Niagara College News and Media

Niagara College has announced five new “May Start” programs as a response to the unprecedented demand for quality career training and upgrading in Niagara’s transitioning economy.

“We are adding more options and program start dates to meet the large demand for re-training and skills upgrading in Niagara. Niagara College’s up-to-date programs provide grads with the sophisticated skill sets required to meet industry needs,” said Steve Hudson, Vice-President Academic.

Applications are now available for May 2009 starts in the following programs: Construction Techniques (1 Year), Personal Support Worker (1 year), Office Administration-General (1 year), Business-Accounting (2 years) and Practical Nursing (2 Years).

Since Fall 2008, when Niagara College experienced the largest enrolment jump among all Ontario colleges, the increase in demand has continued. Applications for January 2009 program starts at Niagara College increased by over 30 per cent, compared to a 10 per cent increase province-wide.

“There are jobs out there, but you need to have the skills and education required. In today’s changing economy, there is a need and a demand to upgrade and acquire new skills that match what employers are looking for,” said Fiona Allan, Niagara College’s Director of Workforce and Business Development.

Interactive information planning sessions are being held to provide prospective students with details and options for programs, admissions, and financial assistance on Wednesday, April 1 and Tuesday April 7 at Niagara College’s Welland Campus and Thursday, April 2 at Niagara College’s Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus. Presentations run from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

More about Niagara College’s new May start programs and information planning sessions can be found www.niagaracollege.ca/maystart.

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For more information, contact:

Gord Hunchak

Director, Marketing & Communications

Niagara College

905-735-2211, ext. 7567

ghunchak@niagaracollege.ca

(Niagara, March 26/09) – Dan Patterson, President, Niagara College says the 2009 Ontario Budget is good news for Niagara College and the Niagara Region.

“The funds allocated to colleges through this budget are highly valued, particularly in this economy,” says Patterson, “This will allow Ontario’s colleges to educate stronger, more highly-skilled graduates who will contribute to future economic prosperity of Ontario.”

The investments in areas such as skills training extends Niagara College’s ability to re-train workers seeking new careers in high-demand sectors and ensures graduates are workplace-ready in an ever-changing, challenging labour market.

“We believe the announcements in today’s budget will enable Niagara College to expand our capacity to provide advanced knowledge and skills training, building Niagara’s future workforce in a transforming economy,” says Patterson.

Niagara College also applauds the $50 million annual proposed enhancements to the Co-operative Education Tax credit and to the Apprenticeship Training Tax Credit, making the latter the most generous in Canada.

Additional funding announcements affecting colleges include $780 million committed to capital funding for Ontario colleges and universities and a $10 million investment in Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation. 

 “With continuing enrolment growth and aging facilities, we look forward to the support of the provincial and federal governments for enhanced infrastructure funding,” says Patterson, “An investment in new and expanded Niagara College facilities is in investment in our students’ success and in the Niagara Region’s future.”

Patterson also said the $10 million investment in Colleges Ontario Network for Industry Innovation supports the success of small and medium-sized enterprises:  

“Colleges specialize in hands-on applied research, technology transfer and commercialization. Niagara College is an acknowledged leader in applied research in Canada, and this further supports our efforts to help local businesses innovate and get better products to market faster.”

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For more information, contact:

Sean Kennedy
VP, Student and Community Relations
Niagara College
905-735-2211, ext. 7688

Niagara College Event Management students are opening the cottage a bit early this year for a good cause.

The students will host a ‘Spring into Muskoka’ cottage-themed fundraising event on April 4, 2009, to benefit Habitat for Humanity Niagara.

The event will feature a barbeque-style buffet with kabobs, potatoes, corn on the cob, moose-tracks ice-cream and ‘smores — a cottage staple. The event will also include cottage-inspired games, such as horseshoes and miniature golf. Music and entertainment will be provided by a live DJ and Niagara’s own The Gelitones. A silent auction will offer a variety of camping and outdoors items, as well as tickets to various outdoor excursions and getaways.

‘Spring into Muskoka’ takes place at the Heidehof Ballroom, located on 600 Lake Street in St. Catharines. Students hope to raise $2,500, and proceeds will directly support Habitat for Humanity Niagara home building projects. Tickets are $35 per person and can be purchased by calling 905-641-2252, ext. 6407, or visiting www.niagaracollege.ca/springintomuskoka for ticket sale locations.

Habitat for Humanity Niagara works in partnership with people in need to build and renovate decent, affordable housing. The houses are then sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged. Niagara College construction students, in partnership with Habitat Niagara and the Niagara Homebuilders Association, are currently completing a habitat home in Welland.

Event Management is a one-year post-graduate program that prepares students for careers in the planning, promotion and execution of special events in the public, corporate and non-profit sectors. Students gain valuable hands-on experience through a number of events, including fundraisers such as ‘Spring into Muskoka’ and the Many Hands Project. To learn more about the Event Management Program, visit www.niagaracollege.ca/em.

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For more information, contact:

Krista Kankula
Co-Chair
Spring into Muskoka
kkankula1@students.niagaracollege.ca

Stephanie Lovrics
Co-Chair
Spring into Muskoka
slovrics1@students.niagaracollege.ca

Niagara College has received a five-year grant of $2.3 million under a new national program, the College and Community Innovation Program (CCI), administered by the federal Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). 

In making the official announcement in Ottawa on February 25, 2009, Janet Walden, Vice-President of Research Partnerships Programs at NSERC, stated, “The CCI Program builds on NSERC’s earlier initiatives to foster college-industry research and development interactions.  Our original pilot program showed that Canadian colleges are well positioned to accelerate innovation at the local level by working with industry and communities on applied R&D projects.”

Niagara College was one of only six colleges across Canada to participate in the original 3-year pilot program, whose success led to the current permanent program. The pilot enabled Niagara Research, Niagara College’s research division, to build capacity and expertise in advanced visualization to help regional land developers and planners develop 3D scenarios of their land use planning proposals.

The new five-year project for Niagara College, “Sustain Niagara:  Supporting Innovation in Agricultural Land Management”, builds on a core set of technologies developed in the earlier pilot, including remote sensing, GIS, and high performance computing and visualization technologies.  In the new program, the research team will add real-time wireless sensor networks and advanced technologies such as photonics to help agricultural land managers make the best use of available land from an economical and land stewardship point of view.

“New research is being conducted at Niagara College that will help local industries collect and correlate data on their land, and turn it into useful land management information. It will help local growers adopt new technologies to improve crops, improve agricultural production processes, and experiment with alternative land uses.” states Marti Jurmain, Director, Research and Innovation at Niagara College.

Niagara College was one of only eight institutions across Canada to be funded in the first round of the College and Community Innovation program. 

“Over the course of five years, we anticipate that over 50 faculty and staff, and many hundreds of students will be involved in applied research activities with local companies, greenhouses, and farms,” said Jurmain.

“We are delighted with this new five year grant from NSERC and the opportunities it provides for Niagara College to support the Niagara Region and  increase the competitiveness and sustainability of Niagara’s crucial agricultural base,” states President Dr. Dan Patterson.

The new CCI program will be officially launched on Saturday, March 21 at noon at Niagara College’s Niagara-on-the-Lake campus. Niagara College President Patterson, Niagara College students, and industry partners will be on hand to discuss how the project will help them to tackle current industry challenges and achieve their goals.

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For more information, contact:

Marti Jurmain
Director, Research and Innovation
Niagara College
905-641-2252, ext. 4150
mjurmain@niagaracollege.ca

Official Launch of the College and Community Innovation (CCI) program at Niagara College
Saturday, March 21, 12 noon
Niagara-on-the-Lake campus
W004 area – Research and Innovation Division

Carol Coletta, president and CEO of the CEOs for Cities, will speak on Tuesday, March 24 at 4:30 p.m., at the Castellani Art Museum, Niagara University, NY.

Coletta’s talk “The Upside of Down: When Imagination Matters,” is being presented as part of the Niagara Bi-National Education Partnership Speaker Series, a joint venture between Niagara University and Niagara College.

Coletta, who also serves as the producer and host of the nationally syndicated public radio show “Smart City,” is a former executive director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the American Architectural Foundation. Regarded by the national media as an expert on urban issues, she is a frequent speaker on the success formula for cities and creative communities.

The speaker series, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Cares Foundation. A reception will follow Coletta’s talk.

To reserve a seat for this free event, call 716-286-8772 or email hmorgan@niagara.edu.

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For more information, contact:

Michael Wales
Senior Communications Officer
Niagara College
905-735-2211, ext. 7773
mwales@niagaracollege.ca

Bi-National Education Partnership

Niagara College and Niagara University have a strong and long-standing educational partnership which includes joint programs and agreements that allow students to complete a portion of their studies at both institutions.

The Bi-National Education Partnership Fund was set up in 2001 as a joint initiative between Niagara College in Ontario and Niagara University in New York State, enabling students from both the United States and Canada to prepare for careers with a focus on bi-national study and economic development.

The Niagara News , a community newspaper produced by students in Niagara College’s Journalism – Print program, has placed in all four campus newspaper categories in the Canadian Community Newspaper Association (CCNA) Better Newspaper Competition.

In all, the Niagara News received one second and three third-place finishes, including:

• A second-place finish in the Best Campus Photography category for student-reporter Joseph Cassidy’s billiards photo;
• A third-place finish in the Outstanding Campus Newspaper category;
• A third-place finish in the Best Campus News Story category for student-reporter Laura Wikston’s article “Uncovering The Truth,” which chronicled her meeting with legendary Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, and;
• A third-place finish in the Best Campus Feature Story category for student-reporter Camille Hollett’s feature “Coping at Christmas.”

The win comes on the heels of Journalism – Print graduate Monica Keyes’s top finish in the Student News Writing category of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association’s (OCNA) Better Newspaper Awards, and builds on last year’s impressive showing at the CCNA’s, where the paper and its student reporters placed second in three campus-newspaper categories.

“This national recognition reflects the hard work and dedication of our students and our program faculty, and their desire to produce one of Canada’s top campus newspapers, ” said Kim Walker, Acting Dean of Information and Media Studies.

The award will be presented in May at the annual CCNA convention in Montreal.

Journalism – Print is a two-year diploma program that prepares graduates for careers in smaller daily and community newspapers, trade journals and electronic media. Production of the Niagara News provides practical, hands-on learning for students in the second year of the program.

With 7,500 full-time students, Niagara College offers more than 90 diploma and advanced level programs at campuses in Welland, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls and St. Catharines.  Areas of specialization include hospitality and tourism, technology and community safety.   The College is also home to the globally recognized Niagara Culinary Institute and to Canada’s first commercial teaching winery.

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For more information, contact:

Michael Wales
Senior Communications Officer
Niagara College
905-735-2211, ext. 7773 (office)
905-328-4101 (cell)
mwales@niagaracollege.ca

nGen, an interactive media generator in the Niagara region, is the recipient of a computer hardware donation from Dell to equip its facility. This donation provides startups with access to nine state of the art Dell desktop computers as well as a Dell PowerEdge server.

“This support will enable nGen to enhance its services for local new media entrepreneurs and high-potential, early-stage Startups in Niagara,” says Jeff Chesebrough, Executive Director, nGen. “The program provides Startups with access to leading edge technologies to bring to market innovative solutions for the next generation of user experiences. This is incredible for nGen and the support we have received through Information Technology Services (ITS) at Niagara College to make this happen has been fantastic.”

“We are pleased we were able to facilitate this initiative leveraging our long term relationship with Dell, enabling the acquisition of required technology to strengthen our participation in our nGen partnership. It’s important to us that we continue to develop these excellent long term relationships and partnerships, so that Niagara College can provide additional benefits to the community at large.” John Levay, Director Information Technology Services at Niagara College.

“Dell is committed to helping entrepreneurs transform their ambitions into sustainable, dynamic businesses and to foster innovation and entrepreneurism,” said Paul Cooper, vice president and general manager, Public Business Group, Dell Canada. “We wish nGen success with this innovative project and in making the Niagara Region into a Global Interactive Media hub.”

nGen fosters synergies between creative and enabler enterprises, local arts and culture industries in Niagara, as well as the educational programs, research and development expertise, and infrastructure at Brock University and Niagara College. Other partners include the Ontario Media Development Corporation, Silicon Knights, City of St. Catharines, Niagara Economic Development Corporation, Interactive Ontario and Niagara Enterprise Agency.

A significant feature of nGen is the development of content-driven interactive media projects to bring public, private and not-for-profit players together in an environment of collaboration and creation.

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For more information, contact:

Jeff Chesebrough
Executive Director
nGen – Niagara Interactive Media Generator
905-685-3460, ext. 201
905-380-9180 (cell)
jchesebrough@ngen-niagara.com
www.ngen-niagara.com