RRC Signs New Partnership Agreements in China

Red River College returned to China this month, to further expand the scope of its international reach via partnership agreements with a number of post-secondary institutions.

Between Feb. 19th and 22nd, 2012, representatives from RRC signed partnership agreements with Shijiazhuang University of Economics (SUE) in Hebei, China; Qingdao Technical College (QTC) in Qingdao Economic and Technological Development Zone; and Zhejiang Water Conservancy and Hydropower College (ZJWCHC) in Zhejiang Province.

Representatives at SUE have already expressed interest in RRC’s Applied Accounting and Business programs, while QTC has expressed interest in the College’s Early Childhood Education program.

Last year, RRC signed a similar agreement with Henan Business College (HBC) in Zhengzhou, China, in which HBC students would take two years of Hotel Management courses in China, and a third year at RRC.

Click here to learn more about opportunities for international students at Red River College.

RRC Alum’s Debut Doc Wins Big at Sundance

It’s been a whirlwind two months for Red River College grad Lisanne Pajot (Creative Communications, 2003), whose debut documentary Indie Game: the Movie won the World Cinema Documentary Best Editing Prize at last month’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

Directed and produced by Pajot and James Swirsky (shown above), the film chronicles the world of independent video game developers, and has drawn rave reviews from critics across North America since it bowed at the Park City fest in January. Continue reading

CreComm Student Releases Book on Fatal House Fire

Photo courtesy Metro Winnipeg.

A student from Red River College’s Creative Communications program has written a book exploring the fatal blaze that claimed the lives of two veteran Winnipeg fire captains in 2007.

This weekend, second-year student Lindsey Enns will launch Black Fire, an exploration of the deaths of Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) captains Tom Nichols and Harold Lessard, who were killed after they became trapped on the second floor of a burning home in St. Boniface.

Enns has been working on the book since June, and completed it as part of a year-long project required for graduation. The subject is one with which she’s intimately familiar: Enns’ father is a fellow WFPS captain, who was originally scheduled to work the same shift as his fallen comrades. Continue reading

RRC Students Score at Concrete Toboggan Race

A team of Red River College students picked up a pair of awards this month at the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race in Calgary.

The annual celebration of innovation and engineering spirit draws teams of post-secondary students from all over Canada. Entrants must design and construct a five-person toboggan with a roll bar (capable of withstanding an upset at 75-km/hour), and a running surface composed entirely of concrete, while maintaining a total weight of less than 300 pounds.

All toboggans are subject to a safety inspection before being raced, and are judged on the basis of their concrete, frame, steering and brake design, as well as race-day results, team spirit, and a host of other criteria.

This year’s event was held Feb. 8-11, 2012, in Calgary. The eight-member RRC squad — comprised of students from Construction Management, Municipal Engineering Technology, Business Administration, and Industrial Arts — won the Green Team Award for most sustainable design, and was also named Most Improved Team. Continue reading

Students Build Classic Car To Raise Funds For Skills Training

RRC President Stephanie Forsyth (third from right), with some of the RRC students and instructors who will assemble a 1933 Modified Ford to be raffled off later this year.

There’s nothing that looks better in your garage than a classic car.

Skills Canada Manitoba has paired up with long-time partner Red River College to build a 1933 Modified Ford that will be raffled off later this year to raise money for young Manitoba students and apprentices who are pursuing training and accreditation in skilled trades and technology areas.

Continue reading

RRC Wine Expert Wins Prestigious Study Scholarship in Australia

Local wine expert Gary Hewitt (third from left), with (from left) Graham Thompson, Dean of Business and Applied Arts at RRC; RRC President Stephanie Forsyth; Banville & Jones President Tina Jones, and RRC Hospitality Chair John Reimers.

Local wine expert Gary Hewitt will soon be heading Down Under to learn more about the Australian wine industry, having won a prestigious scholarship rewarding achievement in wine studies throughout the world.

Hewitt, the senior buyer and educator at Banville & Jones Wine Co., graduated last month with the prestigious Diploma in Wines and Spirits from the London, England-based Wine and Spirit Education Trust© (WSET©). Even more impressive, Hewitt is the Canadian recipient of the Wines of Australia Scholarship, an expenses-paid study trip to Australia for the five highest-performing international graduates from mainland Europe, Canada, U.S.A., Ireland and Asia Pacific.

“Wine knowledge is extremely valuable in today’s market,” says Tina Jones, president of Banville & Jones. “We are fortunate in Manitoba, and in Canada, to have someone of Gary’s calibre leading our wine education programs.”

In addition to his roles with Banville & Jones, Hewitt has also been instrumental in developing RRC’s new Wine and Spirits Education Trust© workshops, delivered through RRC’s School of Continuing and Distance Education, in conjunction with its School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts. Continue reading

Honouring Aboriginal Women On Valentine’s Day

Red River College is hosting a speaker’s event today at the Exchange District Campus entitled “Standing Tall: A day dedicated to our stolen sisters.”

Across Canada every Valentine’s Day, memorial marches are held to honor the lives of missing and murdered women and their families.  As part of this day we would like to invite you to learn about some of the work that is being done in this area, to participate in a safety presentation delivered by Winnipeg Police Services and to listen to teachings from Chickadee Richard on the sacredness of women.

The event is from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm In Room P107 (CGA Manitoba Room) at RRC’s Exchange District Campus, located at 160 Princess Street. Room P409 will be reserved as a “smudge room” for the day. All are welcome.

For further info, contact:
Cheyenne Chartrand
Aboriginal Student Support & Community Relations
Red River College Exchange District Campus
P210-J  160 Princess Street  Winnipeg, MB  R3B 1K9
T: (204) 949-8506 F: (204) 949-9186
E: chchartrand@rrc.mb.ca

Find out more about Aboriginal education at Red River College, as well as related programming and events at http://blogs.rrc.ca/aboriginal/

RRC Students Draw Raves from Robotics Software Developer

A trio of Red River College students have received rave reviews from a local robotic software developer, for their work on a prototype website for the Manitoba-based Virtual Robot Games (VRG).

As part of their coursework for the fall term of RRC’s Business Information Technology program, second-year students Cyle Hunter, Scott Bevan and Nathaniel Dolynchuk paired with Winnipeg-based Cogmation Robotics, a software developer specializing in robotic simulation.

The students developed a web application that allows VRG competitors to register their virtual players and teams, to upload autonomous game behaviours, robots and arenas, and to view their resulting scores and rankings. Continue reading

Chemical BioSciences Technology Awards

Red River College is pleased to congratulate the recipients of two awards in the Chemical and Biosciences Technology program: Susann Ohnstedt and Bryce Desender.

• Susann Ohnstedt received the Wilfred Dychuk Award, which is presented to a first-year student in the Chemical and Biosciences Technology program who demonstrates proficiency in the analytical chemistry laboratory. In the bottom left photo, Susann is shown (on right) with Isabel Bright, Chair of Life Sciences at Red River College.

• Bryce Desender received the Dr. Raymond Green Memorial Scholarship, which is presented to a second-year student in the Chemical and Biosciences Technology program as selected by committee. In the photo (bottom right), Bryce is shown with Mrs. Cynthia Johnstone, the widow of Dr. Raymond Green. Dr.Green was a former RRC employee and instructor in the program.

To learn more about RRC’s Chemical Biosciences Technology program, click here.