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Durham College’s AI Hub partners with marketing services and analytics company, MobileXCo

Durham College’s (DC) Hub for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence for Business Solutions (the AI Hub) is pleased to announce it has partnered with marketing services & analytics company MobileXCo on a project focused on using AI and machine learning (ML) to help automate Tether™, its web-based experience marketing platform.

In a time when consumers are driven by experiences, brands are looking to engage them in interactive and memorable ways. However, it can be difficult to measure which parts of a company’s marketing initiatives are delivering true value. Enter MobileXCo and Tether™, which helps companies close the gap between their promotion-type marketing activities and understanding how they contribute to sales by linking campaign participation and activity to transactions at retail.

By taking a transaction-centric approach to consumer participation in contests and gift-with-purchase reward programs, MobileXCo directly links specific consumer activity to a purchase. In the process they collect valuable data related to the participants and their transactions and analyze it to surface valuable insights.

In partnership with DC, the objective is to automate as much of the receipt data extraction, organization and analysis as possible. The end result will be a more streamlined and less labour intensive solution that inherently delivers incremental value based on data.

Over the course of four phases, DC faculty and student-research assistants from the college’s Computer Programmer Analyst and Data Analytics for Business Decision Making programs are working directly with MobileXCo, providing them with an opportunity to not only learn about advanced AI technologies but also hands-on industry experience developing a real, functional solution for a client.

Work with MobileXCo is scheduled to be completed early in January 2019. The project is one of several research initiatives being undertaken by the AI Hub, which will be further enhancing its capacity following the approval of $2 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), through the council’s College and Community Innovation Program.

DC hosts elementary students as they build and battle robots in the name of STEM education

Durham College (DC) was proud to host more than 400 of Ontario’s brightest young minds, along with their teachers, families and friends, on January 12 as they competed in the annual FIRST® LEGO® League Ontario East Provincial Championship.

Known by its acronym that means For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, FIRST is a U.S.-based, not-for-profit public charity that inspires young people to be science and technology leaders. Leadership and innovation was on full display at this year’s competition, held in DC’s Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre at the college’s Oshawa campus, as teams of students, ages nine to 14, showcased their hard work and skills.

Teams first presented research projects to judging panels before unleashing their robots, which the students designed, built and programmed using LEGO MINDSTORMS® technology, on to table-top playing fields.

This year’s challenge theme INTO ORBIT was all about space.  Teams were tasked with the challenge of solving physical and social problems faced by humans during long-term space travel.

While students were on campus, DC’s Dr. Elaine Popp, vice-president, Academic also encouraged them to think about the broader connections between what they do each year at these competitions and how it might lead them to future STEM opportunities.

“As a leading post-secondary institution, we know that the skills you learn today are the building blocks of further learning and exploration in science, technology, mathematics, engineering and the trades,” she shared with the young students. “By participating in the FIRST LEGO League, you are stepping into the unknown – a journey that could take you anywhere.”

At the end of a day filled with fierce and fun competition, team CTRL-Z from Bayview Glen School in Toronto was crowned the winner and awarded an opportunity to compete at the FIRST® LEGO® League World Championship held in Detroit, Michigan from April 24 to 27.

As a gold-level sponsor and host of FIRST LEGO League, DC offers students what is often their first experience in a college environment and helps them to envision where their passion for robotics, technology and engineering can take them to pursue a post-secondary education.

For more information about FIRST LEGO League, please visit www.firstroboticscanada.org.

New international students welcomed to campus for Orientation

On January 4, Durham College’s (DC) International office welcomed more than 400 new international students to campus for an International Orientation, preparing them for the year ahead.

DC president Don Lovisa kicked off the event by delivering welcome remarks on behalf of the entire college to the diverse group of new students.

Designed to provide new international students with helpful information about living and studying in Canada and at DC, the full-day session covered topics including adapting to the Canadian classroom, immigration matters, health insurance, working part-time, and support services on campus.

The college is now home to more than 1,800 international students, representing over 60 countries from around the world. DC prides itself on offering international students quality Canadian education, a safe and vibrant campus environment and a fun and rewarding student life – with everything from clubs and cultural activities to sports and recreation – to balance studies with activities outside the classroom.

For more information, please visit the college’s International website.

Durham College receives $1 million donation from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation to support farming operations

Durham College (DC) is pleased to share that The W. Garfield Weston Foundation (the Foundation) has donated $1 million to fund the expansion of farming operations at the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food (CFF) to support experiential learning opportunities for DC students.

The success of the Horticulture Technician and Horticulture – Food and Farming programs over the last two years has resulted in a doubling of enrolment and a greater demand for fresh foods from the field. This donation will support the construction of a post-harvest and storage facility, greenhouse expansion and the implementation of container farming, all of which will increase and better process the CFF’s food production, allow for experimentation of newer agriculture practices, and provide students with new experiential learning opportunities.

“The Foundation is pleased to support Durham College and its students once again as they continue to pave the way for a new-generation approach to local food and sustainability,” said Eliza Mitchell, director, the Foundation. “This grant will allow for more food production, new opportunities to teach non-traditional farming and, most importantly, more chances for students to gain critical skills that will put them in demand upon graduation.”

The first half of the Foundation’s donation will go towards building the post-harvest conditioning and storage facility in the spring of 2019. This will improve the CFF’s process operations and farm work flows and provide for long-term storage of produce, while also minimizing food waste. Once completed, the grant will further support greenhouse expansion to increase space and allow for more students, plants and projects, and introduce innovative container farming to allow for small-scale agriculture and year-round growing. The additions will also increase the supply of fresh food coming directly to the CFF’s culinary programs and its business operations, Bistro ’67, Pantry and special events.

“On behalf of Durham College and the CFF, we are tremendously grateful for the generosity and the ongoing support from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation through this thoughtful donation,” said Don Lovisa, president, DC. “These projects will continue to enhance all of the CFF’s post-secondary programming and provide significant experiential learning benefits to our current students while further positioning us as best in class with our unique field-to-fork model of education and service delivery.”

Automotive students unveil 500 horsepower MK4 Roadster

On December 14, Durham College (DC) students in their final semester of the Automotive Technician – Service and Management program proudly unveiled a project that has been two years in the making – a road-ready, Factory Five Racing MK4 Roadster, built entirely by them.

Assembled piece-by-piece throughout four semesters, this unique shop project allowed the students to get their hands dirty while putting into practice the same mechanical theory they were learning in the classroom. Their first class started with taking a complete inventory of every component, a skill that will come in handy for students wishing to pursue a career as a parts and service advisor. They soon moved on to more complicated projects, like building a transmission or braking system, as their classes advanced.

What began as 25 boxes full of automotive components on day one of their first year has become an example of the exciting experiential learning opportunities that await students at DC. With the roadster complete, students will now have a strong foundation in the automotive industry, having gained hands-on experience in parts management, mechanical troubleshooting, exterior body work and more.

The Automotive Technician – Service and Management program offers students a mix of theory in mechanical procedures and essential business skills so that they are prepared for a large selection of jobs in the automotive sector – from a technician to parts advisor, and everything in between.

Supporting Ontario’s auto sector through teaching and learning

As a college, we constantly adapt to industry trends, designing courses to prepare our students for the ever-evolving economy. However, it is also our job to support our community, not only in times of prosperity but in times of transition and change.

With the recent announcement by General Motors regarding the Oshawa Assembly Plant situation, we are connecting with partners like Centennial College, Fleming College and the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities to make assistance and resources available for those directly and indirectly impacted by this decision.

Durham College (DC) is well positioned to offer assistance through our community employment services which can assist with job searches, job matching and referrals to Employment Ontario programs. We also offer Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition, which is a way to formally acknowledge previous work, life, volunteer or other experiences. This means the tireless time, energy and effort on the part of auto sector employees can exempt them from applicable courses should they pursue retraining.

In addition to these existing services, we are creating a single point of contact to provide support through phone, email and live chat, connecting those impacted by the closure with resources, as well establishing a website to provide links to programs and employers beyond DC. This enhanced service will begin early in the new year.

We are also advocating for an update to the provincial government’s Second Career program with a special focus on adapting the eligibility criteria to better apply to those in the automotive sector. This can reduce barriers to the job market by providing laid-off or underemployed individuals with skills training to help them find employment. Why is DC advocating for the Second Career program? Because we know it works. When the program was previously run, 74 per cent of participants obtained employment post-training in full and part-time jobs.

We know that we are in a strong jobs economy with many local employers, including Ontario Power Generation and its partners, such as AECON and others, who are looking for people like those working in the auto sector. Throughout the past few weeks DC, Centennial College and Fleming College have spoken with a number of these employers who have vacant positions and skilled trade shortages and together we are working on a strategy to connect those looking for work, with the right education and training solution and the right employer.

DC has been a part of this community for more than 50 years, the auto sector even longer. We are committed to doing everything we can to support those affected by this change, relying on teaching and learning to help as we all adapt to this new chapter in Oshawa and Durham Region’s history.

— Don Lovisa, president, Durham College – published on durhamregion.com

DC implements new software to enhance experiential learning for students

Durham College (DC) students have a new avenue for receiving experiential learning opportunities thanks to the college’s recent implementation of Riipen, a software platform that connects educators, industry partners and students together for course-based micro-experiences.

Driven by DC’s Career Ready Fund initiative funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU), Riipen gives instructors the opportunity to search for or submit desired real-world work-integrated experiences with industry partners that they can embed into curriculum as in-class assignments, competitions or longer duration projects.

The three sided nature of the software, with educators, industry partners and students all having the ability to initiate projects, allows for better experience-matching and increased efficiency, aligning DC and industry in a way that scales quickly.

With the world’s largest library of proven experiential learning project templates available through Riipen for instructors and industry partners, faculty can select dynamic business challenges for students to solve in real-time that will enhance learning and better prepare them for the workforce.

Riipen was recently piloted successfully by classes in the School of Business, IT & Management, and several other academic schools have already identified opportunities for implementing the software in the new year to take experiential learning opportunities for faculty, staff and students to the next level.

Durham College celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Whitby campus

On December 12, Durham College (DC) celebrated its Whitby campus’s 25th anniversary surrounded by employees, alumni, corporate partners, donors and local politicians.

Once a Cadbury chocolate factory, DC purchased the property in 1992 and began the process of turning its vision for a training facility, focused primarily on skilled trades, into a reality.

The first group of students was welcomed in 1993. Fast forward to 2018 and DC’s Whitby location has evolved into an active post-secondary campus that is home to a range of programs across multiple disciplines. Corporate Training Services (CTS) has also been delivering client-focused and results-driven training solutions for decades, providing businesses and organizations with access to top experts and specialists in their respective fields.

“We are really proud of all we have accomplished at the Whitby campus,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “We’ve come a long way since its inception. The physical footprint and program offerings are constantly changing and evolving to meet the demands of both the marketplace and our students; and we will continue to grow as we head into the next 25 years.”

Home to more than 2,000 post-secondary skilled-trade students, 1,300 skilled-trade apprentices (which includes 150 high school level Ontario Youth Apprentices), 1,000 post-secondary students pursuing non-trades studies and 1,000s’ of other part-time students and corporate training clients through the college’s School of Continuing Education and CTS, the Whitby campus provides numerous opportunities for experiential learning.

Whether in the fields outside the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food, in the two houses used as learning labs, working in the kitchen at the college’s teaching-restaurant Bistro ‘67 or the Industrial Maintenance Shop, students are able to use the skills they are being taught in realistic settings.

“We are only scratching the surface of the potential for the Whitby campus,” said Lovisa. “It’s grown in phases, from when we first made it a full campus by adding services, amenities and additional supports for students, to recently breaking ground on a new student residence for those studying here. It will need to continue to grow to further accommodate more students, more programs and new partnerships with industry. We will remain forward thinking in the days, months and years to come to ensure the history of excellence already established here in Whitby continues.”

DC students share their artistic talents as part of City Idea Lab student showcase

On December 7, TeachingCity partners the City of Oshawa, Durham College (DC), Trent University Greater Toronto Area and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology gathered together for the inaugural City Idea Lab student showcase.

City Idea Lab, which is part of TeachingCity, is an innovative, curriculum-based program that draws on the knowledge and creativity of college and university students who work directly with faculty and City staff to co-design solutions through active community research. Each course focuses on a particular City-identified problem statement embedded in the academic curriculum.

Supported by RBC Future Launch, the first City Idea Lab cohort included DC students and upper-year undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, who were asked to address the challenge question “how might the City of Oshawa better engage youth in priority neighbourhoods?”

Held at the TeachingCity Hub, the showcase was also the debut of a new mural within the space. Entitled, “The Balance” and designed by DC alumna Leana Anderson, a young Indigenous artist and graduate from the college’s Fine Arts – Advanced program, the piece is meant to embody ethical innovation.

In the next term of the City Idea Lab, DC students from the School of Media, Art & Design will take part in the Community Collaborations and Service Learning course.

Durham College once again one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers

Durham College (DC) has been named one of the Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for 2019. This is the eighth time the college has received this honour, which recognizes organizations for their progressive and forward-thinking employee programs.

DC is proud to be acknowledged for its commitment to ongoing employee development through programs such as Leave for Change, which offers faculty and staff the opportunity to transform their vacations into short-term leaves so they can volunteer in a developing country.

The fact employees can provide direct feedback to college leadership through programs such as the annual Retreat with the President was also noted, as was DC’s encouragement of healthy, active living through subsidized access to the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre and the suite of services including massage and dietary counseling available in the Campus Health Centre.

“We are so pleased to once again be recognized for the college’s efforts to support our employees,” said Dr. Scott Blakey, chief administrative officer. “One of our greatest strengths is our people. It is through their talent and dedication that we can deliver on our mission that the student experience comes first.”

Greater Toronto’s Top Employers is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This special designation recognizes the Greater Toronto Area employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work. Organizations are judged on several categories including physical workplace; work and social atmosphere; health, financial and family benefits; vacation and time off; employee communications; performance management; training and skills development; and community involvement. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offer the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

For more information, please visit www.canadastop100.com/toronto/.