Robert Biggar, a graduate of Durham College’s (DC) Advertising and Marketing Communications program, and his brother William have won a $1,000 cash prize for achieving the top score in DC’s Summer Accelerator program. They received the good news at the Innovation Celebration event, held on Thursday, August 13, hosted by Spark Centre and community partners, 360 Incentives and SAP Canada.

The Biggars business venture is Ideal Compass, a company created to help travel agents increase their efficiency and improve the quality of their offerings for their clients. By attending sessions and achieving specific goals over the course of the 15-week Summer Accelerator program, they earned points, which, when cumulatively tallied earned them the cash prize.

“I’m really happy my brother and I were able to set the goal of developing a viable business and then went on to achieve that,” said William Biggar. “The Summer Accelerator program truly helped us make Ideal Compass a reality; the sessions taught by business advisors, practice pitches and skill development all played a key role in our success. We’ve made some amazing connections over the course of the program and look forward to seeing what the future holds.”

It started with 25 applications, 10 business ideas were chosen and now the final seven are left standing as part of the Durham College (DC) Summer Accelerator, a 15-week incubation program, funded and supported by FastStart DC and facilitated by the Spark Centre.

These teams have been working since the beginning of May to develop and refine their businesses and will be competing in the Summer Accelerator Pitch Finale on Tuesday, August 11.

Below is information about the students and their innovative ideas:

• Shanoo Gupta, a graduate of the Marketing – Business program is the founder of Delush, a juicing company that focuses on natural ingredients and preservative-free products. Gupta walked away with a $500 prize after winning the first Summer Accelerator Pitch Competition on Thursday, July 9.
• Jeremy Coulis, a student in DC’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business program, who will be graduating this fall, has created Agile Fat Guy, a craft distillery that will use the business model of craft beer and apply it to his business to make craft spirits. Coulis tied for second during the second Summer Accelerator Pitch Competition receiving a $500 prize.
• Michael Brideau, a third-year student in the Sport Administration and Management program, has developed, Hockeypedia, an online database for minor hockey league tournaments. Brideau’s goal is to provide the public with easier access to tournament schedules across Ontario. Not only will Hockeypedia post information of when and where tournaments will take place throughout the province, it will also promote and advertise them as well.
• Robert Biggar, a graduate of DC’s Advertising and Marketing Communications program has created Ideal Compass along with his business partner and brother William. Ideal Compass is a web application that helps travel agents increase their businesses efficiency and improve the quality of their service.
• Kristof Lindale is a young community member who has developed a startup to provide post-secondary students with financial guidance through a series of video blogs. The goal is to help students by teaching different methods of budgeting and how to be successful.
• Shazaan Sajeeb, a third-year student of DC’s Computer Systems Technology program, created Logique One, a business focused on the building of custom computers for specific uses, such as graphic design.
• Michael Shankar, a second-year student in DC’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business Program. He founded Belle in a Box, a luxury subscription box service to help further the product experience for users.

Over the course of the Summer Accelerator program participants learned how to bring their innovative ideas and business ventures to market faster, while accessing professional services and support from an experienced team of faculty, entrepreneurs and business owners. Throughout the program they have assessed their business models, developed operational plans and validated the market need for their companies. Each participant also attended regular seminars and workshops in pitching, sales, marketing and public speaking offered by the Spark Centre’s expert team of startup advisors.

The entire college community wishes them well as they compete for the grand prize during Tuesday’s Pitch Finale Competition, where the winner will be awarded a cash prize of $2,500.

Durham College (DC) students in the School of Science & Engineering Technology’s (SET) Electronics Engineering Technology and Mechanical Engineering Technology programs, will now be able to create mechanical structures using six new rapid prototype (3D) printers, which were purchased after receiving innovation funds from the Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment (CAFÉ).

“3D printers are commonly used in both the electrical and mechanical fields,” said Chris Daniel, professor in the School of Science & Engineering Technology. “These printers allow students to inexpensively create custom computer-aided designs (CAD), which help them build the skills their future industry demands and allows them to explore their creative side; the student’s imagination is the limit.”

Of the six printers purchased, the Electronics Engineering Technology program will receive three Printrbots with heated beds, which will allow students to use CAD designs to create enclosures and power supply boxes to house their circuit board creations.

The Mechanical Engineering Technology students will have access to three Flashforge Dreamer printers and will be able to create pneumatic engine components and are able to develop their design skills through manufacturing.

“The beauty of this technology is that students can quickly and inexpensively create their structural designs without the time, safety or expertise constraints associated with using a traditional machine shop,” Daniel added.

In addition to the Electronics Engineering Technology and the Mechanical Engineering Technology programs integrating 3D printing into the curricula, other programs within SET will be looking to incorporate the technology in the future.

In May 2015, Durham College, (DC) was awarded a contract from Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) to partner with the Centro Experimental de Formación Profesional (CEFOP), a technical and vocational college in Trujillo, Peru. Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), the contract sees DC working with CEFOP to share the college’s experiences and expertise in the areas of culinary arts and gastronomy, while helping to update and enhance their current curriculum.

A team from DC consisting of Katie Boone, Project Coordinator with the college’s international office, and David Hawey, Chair of DC’s Centre for Food (CFF), Durham Region’s first-ever post-secondary presence focused on the field-to-fork concept, and Adriana Reyes, an employee of the international office and a student with DC’s Team Experience, recently returned from Peru where they began work with the CEFOP to ensure its graduates are learning and developing the skills they need to meet the demands of the labour market.

“This is a very exciting partnership for all the institutions involved,” said Boone. “We have been working closely with a team in Trujillo with the goal of developing programs that, while innovative, also have a realistic implementation strategy that be sustainable well beyond the lifespan of the project, which concludes in March 2017.”

Current project highlights include establishing strong links with the rapidly growing culinary, hotel and tourism industry in Trujillo and reviewing and updating CEFOP’s current curriculum to help its students graduate with a relevant and well-rounded skills base; a skill base that combines technical knowledge and innovative and creative culinary practices that are characteristics of graduates from DC’s CFF.

Also included in the partnership is a teacher-training and professional development plan that match the demands of the new curriculum. CEFOP and DC will compare management experiences so that both colleges can learn from the practices that help both institutions excel nationally and internationally.

DC is acting as the Canadian project lead for all work done in Trujillo and Centennial College is a supporting partner.

For more information about DC’s CFF please visit http://www.durhamcollege.ca/academic-schools/centre-for-food.

Students in Durham College’s (DC’s) Power Engineering Technician program will have the rare opportunity to work directly on exhaust gas turbines, or jet engines, thanks to the work of Ralph Trauzzi, professor, School of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship and Renewable Technology (START).

Trauzzi made two of these engines available for students to coincide with the advanced curriculum DC developed and implemented for its START students to ensure their success upon graduation.

“When the opportunity arose, I said I would love to get a turbine engine for the program. We are so lucky to have this opportunity,” said Trauzzi. “Having the ability to work directly on an engine will benefit these students greatly, not only with the knowledge, but with experience as well.”

The final purchased turbines were acquired online as kits requiring some assembly, but the cost was low enough for Trauzzi to buy two and the required ancillary equipment. Currently, the engines sit on a wooden test stand that is clamped to a table. Eventually, they will be mounted on a floating stand that enables horizontal movement to allow students determine engine thrust.

“This engine can be run-up automatically through its start cycle, but I believe the student will learn more by doing it manually,” said Trauzzi. He has built a control panel, which will require the students to perform the proper steps in the correct order for both startup and shutdown.

This is just one of the many ways DC is constantly staying up-to-date and providing students with opportunities for success. To view a demonstration of this gas turbine engine, view the video on the left.