For the second consecutive year Durham College (DC) has been rated as one of the top 25 colleges in Canada for research income according to Research Infosource Inc.’s, ranking of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges, which was released today.

The ranking is a significant achievement for DC’s Office of Research Services and Innovation (ORSI), which supports local businesses and industry by helping them solve their technical problems and become more competitive.

“We are very pleased and honoured to see Durham College’s achievements continue to be recognized on the list of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges,” said Debbie McKee Demczyk, director of ORSI. “We continue to look for opportunities to support small- and medium-sized companies with their research and innovation needs and to provide excellent opportunities for our students to experience real-world challenges.”

“Colleges and CEGEPs have a unique place in the country’s national system of innovation,” said Ron Freedman, chief executive officer of Research Infosource. “They differentiate themselves by concentrating on practical, applied research that is focused on the needs of local firms and organizations.”

For more information and a complete list of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges please visit www.researchinfosource.com/top50_col.php

Durham College’s Centre for Food (CFF) has won second place in the prestigious Canadian Design-Build Institute (CDBI) Awards of Excellence, making it the second-best design-build project in all of Canada for 2014. The college received the award during the CDBI National Conference held in Victoria, British Columbia from October 15 to 17.

CDBI, the national voice of design-build practitioners in Canada, presents the awards annually to recognize excellence in Canada’s design-build industry and acknowledge design-build teams whose projects contribute to the growth and stature of the design-build profession.

Inspired by the college’s commitment to bring field-to-fork education and practice to the Durham Region, the vision brings locally-sourced, quality produce from field to table at  the 36,000-sq.-ft. CFF that officially opened in October 2013. Accommodating approximately 900 students studying in culinary, hospitality, event management, food science and agriculture and horticulture programs, it houses Bistro ’67, a 70-seat, full-service, green-certified teaching-inspired restaurant and Pantry, a unique retail food store that brings student-created goods straight from the culinary classroom to the community.

The CFF was brought from concept to reality by a team that included DC; Garritano Bros Limited and Gow Hastings Architects.

“Durham College is honoured to be awarded second place in such a prestigious competition,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “From concept to execution, the CFF is a blend of creativity and innovation in both the design and build aspects of the facility. It truly demonstrates our vision of the field-to-fork concept in a post-secondary setting, as well as our efforts in sustainability and social responsibility.”

From both a construction and design perspective highlights of the CFF include:

• A main atrium that draws users into the heart of the building with a two-storey living wall, serving as a central meeting place and venue for events and celebrations.
• Interior windows that provide glimpses into the labs, encouraging exploration and establishing a dynamic energy within the building.
• Steel and glass foldable partitions on either side of the atrium that allow a wine tasting lab and bake lab the flexibility to open up onto the central atrium to accommodate larger events.
• An audio visual system inside Bistro’67 that allows  diners to see their food being prepared and fins in the exterior glazed wall  that provide seating niches within this double-height space.
• Kitchen labs that offer interactive teaching platforms to enable students to observe and practice their skills in real time and state-of-the-art systems and equipment that allow students to learn how to prepare all kinds of cuisine.
• Culinary labs that open up to the main atrium in order to serve large functions and display the activities within on a daily basis. This includes high-performance surface materials in working spaces including stainless steel, hygienic wall coverings, safety flooring and ceramic tile.

“Each year the Canadian Design-Build Institute recognizes the best design-build projects in all of Canada,” said Steve Garritano, vice-president, Sales, Garritano. “As the design-builder for Durham College’s Centre for Food, I find it to be an exceptional privilege and honour to have been considered amongst the best in all of Canada for this award.”

Project submissions were evaluated primarily on the success achieved in attaining the owner/user’s project goals, as well as their success in implementing design-build best practices, with special emphasis placed on the design team’s use of innovation. The term innovation included the use of new systems; methods and processes that were cost effective; speedy; and safe while using technology to execute projects. The design quality of each project was also reviewed with aesthetics, functionality and life cycle being key considerations. Award recipients demonstrate the highest standards and principles in the design-build industry and the business community in pursuit of excellence.

“We feel very privileged to be the recipients of a CDBI Award of Excellence for the Durham College Centre for Food,” said Philip Hastings, partner at Gow Hastings Architects. “It was a pleasure to work alongside Durham College and Garritano Brothers Ltd. to develop a new approach to culinary education and translate the process of making a meal from field-to-fork into a living and breathing building. We are excited to see this building merge and grow within the surrounding agricultural landscape and local economy and serve as a showcase for sustainable technologies and innovation.”

In addition to receiving the CDBI Award of Excellence, the college also launched Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community, a crowdfunding campaign, in support of the CFF in August 2014. The campaign is designed to support the landscaping required at the centre including the planting of trees, shrubs, fruits, vegetables and arboretum; the purchase of garden tools; a walking path; new soil; and more. To find out more, please visit http://fieldtofork.durhamcollege.ca.

Durham College (DC) in partnership with the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) and the Fisheries and Marine Institute of the Memorial University of Newfoundland, in conjunction with Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan), are working with the Government Technical Institute (GTI), a vocational institute in Georgetown, Guyana that provides technical skills development in a number of disciplines, to help it develop a new Automotive Electronics Technician program.

Led by the International office at DC, facilitated by CICan and funded by the Canadian government through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD), the project is a three-year endeavour worth $550,000. It is part of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Employment for Education (EFE) program (C-EFE), part of CICan’s overall EFE initiative, a $20-million program sponsored by DFATD, which aims to ensure a network of Canadian colleges and institutes is able to contribute to the reduction of poverty in developing countries in an effective and sustainable way.

“Our involvement in this EFE project opens up numerous opportunities for Durham College faculty and staff to gain international experience and share their expertise with colleagues outside of Canada,” said Fiona Richards, executive director of International Education at Durham College. “It also provides the opportunity for the college to engage globally in areas where it has proven to be a leader regionally and among colleges across Canada.”

Working with faculty and administrators at GTI, the three institutions are working together to develop a program responsive to the needs of Guyana’s auto industry, which has seen a significant increase in the number of cars on the road with new electronic systems.

 “The implementation of an Automotive Electronics Technician program is a true partnership, aligning with the goals of the Government Technical Institute in Georgetown,” said Ann Marie Vaughan, president and chief executive officer of the CNA. “Our goal is to enhance the program offering capability of the Guyanese institute and utilize the diverse experiences of College of the North Atlantic, the Marine Institute and Durham College in program development and implementation to promote a skilled workforce for the country.” 

Upon completion, the program will be recognized by the Caribbean Association of National Training Agencies, which co-ordinates technical and vocational education and training in the region. This means students who gain certification via the program in Guyana will have their credentials recognized across the Caribbean. In addition, the colleges will also work with Excelsior Community College in Kingston, Jamaica to share lessons learned and good practices.

To date there have been three inception trips to Guyana by DC administrators to establish the terms of the project and develop a project implementation plan. This includes the Guyana Industry Linkages Forum, which took place in Guyana on October 1 and saw C-EFE and Guyana’s Ministry of Education and Council for Technical Vocational Education and Training host industry leaders and educators as they discussed how Guyana’s technical institutes can best prepare graduates for employment.