A quick hallway chat between two Durham College (DC) faculty members sparked an annual partnership, benefiting students from both the Occupational Therapist Assistant and Physiotherapist Assistant (OTA/PTA) program and the Journalism – Mass Media program.

The partnership produces the Rehab Matters Newsletter – which just published its sixth edition – where the OTA/PTA students focus on writing about a rehab matter in the Canadian context while the journalism students mentor them on writing and provided editorial support and leadership.

“The newsletter project was a nice opportunity to work on both student’s program requirements at the final stage of their of their academic careers and to achieve a number of different learning outcomes,” said Faculty member Teresa Avvampato. While the initial project was just a pilot, “we just kept going because we had such good feedback from the students involved,” she said.

Shun Naito, an OTA/PTA student really valued the opportunity to have experts help improve the quality of his work and was grateful for the support. “It’s a great opportunity as the role of an OTA/PTA needs to be advocated and the journalism students are the best at writing,” he said.

“An extra set of eyes was great to have for my project,” said Naito, who worked with Journalism student, Simran Deb, on his article. “She helped with structure and how I should persuade and inform the audience. The flow of paragraphs was way better after she gave me hints and ideas. Both parties were respectful about time and communicated effectively.”

Naito gained a significant confidence boost and did things he never imagined he would be able to do with the help of the Journalism students.

Clayton DeMaine, a Journalism student, said the opportunity to edit content he had limited knowledge of was beneficial.

“I might want to be an editor one day, so, it’s cool to be able to edit someone else’s work that we don’t know anything about,” said DeMaine. “It just gave us a really well-rounded experience overall to have editing to add to our portfolio.”

Durham College (DC) will be able to continue supporting Ontario’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its commercialization services thanks to a recent grant from Intellectual Property Ontario (IPON). By extending the initial funding received in 2023, the $300,000 in new funding will help expand DC’s capacity for another year to support local SMEs as they scale with intellectual property (IP) services and DC’s newly developed consultation and IP investment program.

“Durham College is proud to be at the forefront of driving innovation and economic growth in Ontario,” said Dr. Joshua Cohen, Commercialization Specialist at DC. “Through the IPON initiative, we are empowering SMEs to protect and commercialize their intellectual property, ultimately contributing to the prosperity of our province.”

Dr. Cohen is leading the college’s consultation and IP investment program and shared it has already demonstrated remarkable achievements in its pilot year. After already investing over $100,000, DC’s IP program has benefited over 50 SMEs, which have resulted in eight patent applications, two trademark applications, and several patent licensing and non-disclosure agreements.

With 25 dedicated team members from DC’s Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE), the program has been instrumental in facilitating and fostering partnerships between the college and SMEs. The success stories emerging from DC’s IPON funding exemplify its impact on local businesses and the broader innovation ecosystem. EcoSafeSense, a start-up specializing in air quality sensors, and Inventing Future Technology Inc. (IFTech), a technology company focusing on virtual and augmented reality solutions, are among the beneficiaries of the program.

“EcoSafeSense and IFTech are prime examples of the transformative power of strategic IP support,” said Dr. Cohen. “By providing tailored consultations, funding opportunities, and proactive IP protection strategies, we are enabling these companies to thrive and innovate in competitive markets.”

DC’s IP program emphasizes education and strategy development to equip SMEs with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate the complexities of IP management effectively. This is something that Michael Stanfield, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of IFTech, says is critical to business growth.

“We were able to work with Durham College and actually file our latest patent right through the program, so it was fantastic, and now we’re signed on as clients to IPON,” Stanfield shared. “I can’t speak highly enough of the filing process and of Josh and his help in this, it was really a great experience.”

IFTech’s latest innovation, ARAIG, the world’s first multi-sensory, multi-directional, force feedback suit provides real-world sensory simulation to the wearer and is poised to help save lives for those in combat.

“We feel pretty good about our patent because it means we’re protected, that we can do business without worrying about other companies putting a stop to us – or even competing similarly,” said Stanfield. “It’s exciting for us that this patent is already helping us move forward.”

Debbie McKee Demczyk, Dean of ORSIE, emphasized the collaborative efforts that have fueled the success of the IPON initiative. “The dedication and expertise of our team, coupled with strong partnerships with industry and academic stakeholders, have been integral to advancing innovation and commercialization efforts,” she said.

Moving forward, DC remains committed to expanding the reach and impact of the IPON funding, with a focus on fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within the province.

DC is among 10 post-secondary institutions participating in IPON’s pilot funding program and sharing $1.7 million in funding. The investment is in support of the Government of Ontario’s Commercialization Mandate Policy Framework, which aims to help publicly assisted post-secondary institutions better commercialize ideas and products generated through Ontario research and innovation.

“This is a great initiative for Ontario when it comes to small technology companies who are looking to patent certain things – because that’s one of the difficulties, is the funding for that – so it’s a really great idea,” added Stanfield.

For more information about DC’s commercialization efforts, please contact Joshua Cohen, or visit us online to learn more about ORSIE and the college’s applied research services and projects.

Early Childhood Educators looking to take on leadership roles can now gain the necessary skills through a series of new micro-credentials offered by Durham College (DC) in partnership with the Region of Durham.

The Supervision and Leadership in Early Childhood Education micro-credentials are fully online and are offered by DC’s Professional and Part-time Learning department. Registered Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) with good academic standing with the College of Early Childhood Educators are eligible and invited to apply.

These micro-credentials focus on developing financial management and the leadership skills that are critical for the role of a supervisor. Students will use simulation, case studies and mentorship to develop skills to effectively recruit and supervise staff, manage budgetary requirements and maintain accurate records and standards within an early childhood education centre.

“We are proud to offer these micro-credentials which allow ECEs to enhance their careers while supporting critical needs in early childhood education centres,” said Nora Simpson, Executive Dean, Faculty of Liberal Studies and Professional and Part-Time Learning at DC. “With this flexible delivery model, we are supporting students while also supporting families who rely on child care programs across the region and province.”

The opportunity is offered in partnership with the Region of Durham, the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada as part of the Canada-Ontario Early Childhood Workforce Agreement, which provided one-time federal funding to support retention and recruitment of a high-quality child care and early years workforce.

“This is an exciting time to work in early learning and child care, because the system is growing and it needs a skilled workforce,” said Julie Gaskin, Director of Children’s Services for The Regional Municipality of Durham. “The Supervision and Leadership in Early Childhood Education micro-credentials will support ECEs in developing their skills and building their career in this very rewarding sector, making a positive difference for families in our community.”

Financial support is available to eligible applicants in the form of an education grant, travel grant and training allowance. Learn more about these government grants at www.ecegrants.on.ca.

Students can apply now to start in May.

A dedication to sustainability drives innovation at Durham College (DC) and, for the eighth consecutive year, DC has been recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers by MediaCorp Canada Inc.

This achievement recognizes the breadth of environmental initiatives across DC’s campus community such as courses that include social and environmental sustainability themes, applied research projects that benefit the broader community and campus-based infrastructure and programs focused on key areas like water, energy, waste reduction and transportation.

In the past year, DC has celebrated a number of milestones highlighting our commitment to the environment including:

• Opening the Vanhaverbeke Family EV Training Centre, a cutting-edge education space at our Whitby Campus where motive power technician students as well as our community partners can engage with hands-on, experiential learning programs related to electric vehicles.
• Launching the Barrett Centre of Innovation in Sustainable Urban Agriculture’s Ajax Urban Farm, a community-based living lab focused on tackling challenges related to food insecurity and building more resilient, inclusive, collaborative and diverse food systems.
• Achieving our third silver rating from the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS) through the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) which recognizes DC’s on-campus sustainability initiatives.

Amanda Blenkhorn, Director, Ancillary Services at DC said the college is on a journey where environmental stewardship and sustainability are a part of the culture within the campus community.

“For example, we’re closing the field-to-fork-to-field loop by processing food waste in a biodigester at our Centre for Organic Regeneration at the W. Galen Weston Centre for Food. Our goal is to inspire engagement and action in our community through our innovative initiatives.”

Canada’s Greenest Employer is part of the 2024 editorial competition organized by Canada’s Top 100 Employers project. Read DC’s Greenest Employer profile here.

Durham College’s (DC) Music Business Management (MBM) students hosted their annual event – Oshawa Music Week – which promotes local musicians and elevates the local music community through performances, exposure and showcases.

The five-day event, which runs the first week of April, features live music performances across the Durham Region, a music business summit and networking opportunities and is a dynamic way for students to gain hands-on skills and experience.

“All students have different needs and interests. Some want to be administrators, some want to be event planners, artists, managers. Some want to be venue owners, some people want to run shows,” said Tony Sutherland, an MBM faculty member. “An event like this allows students to try their hand at different facets of the industry.”

Eyrica D’rozario, a second-year student in the MBM program was tasked with doing the promotional work, including managing and developing social media content, posters and video promotional material for the week.

“There were so many moving parts, it takes a big team,” D’rozario said. “That’s what was so special about the program, was that it was so collaborative. You are going to talk to everybody, you are going to meet everybody, and you will make some of the best memories in this program.”

Barry Waite, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Media, Art and Design says this event is beneficial for both current students and those looking to come to DC.

“It’s the best example of experiential learning at the college,” Waite said. “The real value is it gives them an opportunity to see the business side of things and all different aspects of the music business.”

Waite said this event is an excellent way to show students how they can take their interest in the arts and turn it into a career. During many of these events, Waite said he hears many DC students say things like: “We didn’t know you had a program like this.”

Many of the students participating in or organizing the event are performers themselves or are career professionals in the music industry. Even faculty involved in the event are experts of the music industry and are committed to helping these students be successful.

“My background has always been within the music industry,” Sutherland said adding that this event helps students gain the skills to negotiate and reach out to people in the industry.

“It helps them in building a portfolio,” he said. “It helps them to build those bridges to a music industry, which is what they’re going to graduate and work in.”

After months of hard work, students at Durham College (DC) were excited to showcase their innovative projects at DC’s annual IT Student Expo on April 3.

In the gymnasium, dozens of booths were set up so students could give live demonstrations of their capstone projects and discuss how their work could potentially benefit their peers and the general public. The expo highlighted work from students in several IT-related programs including Artificial Intelligence Analysis, Design and Implementation, Computer Programming and Analysis, Computer Systems Technology, and Cybersecurity.

Among the presenters were Computer Programming and Analysis students Dallas Smith, Glasford, and Henry Peng who worked together to develop an app called My Transit to help make using GO Transit much easier and more streamlined.

The idea began with complaints from Smith’s girlfriend about her regular commute.

“For example, if she sees her train is canceled or delayed, she can stay with her friends longer and she doesn’t have to rush and leave to get to Union,” Smith said, as he pointed to a delayed train on the app. “That’s kind of where my idea for the app came from, I made it for her but then I realized we could do more with it.”

My Transit also allows the user to purchase tickets through the app instead of having to use a Presto Card and users can save their frequent trips on the app.

“It will track that exact trip and it will tell you the platform the train will be on, an hour in advance. In the stations you only know 10 minutes prior so this will tell you earlier and it has live updates.”

Moving forward, the students said they were hoping to connect with GO Transit and share their app with them.

Andrew Graham and Sebastian Castelan Rodriguez had money on their minds when designing PennyPilot, software for computers and phones that allows users to input their spending to track a variety of metrics about their spending habits.

“As a college student you probably have a lot of friends who are, let’s just say, not very good at managing their money,” Graham said. “The idea behind PennyPilot is to give people access to actually being able to manage their money and in a way that is fun and entertaining.”

Amelia Eric-Markovic was inspired by her mom forgetting her grocery lists to a create Homie, an IOS app to help users keep on top of small, tedious tasks. It contains an event calendar, a to-do list and a shopping list so you never have to rely on paper.

“Homie is here to help you organize every facet of your life, whether it’s assignments or just your typical tasks,” she said. “It’s managing your life as a student and as a student with a life outside of this as well.”

Eric-Markovic’s dream is to work with Apple and she’s hoping her skills earned through the Computer Programming and Analysis program combined with coding and design work on her IOS app will land her an internship with the company this summer.

DC faculty who supported the students said the IT Student Expo teaches them to market and advertise their creations.

“The thing that we find with this event is it’s this gigantic confidence boost for students who are already capable but don’t realize it,” said Kyle Chapman, a professor in the Faculty of Science, Engineering & Information Technology (SEIT).

Stephen Forbes, a professor in the same faculty said the event is a great display of how students have matured and gained experience over the semester.

Stephen said, “Here at Durham College, we try to focus on getting them to build not only the technical skillset, but what we call durable transferable skills.”

Last month, students from the Faculty of Media, Art and Design (MAD) put their storytelling skills to the test in a fun extracurricular competition.

The MAD 48-Hour Storytelling Challenge presented students with a difficult but rewarding task. They were given the weekend to tell a compelling story on the topic of ‘Spring,’ using the medium of their choice.

“It was up to them how they could tell a story using that one word,” explained Student Support Technician Megan Pickell, who organized the event. “It was open to interpretation. The majority did take it as the season, spring.”

Participation was optional, but the students were excited to showcase their artistic talents while adding to their portfolio.

The MAD programs teach a variety of disciplines and the 37 submissions represented almost all of them, from painting, animation and photography to podcasting, short film, music and beyond.

Once time was up, the artists assembled for a live screening event, where the impressive turnout included family and friends. Judges had the difficult task of selecting a winner, and they ultimately chose Fine Arts student Cadance Mercer’s original painting, “Foxes in a Field.” She received a $500 gift card of her choice.

Winning was a welcome surprise to Mercer, who was impressed with the quality of the submissions.

“I really wanted to win, as the only thing I get competitive with is my art,” she said. “Then I did! It was crazy and awesome.”

Creating her entry was a painstaking process, beginning with a sketch on paper before moving to canvas.

“I decided to paint a fox and her kits because to me they represent spring. I have foxes in my yard all the time, especially in the spring.”

In addition to the judge’s choice, the audience also had their say. The Audience Favourite prize went to the short film “Reminiscence” by Video Production students Sohan Maharjan, Denzel Kanhai, Ayomide Kuye and Timur Shapauov. They won a $250 gift card.

“The fact that our film was loved by most of the audience motivates me to keep creating more visual stories,” said Maharjan. “I am very thankful to the whole MAD team for organizing this challenge.”

Creating the film was a true team effort according to Kuye.

“Teamwork makes the dream work, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team,” he said.

The event was a great success according to Pickell, drawing lots of interest and giving students an invaluable opportunity to hone their skills and present their work to a discerning audience. It’s likely to become an annual tradition, and Maharjan believes students would be wise to take part.

“It creates an environment for enthusiastic students to display their talents, gain recognition from peers, and foster connections within the community.”

You can enjoy all the student art for yourself in this video.