News

Message from Jim Reed, President of BC Colleges

In this newsletter I would like to focus on the role colleges play in communities throughout BC. More than any other post-secondary group, colleges have a reach that extends to communities in every region of our province. In fact, our 11 member institutions operate in more than 60 locations throughout BC. Our broad reach means greater accessibility for students, but it also means colleges play an integral role in these communities and, in many cases, are the hub of their community. Our colleges are here to provide programs, activities, resources and support to strengthen the skills and abilities of people in these communities. Ultimately our goal is to help British Columbians build strong, vibrant and well-educated communities in every region of BC.

The breadth of the community building that occurs is well demonstrated in this month’s “What’s New at BC Colleges”. In fact, this month I had a difficult time choosing which stories to highlight. In addition to the 11 articles below, I would like to draw your attention to some further activities happening throughout BC that are too good to be missed. North Island College Interactive Media students are helping Comox Valley businesses make sense of social media - what a great example of students using their skills to make a difference in their community. Plus, the results are in from the 2013 International Student Barometer (the largest annual survey of international students in the world) and College of the Rockies is #1 with international students for the second year in a row.  And, while it's true that experience may trump youth in many instances two Okanagan College business administration students Kelly Stone and Arianne Summach hit a social media home run for a local charity, Inn from the Cold Kelowna, when their video about homelessness went viral. Watch their video “Push To End Homelessness” here.

BC's colleges are always looking for new ways to actively partner with the communities we serve. As government rolls out the new BC’s Skills for Jobs Blueprint it will be more important than ever for colleges and communities to partner and collaborate with each other and industry to efficiently match the supply of highly skilled and educated graduates to the growing demand in BC.

I hope you will take a few minutes to read about the accolades, projects, collaborations and announcements from our 11 member colleges during the past month. For a full list of this month's news, please check out "In the News" on the BC Colleges’ website. As always, I welcome your feedback, you can reach me by e-mail.

Sincerely,

Jim Reed

Langara Hosts Applied Research Symposium
Langara College Media Release, May 11, 2014
Langara College hosted a province-wide Applied Research Symposium, in partnership with the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The campus welcomed 40 Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Research Directors from the province’s colleges to discuss strengthening their Applied Research programs. Read more.

Editions with Terry Bradshaw features NLC
Northern Lights College Media Release, May 8, 2014
The producers of Editions with Terry Bradshaw are pleased to announce that Northern Lights College (NLC) will be featured in an upcoming segment on "Hidden Gems of Higher Learning," as part of the show's Canadian Education series. Read more.

CNC Research Project Generates Electricity From Wood Stove
College of New Caledonia Media Release, May 7, 2014
CNC power engineering and electronics instructors and students have completed a research project that uses new technology to produce electricity from the heat of a wood stove. The Thermoelectric Generators (TEG) research project showed electric current can be produced from any hot surface, and have a wide range of uses, including power recovery in cars and charging electronic devices in the backcountry. Read more.

Okanagan College Professor Earns National Recognition For Mentorship
Okanagan College Media Release, May 7, 2014
Okanagan College students weren’t alone in earning national awards at the 2014 Enactus National Competition, which was held in Calgary last week. Business professor Devin Rubadeau was recognized with a national award as Rookie Faculty Advisor of the Year by Enactus Canada. Rubadeau joined the College this fall as a term professor of marketing and management. He immediately became involved with Enactus Okanagan College and served as faculty advisor for two of the organization’s largest projects, the Young Entrepreneur competition and InStill Life. Read more.

Camosun College And Royal Roads Augment Collaboration And Advance Shared Interests
Camosun College Media Release, May 6, 201
The presidents of Camosun College and Royal Roads University (RRU) signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) Tuesday, May 6 to acknowledge their complementary mandates and shared interests. This development supports the province's Core Review by identifying synergies, reducing redundancy and creating new opportunities through co-operation. RRU president and vice-chancellor Allan Cahoon and Camosun president Kathryn Laurin signed the MOU at the Blue Heron House, RRU's Indigenous Learning and Cultural Centre situated on the shores of Esquimalt Lagoon. Read more.

Selkirk College Rural Pre-Medicine Program Receives Funding Boost
Selkirk College Media Release, May 2, 2014
The new Rural Pre-Medicine Program at Selkirk College has just received a major boost from the provincial government and the Doctors of BC who are both excited to see the end results of an important step forward for rural health care. The Selkirk College Rural Pre-Medicine Program has received $1 million from the provincial government and the Doctors of BC. Read more.

Oceans Workshop at NIC: Radiation, Wave Energy, and Aquaculture
North Island College Media Release, April 27, 2014
North Island College (NIC) brought some of BC’s leading academics and engineers to the Ucluelet Aquarium this week as part of an Oceans Workshop that struck a chord on Canada’s West Coast. From the Fukushima nuclear disaster and its relevance to BC food fisheries, to aquaculture, wave energy and ocean health, the topics brought out more than 150 participants, including fish farmers, environmentalists, concerned residents, college faculty, students, and high school students over two days. Read more.

Douglas College Instructor Tim Frick Inducted Into Canada’s Sports Hall Of Fame
Douglas College Media Release, April 25, 2014
A longtime Douglas College instructor and legendary wheelchair basketball coach has received the country’s highest sporting honour. Tim Frick has been inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. From 1990 to 2009, Frick served as head coach of the Canadian Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team. During his tenure, the team won three Paralympic gold medals and four world championship titles. Frick has been widely celebrated for his accomplishments as a coach. Among a host of previous honours, he has been inducted into the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame and the Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame. Read more.

NWCC Students Repurpose Buses
Northwest Community College Media Release
The Heavy Duty Equipment Technician/Commercial Transport (HDET) Foundation program at Northwest Community College (NWCC) recently received three decommissioned buses from Farwest Fuels’ Kitimat operations.Students are participating in a unique project where they are building a training aid with bus parts. They recently cut the roof off the back of a bus to remove its engine and will be seeking the help of welding students to mount the engine onto a platform. Read more.

College of the Rockies Graduates First All-Female Haul Truck Class
College of the Rockies Media Release, April 08, 2014
College of the Rockies’ Haul Truck program celebrated the graduation of its first all-female class. Six women from both BC and Alberta successfully completed the program on Friday, March 28. The all-female class came about through a partnership with the Aboriginal Mentoring and Training Association (AMTA).  Half of the participants came to the haul truck program through AMTA. Read more.

VCC Music Student Mark Whitmore Wins Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir’s Songwriting Contest
Vancouver Community College Media Release, March 26, 2014
The Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir has chosen Mark Whitmore as the winner of its 10th Anniversary Season “Sing A New Song” songwriting competition. “I couldn’t be more thrilled for Mark,” says Laurence Mollerup, VCC Music instructor and bass player for the choir. Read more.

BC Colleges is a consortium representing BC’s 11 public, community colleges serving over 160,000 students annually with campuses in more than 60 communities throughout British Columbia. BC’s colleges offer a comprehensive range of programs from university studies and baccalaureate degrees to career, technical and trades education. All of BC’s colleges offer programs that are designed to be accessible, affordable and responsive to the evolving needs of BC communities and industry. For more information, visit our website.