Durham College (DC) had the pleasure of hosting the annual Ontario Journalism Educators Association (OJEA) conference at the Sheraton Centre Hotel on May 21, in Toronto, Ont.

The conference gives journalism instructors and professors across Ontario a chance to get together to share their successes and challenges over the past year, as well as brainstorm ways to boost enrolment and discuss the latest software and industry trends.

This year, more than 15 representatives from Algonquin, Conestoga, Niagara, Centennial and Humber colleges attended the event, which was held in conjunction with the Newspapers Canada – Ontario Community Newspapers Association conference.

As the host college, this was a great opportunity to showcase enhancements in the Journalism – Web and Print and Journalism – Broadcast and Electronic Media programs offered at DC. Journalism program co-ordinator and OJEA president, Brian Legree, and journalism instructor and OJEA secretary, Danielle Harder, were happy to share the great changes made to The Chronicle’s website – the DC student-run newspaper, along with community projects and partnerships involving our students.

Each year the host college invites a guest speaker to discuss trends in the industry. This year DC brought in award-winning reporter and host of the CBC’s World Report, David Common.

Common spoke about the changes in the industry and what that could mean for today’s journalism graduates, discussing the marketable skills young journalists need in today’s market, including the ability to think critically, write quickly, understand and manipulate video/audio quickly and the ability to work independently.

 “It’s a great opportunity to host a conference like this,” Legree said. “It allows us to share the accomplishments of our journalism students, changes we’ve made to our program and publications, and to stay current with industry trends so we can continue to offer our students the best learning experience.”

For more information about DC’s Journalism programs please visit our School of Media Art & Design.

For some, the cleanliness of our environment is not top priority but sometimes it’s a good idea to make it one.

On May 13, Durham College (DC) students and employees hauled on gloves, collected empty garbage bags and took to the outdoors with the Sustainability Sub-Committee to make the campus beautiful during the 2015 Campus Clean-up.

Events like this play a key role in DC’s Living Green mandate, which includes environmental stewardship and raising awareness while promoting sustainability in its goals.

There were two options for the event — drop-in or stay for the entire time — but for two hours, all participants worked hard to clean up all the litter left behind on campus. By 3 p.m., 537 lbs. of waste, such as planks of wood, shopping carts and buckets, and 182 pounds of recycling were removed from the stream and trail path behind the South Village Residence.

The hard work did not go unrewarded. All participants received a Living Green glass water bottle as a thank you for making the environment a priority.

Durham College (DC) will accept grade 12 mid-term grades as final grades for students applying to the fall 2015 semester from any school board impacted by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) work stoppage.

“Our primary mandate as a college is access for students,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “At Durham College the student experience comes first and we remain committed to students’ success by putting plans in place to support affected students’ academic needs during these unique circumstances.”

In order to be eligible for consideration, students must have completed their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) prior to starting classes in the fall, and meet the entrance requirements for any program they have applied to. The current deadline for confirmation of all entry requirements is August 22. Should the strike go past the deadline for the school boards to issue the OSSD’s, refunds will be offered to any applicant who has already paid their $500 deposit.

“We understand that students’ in the affected boards feel uncertain about their post-secondary future,” said Meri Kim Oliver, vice-president, Student Affairs. “The leadership team at Durham College is doing everything we can to reassure them that, should all necessary requirements be met, we will accept them with open arms based on their mid-term grades.”

Regular updates will be posted on www.websiteredesign.durhamcollege.ca, and all current DC applicants will be contacted directly in an effort to keep future students and their families informed as the situation progresses. Students or parents/guardians who have further concerns are invited to contact the college at 905.721.3000.

More information about the strike is available on the DDSB website.

Durham College (DC) students will soon have the option to study in India.

A new window for DC has been opened as it announces the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with India’s National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), to provide education and hands-on training in the automotive and agricultural sectors.

The signing was one of 10 MOU’s announced recently by Colleges and Institutes of Canada (CICan) and the offered programs will be branded by CICan, NSDC and participating Indian partners.

DC president Don Lovisa applauds Indian Prime Minister Modi’s leadership in upgrading the skills of India’s workforce. The agreement partners Canadian colleges with an institution in India to develop a joint venture arrangement for skills training geared towards students studying in applicable sectors.

“Our automotive programs offered at our Whitby campus and the agricultural work we’re currently undertaking at DC’s Centre for Food (CFF) are helping prepare our students for the demands of a complex and changing world,” said Lovisa. “This is a very exciting development for the college.”

Recently, Dr. Satender Arya, CEO of the Indian Agricultural Sector Skills Council, visited DC’s CFF. The visit has not only allowed him to view DC’s developments in agriculture and see the college’s programming in action, but has allowed for more developing partnerships abroad to position DC as an international presence.

Although the MOU with DC is currently signed only for the automotive and agriculture sectors, the college is also preparing to work in India in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) field, which could be added to the NSDC framework in the near future.

Durham College (DC) was recognized on Wednesday, May 6 by the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM) and the Insurance Bureau of Canada for its unique approach to emergency preparedness.

In celebration of the 20^th anniversary of Emergency Preparedness Week, which this year runs from May 3 to 9, a group of students in the Interactive Design and Media program collaborated with OFMEM to create a series of videos and posters to promote emergency preparedness in Ontario.  

Students were required to create 60 to 90 second videos for families and seniors that stressed the importance of being prepared for situations such as emergency preparedness on campus, stovetop safety, emergency preparedness for pet owners, electrical blackouts, storms, floods and public alerting – just to name a few. The criteria was set by OFMEM, and students had to work with them to develop a process from feasibility study to the end product.

“This recognition will motivate and build the students’ confidence for their future careers,” said Linda Cheng, professor, School of Media Art & Design at DC. “It taught them to listen attentively, understand the needs of a client, come up with a plan, form a team, establish a timeline and deliver a final product.”

The partnership initiated in 2012 when Jude Kelly, Communications and Public Education, OFMEM, worked with Cheng and her students, to create a game day program for the Juno Hoops charity basketball event. Kelly was impressed by the students’ talent and proposed a collaboration.

“The project was so successful that I approached Ms. Cheng immediately afterward to see if she would be interested in working together on another project,” said Kelly. “She liked the concept and slotted it into her curriculum.”

After two successful collaborations in 2014 and 2015, the partnership has proven to be an excellent resource for OFMEM and valuable experience for students.

“I strongly believe in practicing what we learn in the classroom as it pertains to industry,” said Cheng. “This recognition validates our curriculum and our students’ talent and professionalism, and we will certainly continue to build on this collaboration and expand into more industries.”

This project also included students from DC’s Contemporary Web Design program, who created mock web pages on emergency preparedness. Successful entries were posted on the OFMEM website and YouTube channel, and promoted via Twitter and Facebook.