Durham College (DC) and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT) Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre was rocking last week as the two institutions played host to the FIRST® Robotics Canada (FRC) Greater Toronto East Regional Competition.  More than 1,000 students from 48 high school teams from across Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Michigan and New York competed in the event held from March 6 to 8.

Using the Aerial Assist℠ program featuring two alliances of three schools each competing in a timed match to see who can score the most goals, teams did battle in hopes for a coveted spot at the FRC World Championship taking place in St. Louis, Missouri from Wednesday, April 23 to Saturday, April 26.

Once all of the dust had settled, the alliance formed by W.A.F.F.L.E.S., representing a number of high schools from Kingston, Ont., The Big Bang from Rick Hansen Secondary School in Mississauga, Ont. and Paradigm Shift from L’Amoreaux Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Ont. won the final competition and will take part in the world finals.

“The FIRST Robotics competition gives students an opportunity to work with engineers, to build robots and also learn the necessary soft skills to work as a team,” said Rajiv Galva, chair for the GTA East planning committee. “Teachers can interact and connect with students in a way that can’t be done in a normal class room. There is a place for everyone on a FIRST Robotics Team, whether you like building robots, writing proposals or creating websites. Students who graduate through FIRST are most likely to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics, which is crucial for the development of the nation.”

Also travelling to St. Louis will be the Kinetic Knights (also representing a number of high schools) from Kincardine, Ont. who were the recipients of the Chairman’s Award; Rookie All-Star winners the Robo Blue Devils from Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, Ont.; and the Engineering Inspiration award winners, the Tronic Titans from Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School in Oakville, Ont.

Surrounded by his family at Durham College’s (DC) Whitby campus on March 6, second-year Renewable Energy Technician student Kurtis Paddison was awarded a $1,000 Leadership Scholarship by the College Student Alliance (CSA), a member-driven advocacy and student leadership organization that serves Ontario’s college students.

The scholarship, which is awarded to only 15 students throughout the province, is presented to an individual who exhibits academic excellence while demonstrating leadership qualities within their college community through volunteerism and participation in organizations primarily focused on helping others while maintaining a high level of academic success in their chosen program.

Once Paddison learned of the scholarship he immediately pursued the opportunity, demonstrating the qualities required by candidates by volunteering during campus orientation; assisting Habitat for Humanity in the community; and serving as a member of the Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT), a division of St. John’s Ambulance responsible for attending to medical emergencies on the DC campus.

“One of my teachers posted a notification (about the scholarship) on DC Connect and I followed it,” said Paddison. “I went through and thought I would be a perfect candidate for this. I get a lot of support from my whole family so it made it real easy for me.”

President Don Lovisa was joined by Ted Bartlett, general manager and chief operating officer of the CSA, to present Paddison with the scholarship. Both spoke highly of his qualifications for being selected from the pool of 45 annual applicants who applied to receive the award.

“We are always very proud of all of our students especially when one is selected among so many applicants to receive a scholarship like this,” said Lovisa. “It’s a real testament to Kurtis as an individual and to his dedication to his studies. It’s just wonderful to look up and see his family here to support him.”

Paddison plans on using the scholarship to assist with the paying of student loans and after graduation this spring is looking to jump right into his career.

“I hope to move into commercial power generation,” said Paddison. “Working with and monitoring power quality in large solar fields and trying to hook up wind turbines.”

In addition to opportunities available through organizations such as the CSA, Durham College students also have access to several scholarships and bursary opportunities via the college’s Financial Aid and Awards office with the college awarding more than $2 million in bursaries in 2013. For more information please visit www.durhamcollege.ca/financialaid.

Durham College announced today that its new Centre for Food (CFF), including Bistro ’67, the college’s full-service, teaching and learning restaurant, has been certified as a 2 Star Certified Green Restaurant® by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a non-profit organization which helps restaurants become more environmentally sustainable.

With the CFF receiving 121.33 GreenPoints™ on the GRA’s rigorous certification scale and having implemented 50 environmental steps, Durham College has gone 21.33 per cent above and beyond the minimum requirements necessary for certification.

“Since Day 1 Durham College has been dedicated to ensuring sustainability guides our decisions and best practices at the CFF,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “We’re proud to receive this certification from the GRA, which is a reflection of our commitment to build a centre focused on being green and demonstrating sustainable practices, and be recognized for our efforts to be a leader in environmental sustainability for the restaurant industry.”

Some highlights of the CFF’s green accomplishments include its dedication to reducing its environmental footprint by recycling; using a fully automated building controls management system and occupancy sensors in a variety of areas; offering touchless sensor faucets; recycling and composting kitchen waste; and using safer hand soaps among others. In addition careful attention is paid to the inputs and outputs of the facility and the restaurant in an effort to be good stewards of our environment.

Focused on the field-to-fork concept, which is based on the harvesting, storage, processing, packaging, sale and consumption of food – in particular the production of local food for local consumers, the CFF opened to students in September 2013. Accommodating approximately 900 additional students studying in culinary, hospitality, tourism, agricultural and horticultural programs, the CFF also houses state-of-the-art labs including food and beverage pairing labs; a hotel living lab; classrooms and meeting spaces; and a demonstration lecture theatre. The CFF brings these programs and building elements together with the college’s food science programs, completing the field to fork cycle. 

Bistro ’67 offers dishes prepared and served by students in the culinary and hospitality programs, featuring produce and delicious flavours from the region. It offers a unique field-to-fork culinary environment to diners including seating up to 70 guests and the opportunity to choose from a variety of seasonal dishes designed to satisfy any palate such as delicious soups and salads, intriguing sandwiches and entrees and decadent desserts.

In addition to featuring the latest in culinary technology, the restaurant also offers a boardroom (available for public rental) surrounded by glass walls overlooking the kitchen and a living lab with exposure to all restaurant-related jobs.

For more information on the college’s green certification ranking, please visit the GRA’s website.

For more information on the CFF please visit www.durhamcollege.ca/CFF.

Durham College announced today the results of its Program Quality Assurance Process Audit (PQAPA) final audit report, which indicate that the college has successfully met all six quality assurance criteria outlined in the report; demonstrating that Durham College is dedicated to its mission – the student experience comes first – through all its quality assurance efforts.

Overseen by the Ontario College Quality Assurance Service (OCQAS), PQAPA involves the regular and cyclical review of each college’s program quality assurance processes, focusing on college-wide policies and practices and drilling down on selected programs to verify that practices are implemented; recommendations lead to improvement; and that program quality is assured.

“Durham College is dedicated to providing our students with quality programs, expert faculty, a superior learning environment and ensuring our graduates have the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in their careers and further education,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “We are proud to receive this high rating, which is a reflection of our collective quality assurance efforts. We look forward to continuing to deliver high-quality teaching and learning in the years to come.”

In addition to the six-star rating the report, which was approved by the OCQAS Management Board on December 17, also saw the college received two formal commendations, the first acknowledging the numerous opportunities for faculty development offered by its Centre for Academic and Faculty Enrichment (CAFE) and the second recognizing the implementation of the integrated student services model and support services offered in the Student Services building. The commendations will be listed as best practices on the OCQAS website and used as a reference for other colleges in the system.

Each external evaluation of a college includes completion of a quality criteria form and self-study report and a two-day site visit. It then ends with  a report from the audit review panel documenting the degree to which each college’s processes conform to the criteria and provides recommendations aimed at improving and enhancing processes and procedures to ensure learning comes first.

Durham College’s PQAPA site visit took place April 2 to 4, 2013 with members of the review panel speaking with students, and program teams. The auditors also toured the college’s facilities and met with various members of the college community including the Durham College Leadership Team, members of the Durham College Board of Governors and Program Advisory Committees and staff and administrators from many student services departments.