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DC culinary students compete in Student Chef Challenge 2020

On Thursday, February 27, three Durham College (DC) Culinary Management students competed in the Student Chef Challenge 2020 against five teams from post-secondary institutions across Ontario at the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food in Whitby.

Organized and sponsored by Ontario Sheep Farmers, Mushrooms Canada and DC, the annual competition aimed to showcase the complementary flavours of Ontario mushrooms and lamb while testing students on their skills and knowledge in butchering, recipe development, cooking and food presentation.  

DC’s team included second-year students Amira Cunha and Soo Hea Woo and first-year student Ethan Tate, alongside faculty mentors Dave Hawey and Josh Heuvelmans, professors in the School of Hospitality and Horticultural Science. In the morning, the team was tasked with butchering a lamb into specific retail cuts. They then used the protein to develop a recipe and cook three separate, original dishes that incorporated Canadian mushrooms and Ontario lamb. A reception took place later in the day, and key members of the culinary and DC community attended to taste samples of the final recipe in the competition.

Student dishes were judged by a team of industry professionals from organizations, including Foodland Ontario, Ontario Sheep Farmers, Gordon Food Service, Restaurants Canada, and Windmill Farms. The butchery portion of the event was judged by Nicholas Matusiak from Halenda’s Meats.

Although DC’s team did not place, it was a close race and the experience for students went above and beyond regular classroom learning, giving them the opportunity to receive valuable feedback from judges and begin building a name for themselves in the industry.

After the event, more than 200 lbs of raw lamb, provided by Ontario Lamb Company and Ontario Sheep Farmers, was frozen and donated to Feed the Need Durham.

Dragons’ Den auditions return to DC Wednesday, March 11

Calling all entrepreneurs! The hit CBC television show Dragons’ Den will return to Durham College (DC) on Wednesday, March 11, to hold auditions in the search for Canada’s best new businesses.

The show’s producers are embarking on a nation-wide tour in search of the country’s best new business concepts and products in need of a Dragon investment. During its stop on campus, aspiring DC entrepreneurs and members of the general public are invited to pitch their concepts in five minutes or less. If they show producers they have what it takes to pitch in the Den, they could be invited to Toronto to face the Dragons.

DC is committed to enhancing entrepreneurship in the community and encourages anyone with an innovative idea to apply. DC students may also contact FastStart – an entrepreneurial training partnership aimed at students – for assistance in preparing their pitch.

Prospective pitchers are encouraged to apply online and bring a completed application form to the audition.

Auditions:

When

Wednesday, March 11
11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Where
Durham College, Oshawa campus
Student Services building, Room SSB 116 AB
2000 Simcoe St. N.
Oshawa, Ont. 

 

 

DC students test their skills and collaborate in emergency simulation

On February 29, 195 Durham College (DC) students, faculty and industry partners collaborated on an intense, large-scale emergency simulation exercise at the Oshawa campus that let students put their classroom and lab training into action.

Bringing together participants from the schools of Justice & Emergency Services, Health & Community Services and Media, Art & Design, as well as peers from Ontario Tech University’s nursing program, the exercise followed a detailed script that saw volunteers simulate a mass-casualty emergency stemming from a sports-racing situation.

Unfolding in real-time, the exercise provided students with valuable experiential learning as well as a better understanding of how members of emergency services, health and social services, legal services and the media work together during an emergency. A second simulation exercise focused on mock legal proceedings in connection with the emergency will be held Saturday, March 7.

Students from the following DC programs participated:

DC students win silver at national marketing competition

Students from the Durham College’s (DC) Marketing – Business Administration program successfully competed at the 2020 Scotiabank Vanier College National Marketing Case Competition, placing second and taking home silver.

Facing off against 25 teams from across Canada, the DC students emerged victorious following several intense three-hour rounds of competition, where real-world marketing challenges were presented and competitors were required to develop and present their creative solutions. Teams were assessed on the value and practically of those solutions and the quality of their presentations.

Using skills developed and honed in the classroom, the DC students responded to the challenges by identifying new markets to support business expansion for a health supplement company and helping a capital management firm appeal to a younger demographic.

Congratulations goes to second-year students Ryan Ashton and Brendan Scott and third-year students Kaitlyn Brasier and Chin-Ting Sherwin for their stellar performance at the national competition.

DC home to Canada’s first LinkedIn Learning Student Club

Durham College (DC) is home to Canada’s first-ever LinkedIn Learning Student Club. Founded in January 2020, the club is part of the LinkedIn Learning Championship Program.  

The goal of the club, which currently consists of nine students, is to enhance the real-world skills of its members through participation in hands-on projects and collaboration with different departments at DC, while also generating awareness of the LinkedIn Learning online tool.

During weekly meetings, time is spent brainstorming ideas for future workshops and collaborations, as well as discussing challenges, in addition to project work.

As the only LinkedIn Learning Club in Canada, the DC students captured the attention of Jennifer Catallo, senior customer success manager and the leader for LinkedIn Learning Solutions. She met with the founding students during the LinkedIn Learning Championship Orientation and attended their monthly status meeting on February 21.

A formal team structure for the club’s operations is being developed and once in place additional members will be accepted. In the interim, anyone who is interested in joining can sit in on the meetings, which are held every Friday at 3 p.m. in Room A315 at the college’s Oshawa campus.

DC hosts FIBA Americup 2021 qualifier game – the most-attended sporting event on campus in the college’s history

On February 21, 2,500 basketball fans filled Durham College’s (DC) Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre (CRWC) to watch Canada’s Senior Men’s National team take on the team from the Dominican Republic during the International Basketball Association (FIBA) Americup 2021 Qualifiers, making it the most-attended sporting event on campus in the college’s history.

Originally slated to take place at the Tribute Communities Centre, a last-minute venue change was needed due to unforeseen technical difficulties, and based on Team Canada’s familiarity with the CRWC facilities, FIBA approved the change of location.

Thanks to the efforts of the college’s Athletics, Facilities and Ancillary Services and Parking Services departments, as well as the Office of Campus Safety, the CRWC was prepped and ready to go for the big game with only 24-hours notice.

In the end, those efforts paid off as the Canadian team emerged victorious, with a score of 89-72 over the Dominican Republic.

FastStartDC and Ownr are helping students incorporate their businesses quickly, simply and affordably

FastStartDC is pleased to be collaborating with Ownr to bring student entrepreneurs amazing support and great discounts on the cost of business registration and incorporation in 2020.

Business registration is often a pain point for our FastStartDC students, particularly for those unfamiliar with the required government forms. Registration can be an intimidating, not-so-sexy process and if business incorporation is in a student’s plan, it becomes even more complicated and certainly more expensive.

Thanks to Ownr, registering a business is now simple, quick and affordable for DC student entrepreneurs, allowing them to register their business in a few easy steps and for a fraction of what they would pay a lawyer. A more streamlined registration process means students can relax about this part of their start-up journey and focus their energy on building their business.

Through this new partnership, students who are officially participating in the FastStartDC program will receive a promo code for a $60 discount off Ownr’s business registration and incorporation services.

Visit the partner page.

FastStartDC is proud to have a strong network of partners who are leaders in the entrepreneurial arena to support the success of our student entrepreneurs.

REDress Campus Campaign urges move from awareness to action

Awareness has been achieved; now it is time for action.

This was the dominant message of the REDress Campus Campaign at Durham College (DC), a week-long series of events focused on the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirited People (MMIWG2S).

Led by the First Peoples Indigenous Centre (FPIC) at DC and Indigenous Education and Cultural Services at Ontario Tech University, the campaign also brought together community partners including the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, Carea Community Health Centre, The Nourish and Develop Foundation and DC Students Inc.

The week began with the reveal of an installation of red dresses across the college and university’s shared Oshawa campus, each dress symbolizing someone taken by the MMIWG2S crisis. In addition to the dress installation, events were held each day from February 10 to 14, culminating with a memorial march and closing ceremony feast on Friday afternoon.

The campaign was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black’s The REDress Project, an aesthetic response to the MMIWG2S crisis, which is now a permanent exhibit in the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Much like Black’s project, the red dresses installed across DC and Ontario Tech’s shared campus, Ontario Tech’s downtown Oshawa location, and DC’s Whitby campus and Pickering Learning Site, served as a visual reminder of the staggering number of MMIWG2S.

The REDress Campus Campaign included an opening ceremony featuring guest speaker Suzanne Smoke of Alderville First Nation, who is a Women’s Traditional Dancer, speaker, and facilitator, as well as an Anishinaabe Water Walker. On February 11, Kim Wheatley, an Anishinaabe Ojibway Grandmother from Shawanaga First Nation spoke about the connection between violence against women and violence against the land that is causing climate change.

On February 12, the First Peoples Indigenous Centre hosted an arts open house where participants could make a tile necklace to both commemorate MMIWG2S and celebrate the strength and future of Indigenous women, and take part in a traditional beading workshop.

One of the many highlights of the week included the special Global Class conversation held on February 13 between Jaime Black and Cree scholar Karyn Recollet. An associate professor with the University of Toronto’s Women & Gender Studies Institute, Professor Recollet brought the original REDress Project to her university’s downtown campus in 2017. The conversation between the women focused on their work in connection with the crisis of MMIWG2S. A group from the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation also provided a big drum performance to open and close the event.

FastStartDC’s Fireside Chats help the campus community cozy up to entrepreneurship

Durham College (DC) students, employees and community members are invited to learn more about entrepreneurship through FastStartDC’s Fireside Chats speaker series. Hosted each month in DC’s 360insights Entrepreneurship Centre, each talk is led by an alumni, industry expert or local business leader, and covers a diverse variety of topics related to self-confidence, team building, financial literacy and social entrepreneurship.

Students will have the opportunity to hear a unique presentation from Elson Yeung on Wednesday, February 19. As a mentor, fashion designer and brand consultant, his talk will dive into managing the art and science of business, and how individuals can balance the use of creativity and data to successfully connect innovation and build business objectives. Elson will also provide students interested in both fashion and business with insight into the entrepreneurial design industry, including how to launch an apparel business or build a brand.

During the next scheduled Fireside Chat on Wednesday, March 18, culture curator Travis Dutka will speak about the act of fostering an engaging, inclusive and collaborative team culture for employees, drawing on his own experience working at 360insights.

For more information on upcoming Fireside Chats, be sure to visit FastStartDC’s Eventbrite page or Facebook page. FastStartDC is an extra-curricular entrepreneurship program. Housed within DC’s 360insights Entrepreneurship Centre in the Centre for Collaborative Education, it offers DC students access to entrepreneurial services and training programs.

Introducing Sage-04: Durham College’s collaboration in Guyana

Durham College (DC), in collaboration with College of the North Atlantic and Mohawk College, was recently awarded one of six Skills to Access the Green Economy (SAGE-04) calls for proposals.

With this contract, DC will support two schools in Guyana: New Amsterdam Technical Institute and Bina Hill Institute, in developing industry-responsive and inclusive skills training programs.

SAGE will see more than 1,000 students and beneficiaries trained across a variety of fields, including: water and coastal management, agriculture, construction and eco-tourism. The ultimate goal of SAGE-04 is to develop an inclusive academic program within the renewable energy sector.

This five-year initiative, funded by Global Affairs Canada and administered by CICan, will also support Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada’s commitment to empower girls and women worldwide.

For more information on SAGE-04 and other International Education office initiatives, visit www.durhamcollege.ca/international.