More than 10 Durham College (DC) students assisted in upgrading and stabilizing the wireless network at the Abilities Centre – a state-of-the-art sports and recreation facility in Whitby, Ont., – in preparation for the 2015 Parapan Am Games.

Thanks to Cisco Systems, Inc. – a leader in communications and Internet solutions and services – nearly a dozen third-year Computer Systems Technology students from the School of Business, IT & Management (BITM) received the opportunity to work on various aspects the centre’s existing network including, stabilization as new equipment was introduced; suggesting support mechanisms; and configuring the network in its new state. Students will also help to maintain the system throughout the event.

As well as upgrading the current network at the Abilities Centre, students from this program, as well as from the Computer Systems Technician program, will volunteer alongside Cisco employees during the games as technical volunteers. DC students will assist spectators, competitors and media with any issues in connecting to and using the networks at a number of venues, including the Oshawa Sports Centre (GM Centre) and the President’s Choice Ajax Pan Am Ballpark as well as the Abilities Centre.

This experience has also led to a partnership between DC and the Abilities Centre to provide third-year students with an ongoing opportunity to provide technical support, so they can gain valuable hands-on training. Current and future work at the Abilities Centre will also be used in case studies to teach real-world examples of how to upgrade and support such a large network.

“This is a great hands-on experience for our students so they can not only see, but also have a hand in supporting, a real production environment network before they graduate,” said the coordinator of the Computer Systems Technology program at DC. “We’re also very pleased to partner with the Abilities Centre for ongoing opportunities for our students to learn real-world applications of what they study in the classroom.”

Fifteen students from other DC programs will also be involved in the Pan Am Games, including three students from the School of Media, Art & Design who will assist the CBC in broadcasting the events and 12 students from the School of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship & Renewable Technology who will help build and maintain residences for the athletes.

The 2015 Pan Am Games run from July 10 to 26 followed by the Parapan Am Games, which run from August 7 to 15.

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to grow your own leafy-greens throughout the cold, winter months? Two of Durham College’s (DC) professors are hoping to make that dream a reality.

Greg Moran, a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Techniques (HVAC) professor and Shane Jones, professor, School of Science and Engineering Technology (SET) have been working with students in perfecting the use of cold frame technology to provide businesses and consumers with fresh, local vegetables all year long.

As part of the applied research overseen by DC’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE), the cold frame technology project brings together faculty and students to build and install prototypes and then test them at the Centre for Food (CFF) at the college’s Whitby campus.

“This project is a great opportunity to teach our students the value of innovation, while working toward a solution that could aid local farmers, business and consumers by providing them with fresh, local produce year-round,” said Moran. “Early testing should prove that the concept works, while the next phase will focus on proving the technology is economically viable in certain applications where it can be developed on a larger scale.”

Cold frame technology works by harnessing the energy of the sun and redirecting it to support growth, even on the coldest of days. The cold frame boxes are constructed using cedar wood and special insulation and have triple polycarbonate glass on the top. The boxes are filled with sand and then buried underground. When the sun is shining, heat is collected and directed below the plants, bringing the heat up at night to warm the ambient air around them.

With plans to begin planting in October and lettuce taking about two months to grow to maturity, Moran and Jones will know in January whether the project was a success.

Twenty-seven-year-old Durham College (DC) graduate Ryan Doyle has acted so courageously that he was honoured with the City of Oshawa Heroism Award on Monday, June 8, at Oshawa City Hall.

Ryan, who graduated in 2010 from DC’s Social Service Worker program, saved his mother’s life this past March after she went into cardiac arrest at home and was showing no vital signs. Calling on the CPR training he received as part of the program, along with a background of volunteering with COPE Mental Health Services, he was able to resuscitate his mother and keep her awake before paramedics arrived.

“Ryan’s story is an amazing one,” said Dr. Judeline Innocent, dean, School of Health & Community Services. “CPR training is a key element in many of our health and community-focused programs for this very reason. You never know when you might need to call on those skills but we want to make sure our students are prepared should they be required. Ryan took all the appropriate steps which resulted in a life being saved.”

By working incredibly hard, Ryan overcame learning disabilities, autism and depression to earn his diploma as a social service worker. The entire college community is incredibly proud of his act of heroism.

A professor of the Fine Arts – Advanced, Digital Photography and Digital Video Production programs at Durham College (DC) has the privilege of being featured in The Art Gallery of Mississauga (AGM).

Susan Campbell’s project, Tracing Ambiguity, will be featured at the AGM until Sunday, June 21. The art interprets and reflects upon the design dynamics found within the urban setting; development sites, parking lots and public sidewalks in particular. Susan challenges the city’s developers by tracing a floor plan with fluorescent construction tape around pieces of abandoned furniture littering the streets.

The project started as a cheeky way for Susan to challenge the growing number of open house signs across the city, placing her own signs beside them. She has an art piece where she buys five to six, 128 square feet parking spaces at the daily rate, accumulating roughly 720 square feet, or the floor space of a medium-sized condo. Surrounded by cars, she uses yellow construction tape to map out the floor plan of a condo, to reinforce that this may be a parking lot now, but it could be something more sooner than you think.

“The underlying idea is for the audience to become aware of the fluidity between parking space and living space,” said Susan. “It may be a parking space now, but essentially its value can be increased if it’s made into a condo space, and if you multiply that by a factor of 40 floors, you’re looking at a huge efficiency there in terms of urbanization.”

Susan feels like sometimes our only relationship with urban space is to consume it. Everyone is so busy finding a parking space or getting to work and home that we cannot seem to find a place where we can stop, pause and look at what’s happening around us.

She invites people to challenge the most concrete of spaces and elicit a sense of agency into an otherwise hyper-rationalized built environment in order to perceive plausible fluidities between urban spaces, whether private or public; industrial or residential; or interior or exterior.

If you are interested in viewing the exhibit, visit the AGM Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and weekends from noon until 4 p.m. from now until June 21.

Durham College’s (DC) Adam Leadbetter, a level-three apprentice in DC’s Industrial Mechanic – Millwright program, brought home the silver medal in the Industrial Mechanic Millwright category after competing in the three-day national Skills Canada competition in Saskatoon, Sask. at the end of May.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do so well if it weren’t for what I’ve learned at Durham College,” said Leadbetter. “Attending the national competition gave me the opportunity to see what others are doing in the industry, while showing off my skills.”

Leadbetter secured his place at nationals after winning gold in the Industrial Mechanic Millwright category at the Skills Ontario competition in early May.

“We are very pleased that Adam has done so well at both the provincial and national skills competitions,” said Pam Stoneham, associate dean of the School of Skilled Trades, Apprenticeship & Renewable Technology (START). “Seeing our students succeed confirms that what they are learning in class is preparing them for when they head into industry. We are proud that we have been able to help facilitate Adam’s wins by offering the best possible education with the assistance and guidance of our faculty, especially professor Gary Noordstra, who coached Adam at the provincial and national competitions.”

For more information about DC and its programs visit www.durhamcollege.ca or call 905.721.2000