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Durham College announces new weekend delivery for business and PSW programs

Durham College (DC) is excited to reinvent the college experience and offer eight certificate, graduate certificate and diploma programs through the School of Business, IT & Management (BITM) and the School of Health & Community Services (HCS) in a new, flexible weekend delivery format.

The weekend delivery concept was designed to meet the needs of students looking for opportunities to study full-time and benefit from on-campus learning experiences without having to attend traditional weekday in-person classes.

The weekend delivery programs include:

As part of BITM’s weekend delivery, at least half of the classes will be offered in-person on Saturdays and Sundays and students will have the option to choose between in-person and real-time remote learning at any time. Friday evening instruction will be delivered remotely through a combination of real-time (synchronous) and self-directed (asynchronous) learning, meaning students can choose to participate while the class is being delivered, or at a time that works best for their busy schedules.

“By reimagining what post-secondary education looks like, we can pivot and adapt our programming in a way that better meets our students’ needs,” says Kevin Baker, executive dean, School of Business, IT & Management. “Earning a college credential while continuing to work will allow our students the opportunity to upskill and advance their career in a way that suits their schedule.”

The School of Health & Community Services has already seen the benefits of a flexible weekend model through its Practical Nursing – Flex Program, which launched in 2016 and remains the only program of it’s kind in Ontario. Building on this success, the Personal Support Worker weekend delivery program will offer theory-based courses through a combination of in-person and real-time remote learning, while continuing to offer in-person labs to the same standards as the traditional weekday format.

“With the student experience top of mind, weekend delivery unleashes possibilities that may have been out of reach with traditional weekday formats,” says Ralph Hofmann, interim executive dean, School of Health & Community Services. “We’ve seen this first-hand through the success of the Practical Nursing Flex Program, and look forward to exploring additional ways to proactively meet the growing needs of our students and reinvent the college experience.”

With over 140+ market-driven programs, Durham College is committed to leading the way for the next generation of industry professionals. To learn more about weekend delivery at DC, visit www.durhamcollege.ca/weekenddelivery.

Durham College to offer two new innovative tech-focused programs

Durham College (DC) has received consent from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities to offer two new technology-focused programs beginning in September 2022 – the one-year Internet of Things graduate certificate and two-year Web Development diploma program.

Offered by the School of Science & Engineering Technology and School of Media, Art & Design, respectively, these programs will lay the groundwork for graduates to enter two innovative fields with in-demand skills while providing them with unique experiential learning opportunities.

“Durham College is thrilled to offer students two new opportunities to gain the valuable skills necessary to make a positive impact in these growing technology sectors,” says Dr. Elaine Popp, executive vice president, Academic. “With demand for graduates with specialized tech knowledge on the rise, the addition of the Internet of Things and Web Development programs will help address the industry call to close the skills gap, leading the way to an innovative and exciting future for our graduates.”

The new Internet of Things (IoT) program will prepare students to participate specifically in the IoT, Industrial IoT (IIoT) and IoT Vision fields as they gain the knowledge and skills needed to address backend, frontend and embedded software design and implementation for smart cities, home automation, wearable tech and more. Students will also explore security and surveillance cameras attached to IoT devices, their technologies, architectures, resources, data management, strategies, and privacy issues.

Employment opportunities for graduates of this program are on the rise and the IoT sector currently employs skilled programmers, developers and technicians working in a range of occupations and industries, such as health care, community infrastructure, traffic routing, private and public transportation, industrial robotics, mining and gaming.

Building on the fundamentals of interactive media design, the Web Development program will prepare students for an exciting career designing, coding websites and web apps to create a seamless user experience. Students will have access to the latest software and web technologies in studios built specifically for interaction and web development. Unlike other programs of its kind, students will approach interactive elements through a creative lens, developing the graphic and technical skills to become highly competent designers who can deliver dynamic, cross-media content. With the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to design and develop web content for all digital platforms, graduates will be familiar with the latest trends and techniques when entering the workforce.

Both programs offer opportunities for hands-on learning, including a capstone project in the IoT program, or a capstone or field placement in the Web Development program.

Learn more about these exciting new programs at DC’s in-person Open House on Saturday, April 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or by visiting durhamcollege.ca.

Two work-integrated learning projects help Durham College students lead the way

Last year, Durham College (DC) received funding from Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning (CEWIL) Canada and its Innovation Hub (iHub) for two unique work-integrated learning (WIL) projects. Funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Innovative Work-Integrated Learning Initiative (I-WIL), iHub is a program dedicated to developing career-ready students through quality WIL experiences.

The first project, led by Dr. Michael Williams-Bell, a professor in the School of Health & Community Services, provided four Fitness and Health Promotion students the opportunity to implement a unique assessment and training program for Ontario Tech University’s Varsity athletes to monitor their training, injury risk and recovery.

The DC students administered weekly and monthly fitness assessments that were approved by supervisors, team coaches, and the head strength and conditioning coach at Ontario Tech University and assisted with exercise prescription delivery. This provided a unique opportunity for DC students to learn from established professionals while interacting with the student-athletes to build relationships around trust and outcome goals. The project culminated in a final guest speaker event in November 2021 with professional athletes and strength and conditioning coaches sharing their experiences and answering questions.

In the second iHub project, co-led by Dr. Williams-Bell and Danielle Harder, a professor in the School of Media, Art & Design, three students from the Journalism – Mass Media program and two students from the Fitness and Health Promotion program collaborated to create six episodes of a new podcast called Research Remix.

The episodes provided a behind-the-scenes look at research projects underway at DC while also following a multi-year research project with the City of Oshawa Fire Services to give listeners a glimpse into the lifespan and impact of an applied research project. At the end of the project, students were invited to three intimate speaker series events. The first in December featured Sandra Appiah and Imman Adan from the Dishes and Dimes podcast, where they learned more about podcasting as a career and a way to support their own personal and professional brand. In February, Jordan Heath-Rawlings of The Big Story podcast spoke, while the March 16 event featured two popular climate change podcasters – Laura Lynch of CBC’s What on Earth and Shaghayegh Tajvidi of the National Observer’s Race Against Climate Change.

These two projects are significant examples of how WIL helps students develop hands-on skills in a supportive and educational environment. As part of DC’s commitment to providing unique experiential learning opportunities, WIL has been a vital part of DC’s framework for decades, embedded as a formal component in many of the college’s programs of study.

Durham College business students connect globally during Working Across Borders course

Durham College (DC) once again connected its students with the world through its Working Across Borders (WAB) course during the fall 2021 semester. Open to students studying in DC’s business programs, WAB allows learners to virtually engage and collaborate with other institutions globally, as teams collaborate to develop sustainable business solutions for real clients.

In its fifth year being offered at DC, 163 students from the college’s International Business Management and Project Management graduate certificate programs worked as part of multi-national teams with fellow participants from 14 other post-secondary institutions in countries such as Indonesia, Slovenia, Finland, Ghana and Belgium.

Following an opening ceremony in the early fall, each multinational group acted as consultants for Dutch fashion brand Garcia, where they were tasked with developing a sustainable value proposition, as well as a plan for how to effectively communicate with target audiences in one of the countries the company serves.

Because WAB encourages students to explore business opportunities to achieve the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals as part of their work, a special focus of the project was to enhance consumer perceptions of True Pricing, which reflects a product’s market price plus the social and environmental costs associated with that item.

Each team presented their final work via video pitch at the beginning of December 2021 and was assessed based on self-and-peer evaluation, as well as feedback provided by their team coach. Overall, the experience provided students with hands-on experiential learning, while developing their intercultural awareness and communication skills.

Congratulations to these DC students on their incredible success!

Durham College signs the Sustainable Development Goals Accord

Durham College (DC) is proud to share that President Don Lovisa has signed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Accord, joining more than 250 educational institutions internationally in fighting global injustice and committing to a central and transformational role in achieving the United Nation’s SDGs by 2030.

“By signing this accord, Durham College is supporting the advancement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals; taking meaningful action within our own institution and drawing on our strengths in collaboration and innovation to help transform our local and global community,” said Lovisa.

As part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, the 17 SDGs are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – to form a global partnership to achieve these goals. The SDGs recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

The SDG Accord was created to inspire, celebrate and advance the critical role that education has in progressing the SDGs and highlight the benefits they bring to governments, businesses and wider society. It has currently been signed by 255 educational institutions, 53 student unions, 221 support organizations, and 1671 individuals across the post-secondary sector around the world.

As a member of the accord, DC will collaborate with other signatory learning institutions and annually share the college’s progress with our campus community, and with sector SDG reporting metrics presented at the annual UN High Level Political Forum. The college will also continue to recognize the indivisible and interconnected nature of the SDGs by focusing its initiatives on the Accord’s universal set of goals – people, prosperity, the planet, partnership and peace.

For more information on the SDG Accord, please visit www.sdgaccord.org.

Durham College’s Social Impact Hub receives $25,000 Connection grant from SSHRC

Durham College’s (DC) Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE) is pleased to announce it has received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Connection grant for $25,000.

The funds will support DC’s goal of enhancing experiential learning opportunities through the creation of a student research assistant position, as well as increasing social innovation knowledge mobilization by hosting a collaborative event this spring. The goal is to demonstrate the recent successes and importance of social innovation applied research activities to identify and solve community challenges.

Connecting with stakeholders will serve to raise awareness of socially innovative applied research activities led by DC’s Social Impact Hub and to share the knowledge and insights gained through previous and current projects. To enhance knowledge sharing, Public Relations, Video Production and Journalism – Mass Media students will create a promotional social media campaign, as well as supporting material, such as video clips and interviews with researchers, to be presented at the collaborative event. Leading the students is a group of DC faculty members who, as co-applicants on the grant, have contributed time and expertise to the project’s various components. Faculty members include Teresa Goff and Jennifer Bedford from the School of Media, Art & Design; Lorraine Closs from the School of Health & Community Services; and Nicole Doyle, School of Justice & Emergency Services.

As the college’s fifth applied research centre, the Social Impact Hub seeks to identify creative solutions to complex social problems through leading-edge projects and initiatives. Launched in June 2021, the Social Impact Hub has tackled a number of pressing issues facing the community, including enhancing virtual mentorship to reduce social isolation of youth, addressing issues that impact parents with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, co-creation of financial empowerment strategies with individuals experiencing low income and the unique co-design of a youth-led housing hub.

Hosted in DC’s innovative Rotary Global Classroom, in partnership with the Regional Municipality of Durham and the City of Oshawa, attendees will have the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions to:

  • Identify social challenges in the surrounding community.
  • Share social innovation expertise and research activities at the college with the broader community.
  • Create new partnerships and synergistic ways to engage with stakeholders.

By increasing awareness, the Social Impact Hub can leverage faculty and stakeholder expertise and resources to support the exploration of further collaborations and contribute to shared community goals.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Connection grant,” said Debbie McKee Demczyk, dean, ORSIE. “This event will strengthen Durham College’s commitment to innovation while identifying collaborative strategies for sharing social impact research activities in order to address the gaps and inequalities that exist within our society.”

To learn more about the Social Impact Hub, visit www.durhamcollege.ca/socialimpacthub.

Durham College is pleased to once again be named one of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges for 2021 by Research Infosource Inc. As the facilitator of all applied research at DC, ORSIE provides support through access to funding opportunities, faculty expertise, state-of-the-art research facilities and student learning experiences. In partnership with industry and community agencies, projects are carried out by DC faculty experts and students and administered by ORSIE. Since its inception in 2009, ORSIE has undertaken 411 research projects and initiatives. To connect with ORSIE, please reach out online.

Durham College professor wins gold medal for cybersecurity invention at international competition

Durham College (DC) is proud to share that Dave Palachik, a part-time professor in the Electronics Engineering Technology program, was awarded with a gold medal in the Software Invention category at the 6th Annual International Invention Innovation Competition for his Quantum Resilient Encryption cybersecurity solution.

Organized by the Toronto International Society of Innovation & Advanced Skills, the competition saw 652 inventions submitted by competitors from more than 70 countries worldwide within a diverse selection of categories, from bicycle improvements and EEG brain wave detection, to diagnostic medical bandages and more. Gold medal winners were judged by a Board of Advisors and judges from organizations across the globe.

Palachik’s Quantum Resilient Encryption will have real-world application to help prevent super-machines and new Quantum computers from decoding transmitted data.

Congratulations to Palachik on this exemplary award!

For more information on the Electronics Engineering Technology program, please visit www.durhamcollege.ca/ELTY.

Students and alumni gear up to get hired at Durham College and Ontario Tech University’s Virtual Job Fair

For the second consecutive year, Durham College’s (DC) annual Gear Up to Get Hired events and Job Fair went virtual to help students and alumni job seekers find part-time, seasonal, full-time and contract roles and prepare for life after college.

From January 24 to February 2, students and alumni attended webinars and sessions, prepared by DC’s Career Development office, on how to create a personal pitch, resumé writing techniques, using LinkedIn and more before putting their new skills to work at the Virtual Job Fair on February 3.

Durham College and Ontario Tech University students and alumni networked virtually with organizations and businesses from a variety of economic sectors, including community services, manufacturing, skilled trades, information technology, engineering, health care, hospitality and emergency services.

This year’s interactive platform replicated a traditional, in-person job fair, offering students exciting new features to personalize their experience, such as the ability to upload a resumé and academic information to their profile. With 112 employers in attendance, the platform provided the opportunity for over 1,300 one-on-one conversations between job seekers and employers. It also featured added recruitment benefits for employers, including dedicated business profiles and the ability to search for qualified candidates.

DC’s Career Development office provides students and alumni with year-round support for all things career-related, including support for resumé building and cover letter writing, interviewing skills and job search strategies. To learn more, please visit www.durhamcollege.ca/careerdevelopment.

FastStartDC Spotlight: Jonathan Katalayi-ngalamulume, JKT Training

There’s no doubt this last year has been full of challenges, change and opportunities for DC students and entrepreneurs alike. Despite the uncertainties, there were many silver linings, including the inspiring stories of FastStartDC alumni entrepreneurs. Jonathan Katalayi-ngalamulume is a recent graduate of the Social Service Worker program at Durham College and a prime example of a student entrepreneur who took a leap of faith to create a business out of their passion. Jonathan is an avid basketball player, personal trainer and wellness coach and recently decided to turn his passion into a side-hustle with JKT Training.

As an expert trainer and coach, Jonathan saw an opportunity to share his incredible passion and skills with others. A natural people person, highly skilled in coaching both on and off the court, Jonathan loves helping people achieve their life goals, whether through his social service work or as a basketball trainer. Doubling down on the bottom line, his clients’ success is really what inspires him to keep sharing his gift with the world. Jonathan’s goal for both himself and his clients is to improve daily. He believes the goal is not perfection, but rather to always strive to be better than you were yesterday. 

While Jonathan knew entrepreneurship would allow him to do what he loves, it took some perseverance and inward reflection to get to where he is today.

“I’ve always had a desire to start my own business but didn’t always know how. I decided to go for it and put myself out there,” said Jonathan. “I had enough clients to grow through word of mouth and I believed in myself and the results my clients were getting from my workouts.”

When coming to FastStartDC, Jonathan had already made some significant progress getting his business up and running. With the basics in place, FastStart was able to help fine-tune and amplify the hard work Jonathan had already put forth and carry the business over the finish line.

“I had a logo and a slogan, but I wanted it to be better. I wanted to elevate it and that is when I reached out to FastStart,” said Jonathan. “I am very thankful to them.”

The FastStart team provided Jonathan support on branding, website design, content strategy, photography and videography to help tell his story and share his expertise, while building on his already highly-engaged following. As a result of tapping into the FastStart entrepreneurial supports as a student, Jonathan was able to hit the ground running with his business following graduation.

“Working with the FastStart team is one of the best decisions I have made. I am so happy and satisfied with the support I received,” said Jonathan. “They are a group of talented individuals who have assisted me and I couldn’t be happier with the experience.”

FastStart was able to help Jonathan gain the skills he needed and the clarity to know what he was offering was in fact unique and valuable to his customers. The FastStart team wishes Jonathan and JKT Training well! We are proud to be featuring JKT Training on FastStart’s The Start Market, an online marketplace for DC students and alumni entrepreneurs.

To learn more about JKT Training, visit www.johnkttraining.com.

Durham College recognized as one of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges

Durham College (DC) is pleased to announce it has once again been named one of Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges for 2021 by Research Infosource Inc. This is the eighth time the college has received this honour, which is informed by data on research income, intensity, partnerships and projects at colleges across the country.

This year, in addition to moving up in the main ranking to 39th, the college was also ranked second for Paid Student Researchers and Industry Research Income Intensity among mid-tier institutions.

DC’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE), which facilitates all applied research at the college, has been supporting small to medium-sized businesses and student experiential learning through innovation and collaboration since its inception in 2009.

“This recognition is an incredible success for our research team at the college,” said Debbie McKee Demczyk, dean, ORSIE. “Not only does it recognize the innovation taking place within our research centres, but it also showcases the college’s strong commitment to experiential learning and community partnerships.”

Highlights from 2021 include the launch of a new applied research centre – the Social Impact Hub – which joins the already well-established AI Hub, Centre for Craft Brewing Innovation, Mixed Reality Capture Studio and Centre for Cybersecurity Innovation, allowing the college to further broaden its expertise and diversify its research portfolio. ORSIE also hosted its second Enable AI Summit in 2021 for 230 industry professionals, and received funding to support its first-ever postdoctoral fellowship.

Over the last decade, ORSIE has worked with 190 industry partners on 409 projects involving more than 665 students, allowing DC to make its mark as a leading research institution through cutting-edge innovation, growth and impactful work.