Durham College’s (DC) #DCSelfie contest received more than 780 votes, and the winners are: Diana D’Amico and Nicholas Celica.

D’Amico, who is enrolled in the Paralegal Graduate Certificate program claimed first place and won an Apple iPad mini, followed by Celica, a Paralegal student, who received a pair of Beats by Dre headphones for obtaining the second most votes.

Upon receiving their acceptance letter students were encouraged to participate in the contest by submitting a selfie photo of themselves holding a DC pennant. Once the submission period ended contestants’ selfies were posted on the competition website with visitors having the opportunity to vote for their favourites.

Congratulations to the winners of the #DCSelfie contest and a special thank you to everyone who entered the contest – welcome to DC!

Interested in attending DC but missed the September semester start? Seats are still available for programs starting in January. Visit www.durhamcollege.ca/programs-starting-in-january for a complete list of all available programs, and become a student today.

Durham College (DC) and the Durham Catholic District School Board (DCDSB) announced today that they have signed a five-year academic agreement to enhance opportunities for DCDSB international students looking to pursue post-secondary education in Canada following high school graduation.

“DC prides itself on offering international students a high-quality college education and we’re proud to be working with the DCDSB to offer international high school students the opportunity to further their studies in Canada, and with Durham College in particular,” said Don Lovisa, president, DC. “This agreement provides a new way of engaging our educational partners in DC’s ongoing international activities and outreach and we are proud to be working with the board to provide this group of students with access to our unique academic programming and student services.”

The formal General Agreement of Co-operation (GAC), signed today by Lovisa and Anne O’Brien, director of education, DCDSB at the college’s Oshawa campus, is designed to stimulate and support educational, professional and intercultural activities and projects among students and employees of both organizations with respect to international education.

This includes the creation of an educational pathway from the DCDSB to DC, including the potential for students to pursue further post-secondary studies via the more than 450 educational pathways the college offers in partnership with universities in Ontario, across Canada and around the world. Additionally, the GAC will promote collaboration in program delivery, scholarship opportunities, international marketing, student recruitment and academic training.

“We are pleased to partner with DC as we encourage international students to discover the numerous pathways that are available through our Durham Catholic secondary schools into our local college programs,” said O’Brien. “Adopting a pathways planning mindset, our programs are designed to assist students with transition planning, and we look forward to working with international students as they prepare for the next step in their individual educational journeys here in our very own Durham Region.

In September 2016, DC welcomed more than 350 new international students, bringing the total number to over 600 students who have travelled from 42 countries around the world to study at the college.

 

Through multiple initiatives and research projects focused on sustainability and a commitment to sound building principles, Durham College (DC) announced today that it pleased to be part of a group of Ontario colleges that are playing a leading role in Canada’s efforts to tackle climate change.

A newly released report, Moving to Net Zero: Colleges Leading the Way, highlights the achievements of the province’s 24 publicly funded colleges in everything from leading-edge research that promotes energy efficiency to the development of programs that prepare increasing numbers of graduates for careers in areas such as renewable energy and sustainable building construction.

“Doing our part to improve the health of the planet is a priority at our college,” said Don Lovisa, president, DC.  “We are firmly committed to the global effort to fight climate change.”

The report documents achievements in five areas: research, community leadership, college programs, transportation and campus upgrades. The examples in the report confirm that all 24 colleges are playing an active part in the effort to reduce the province’s carbon footprint.

As part of its commitment to sustainability, DC is continually implementing new measures to reduce its carbon footprint and demonstrate environmental stewardship in Durham Region and well beyond.

For example, in September 2016, the Centre for Food (CFF) at the Whitby campus received international recognition from the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics Awards of Excellence, winning gold in the Green Colleges category. The college was recognized for its work to advance environmental sustainability, including its field-to-fork philosophy and 3 Star certification from the Green Restaurant Association. In addition, in June 2016 the CFF was recognized with an Eric Krause Innovative Plans/Policies/Initiatives Award from the Durham Environmental Advisory Committee for its commitment to conserving energy and protecting the environment and in July 2016 Bistro ‘67, the college’s full-service, teaching-inspired restaurant, was honoured with a Feast ON designation in recognition of its use of local food and beverages.

Home to a range of complementary post-secondary programs, the CFF offers numerous sustainable features and extensive grounds that include an apple orchard, agricultural planting fields, an unheated hoop house, gardens and greenhouses. The south side of the building includes a ramped garden with a pollinator garden for native birds, bees and butterflies and a two-acre arboretum. These areas also feature trees, shrubs, perennials and fruit-bearing plants, providing a teaching and learning environment for students, the local agri-food industry, community organizations and the general public.

Additional examples of DC’s commitment to sustainability include:

• A dedicated Sustainability office that leads initiatives on campus, including partnerships with local environmental organizations such as Durham Sustain Ability, GM Canada, Friends of the Greenbelt and the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, and roles with regional committees including the Durham Region Roundtable on Climate Change.
• Sustainable transportation options for students and employees travelling to and from campus, including electric vehicle charging stations, designated carpool lots and bicycle storage units.
• A commingle recycling program with a diversion rate of 53.2 per cent as well as additional recycling programs for items such as batteries, e-waste, spent lightbulbs, used textbooks and furniture.
• Water conservation through the installation and use of low-flow toilets, waterless urinals and sensor taps.
• Energy conservation and efficiency through the use of a comprehensive energy monitoring system, replacement of existing windows with high-efficiency models, installation of variable speed drives and lighting occupancy sensors.
• Adoption of renewable energy models at the Whitby campus including the installation of 350 solar panels that provide clean energy back to the grid; six vertical axis wind turbines on the roof of the main building that serve as a learning tool for students in the Renewable Energy Technician program; a white roof that reduces energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions; and a 70-tonne geothermal system that provides energy efficient heating and cooling.
• Applied research projects, including a recent collaboration with industry partner DynaCurrent Technologies Inc. on the development of a new and innovative technology to heat liquid using electricity in a significantly more efficient way than other electrical heating technologies in the marketplace. The technology has the potential for commercial use as an alternate heating source to oil, propane and electricity in homes and small- to- medium-sized buildings.
• Programs such as Construction Carpentry – Sustainable, which provides students with the knowledge required to construct energy-efficient and environmentally responsible residential buildings and obtain the skills required to upgrade existing buildings in a little as 16 months.

The college’s initiatives are reflected in the overall findings of the report, which include:

• Throughout the province, colleges offer more than 300 programs that prepare graduates to work in sectors that directly impact emissions reductions, conservation and renewable energy.
• In 2015-2016, more than 20,000 students were enrolled in programs that prepare them for careers that address climate change. That represents an increase of more than 20 per cent over the previous five years.
• Millions of dollars have been invested in retrofit programs and other upgrades at campuses across the province. The retrofitting projects have included weatherization initiatives, energy and greenhouse gas audits, the installation of wind turbines and solar panels, and the integration of new designs that include green roofs and pollinator gardens.

“While we’re proud of our successes, we also know there is more to do,” said Lovisa. “We are aware of the important role DC plays in producing a strong workforce determined to reduce emissions and help Ontario combat climate change and ultimately achieve greater sustainability.”

The full report is available here.