Spring Open House can still learn more about all that DC has to offer. Campus tours and information sessions can be scheduled online, via email or by calling 905.721.3000.

DC will hold its Fall Open House on Saturday, November 10.

On March 20, 22 and 23, Durham College’s (DC) spring and fall 2018 graduating students learned everything they need to know about convocation during Countdown to Grad.

Held at the Oshawa and Whitby campuses and Pickering Learning Site, the annual event gave students who attended the opportunity to learn about alumni benefits, career development services and convocation details, while also enjoying a free slice of pizza and receiving a gift from event sponsor, the Alumni Association.

For more information about DC’s spring 2018 convocation ceremonies, please visit the Spring Convocation page.

Durham College (DC) is proudly congratulating research partner Partake Brewing (Partake) for successfully securing a deal for its non-alcoholic craft beer, during the March 15 episode of CBC’s hit show Dragons’ Den.

Company Founder Ted Fleming stepped into the den with his brew in-hand, ready to offer samples to convince the dragons to invest in his business – a locally made, non-alcoholic craft beer that brings all the things that make craft beer great to non-alcoholic beer drinkers including taste, variety, authenticity, creativity, and passion.

One of the first partners to work with DC’s Centre for Craft Brewing Innovation at the Whitby campus, Partake secured a deal with dragon Manjit Minhas for $300,000 for 50 per cent of his company after she praised the IPA she sampled for having just the right bitterness along with beautiful body and colour.

Fleming started the company after being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, which meant he had to eliminate alcohol from his diet. It was good for his health but he missed beer and while there were non-alcoholic options available, the quality and variety were just not the same as their alcoholic counterparts so it became his mission to remedy the situation. Partake was the end result.

The company’s collaboration with DC and its Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE) began in October 2016. Funded through a $25,000 Engage grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and using its brew lab and line, ORSIE researchers worked with the company to develop Partake’s IPA recipe, the same beer sampled in the den – a made-in-Canada craft brew that has low or no alcoholic content yet retains a true beer taste.

Plans are in place for Partake and the CCBI to continue their collaboration as new recipes and styles of non-alcoholic beer are developed.

For more information about Partake, visit https://www.drinkpartake.com.

For more information about the DC Centre for Craft Brewing Innovation, visit www.durhamcollege.ca/ccbi.

The Chronicle, Durham College’s (DC) newspaper and website produced by students and faculty in the Journalism – Mass Media program, has been recognized for its quality work by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association (OCNA) in the 2017 Better Newspapers Competition.

DC graduate Toby Van Weston is one of three finalists in the Student Feature Writing category for a story he wrote about water issues on Scugog Island.

The paper’s website is also a finalist in the Best College or University Newspaper Website category. Most recently, the Chronicle finished second in the 2016 General Excellence Awards.

Additionally, DC alumnus Travis Fortnum, who now works at CP24 in Toronto, received honourable mentions in the Student Feature Writing and Student News Writing categories.

The Better Newspaper Competition is sponsored by the OCNA, a non-profit industry association focused on helping community newspapers prosper by promoting and enhancing the image of the industry among readers.

Winners will be announced at an awards gala on Friday, April 20, in Richmond Hill.

The Chronicle and DC’s Journalism – Mass Media program have been fixtures at the college for more than 40 years.

On March 5, Women in Skilled Trades Durham College (WISTDC) hosted a networking event for female students studying in the School of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship and Renewable Technology. The event featured guest speaker Stephanie Smith, plant manager at Ontario Power Generation (OPG) Pickering, and focused on gender parity at OPG and the employment opportunities available to women within skilled trades.

OPG has made gender parity a key organizational goal in connection with the trades that account for a significant portion of their workforce. Smith shared her own experiences working with the trades and the direction in which OPG is headed. She was joined by guest journeywomen women Melissa Damiani and Judy Bartley, also with OPG, who discussed their experiences as tradespersons and answered questions from attendees.

Damiani, an instrumentation technician and electrician, is the first female section manager in the Maintenance department at OPG. Bartley is a first line manager for Civil Maintenance, Deep Clean, Painters and Dosimetry Handling. She is also the Durham Region representative for Women in Nuclear Canada, an organization dedicated to promoting the role of women in the Canadian nuclear and radiation related industries.

WISTDC is dedicated to creating opportunities for female students in DC’s skilled trades programs at the Whitby campus to connect and network with other women working in skilled trades as well as each other. 

The first WISTDC event was held in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and encouraged students and DC employees to volunteer at an Oshawa build site. It was an incredible opportunity for students in the skilled trades to practice their craft within the community.

For the latest related news and event information, follow @WISTDC on Twitter.

A team of Durham College (DC) students captured an impressive second-place finish in the first-ever Teaching City Hackathon on March 3. A total of 10 teams of Oshawa post-secondary students went head-to-head on International Open Data Day for their chance to win $1,500 by proposing a solution to a public policy challenge around the theme of improving residential rental housing in Oshawa.

Members of the DC team known as P.A.M. received a $750 prize for their solution of a website that focused on the inclusivity of the most marginalized Oshawa populations. Each of the competition’s top three teams will now work with the Hackathon Steering Committee, Spark Centre and local entrepreneurs to review opportunities for their proposed solutions to be refined and developed into a potential commercial product, a process which could be explored through partnerships and further research and exploration by students and faculty in their institutions.

“The Teaching City Hackathon not only provided fresh ideas and new approaches to residential rental housing in Oshawa, but also an enriched educational experience,” said Oshawa Mayor John Henry. “I am constantly amazed by the brilliant minds that call Oshawa home. Giving opportunities to young people will change the world, and this is a great example.”

“I was very impressed by the students’ ability to address the challenge from a number of different angles, the creativity of their solutions to the challenge and their presentation skills,” said Janse Tolmie, chief information officer and associate vice-president, Information Technology, DC.

The Hackathon was the second project of Teaching City, a formal collaboration between the City of Oshawa, Canadian Urban Institute, DC, Trent University Durham GTA, University of Ontario Institute of Technology and University of Toronto Department of Civil Engineering. Teaching City aims to establish Oshawa as a city focused on experiential learning, applied research and innovative teaching partnerships to address urban issues.

Learn more about Teaching City and its upcoming initiatives on the Teaching City web page.