For the sixth year in a row, Niagara College has earned the honour of being in the top 10 colleges in the country for research funding, according to a special report released on Feb. 25.

In its report called Canada’s Innovation Leaders, Research Infosource Inc. announced the rank of eight for Niagara College, based on total research funding numbers for 2019. The publication includes its national study “Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges,” which shows a steady placement of six years in a row in the top 10, since NC earned spot No. 10 in the 2014 research funding year.

“We are proud of our continued recognition among Canada’s top 10 for research funding, as research and innovation have been a growing focus for our College. These extraordinary times have served to highlight the important role of innovation in our College and our community,” said Niagara College president Sean Kennedy. “By leveraging the expertise of our researchers and capabilities made possible within our state-of-the-art facilities, Niagara College helps local companies stay competitive. We are pleased to have been providing healthcare with made-in-Niagara solutions during the global pandemic – all while equipping our students with essential applied experience.”

Looking at colleges with applied research funding in Canada, NC earned the No. 8 spot by having attracted $7.828 million in funding to conduct innovative projects involving industry partners in the food and beverage, advanced manufacturing, precision agriculture, and related environmental technologies sectors.

Niagara College also jumped to the No. 2 position in the category of completed research projects, with a total of 262. Further, the College increased its paid student researchers to 105, a rise from 83 the previous year.

Looking closely at the number of interactions with industry – small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) who turn to colleges for help on expertise and resources to innovate – NC’s total for the number of research partnerships was 208.

Marc Nantel, PhD, vice-president, Research & External Relations at the College, noted that remaining in the top 10 among research colleges is an ongoing source of pride for NC’s Research & Innovation division.

“We are delighted to acknowledge this demonstration of the exceptional work our staff, faculty and students are doing on industry partner projects,” said Nantel. “Our priority has always been to provide innovative solutions to help local companies compete, while also enhancing our students’ education through real-world research opportunities.”

Research funding allows the College to partner with SMEs in the region to conduct projects and services, which provide innovative solutions for industry. These include producing and testing prototypes, evaluating new technologies, and developing new or improved products and processes. NC Research & Innovation conducts applied research, technical services and business and commercialization solutions with industry partners through its Agriculture & Environment Innovation Centre, Walker Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre, and Canadian Food & Wine Institute Innovation Centre.

Niagara College also administers the funding for two multi-institutional research networks, including the Southern Ontario Network for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation (SONAMI), and the Greenhouse Technology Network (GTN).

The College’s innovative solutions have helped one company commercialize Canada’s first non-alcoholic gin product following a product development research project with NC’s Canadian Food & Wine Institute Innovation Centre and industry partner DistillX Beverages Inc. Now sold in 20 stores, as well as online, Sobrii Ø-Gin (zero gin) has since received praise in national print, TV and radio media this past year.

“Expertise from Niagara College’s Research & Innovation division was instrumental to being able to sell a product that was not only superior tasting, but something I can commercially scale and replicate safely,” said DistillX president Bob Huitema. “I think it’s important to support local academic and manufacturing resources as this is a ‘made-in-Canada’ initiative.”

In the annual Canada’s Innovation Leaders publication – which includes a comprehensive listing of all categories, analysis and insight – its theme delves into how academic institutions have helped Canada combat the pandemic. At NC’s Walker Advanced Manufacturing Centre, researchers produced a total of 37,000 licensed face shields, nearly half of which went to the Niagara Health System, and close to 20,000 shields were donated to other essential workers and community members throughout the province.

NC’s award-winning Research & Innovation division administers research funding support from various regional, provincial and federal agencies. Students and graduates are hired to work alongside faculty researchers and assist industry partners with leaping forward in the marketplace. Students come from a variety of the College’s programs, such as Mechanical Engineering Technology, Culinary Innovation and Food Technology, Business Administration – Marketing, and Computer Programmer.

Research Infosource annually compiles listings of the Top 50 research universities, corporate R&D spenders, and research hospitals. This is the seventh year a list has been released for the Top 50 research colleges in Canada. For more information on the Top 50 list, visit researchinfosource.com.

Niagara College offers more than 130 diploma, bachelor degree and advanced level programs; as well as more than 600 credit, vocational and general interest Part-Time Studies courses. Areas of specialization include food and wine sciences, advanced technology, media, applied health and community safety, supported by unique learning enterprises in food, wine, beer, distilling, horticulture and esthetics. For more information visit niagaracollege.ca.

 

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Media inquires, please contact:

Michael Wales
Manager, Corporate Communications
Cell: 905-328-4101
[email protected]

 

Julie Greco
Communications Consultant
Cell: 905-328-2532
[email protected]

 

Niagara College looks forward to training more aspiring personal support workers after the province’s unveiling of a new, accelerated PSW program today.

The new program significantly expands training opportunities at Niagara so that participants can graduate with full credentials within five months (20 consecutive weeks) and help fill demand for more PSWs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The College will begin accepting applications in early March for programs starting May 10 and June 14.

“We welcome this ministerial announcement, which allows us to further support our local community partners in the training and education of PSWs,” said Carolyn Triemstra, Niagara College’s dean of Health and Community Studies. “Niagara College has a long history of providing high quality, hands-on training for Personal Support Workers through our School of Nursing and Personal Support Worker Studies. We’re well-positioned to leverage this important initiative to educate highly-trained, much-needed PSWs.”

This new rapid training program fulfills professional requirements by increasing the number of study hours per week using online and in-person learning. Students will complete courses online and participate in labs on campus or in care settings. The program will provide further hands-on learning by offering volunteer opportunities early in the program and paid work placements after three months of enrolment. All in, students will have 300 hours of practical experience when they graduate.

Tuition and ancillary fees will be fully funded for program participants. There will also be some financial support for textbooks, uniforms, transit and vaccinations. Students already enrolled in a PSW training program will receive $2,000 in tuition assistance.

Participants in the Niagara College accelerated program will graduate with two additional certificates: Managing Food Safety, which focuses on safe food preparation; and Gentle Persuasive Approach focused on caring for individuals with dementia and other cognitive diseases.

PSWs are skilled and compassionate health care providers who help some of the most vulnerable populations with physical and psychosocial challenges at all stages of life. Standard PSW programs offered at Niagara take eight months to complete.

“Personal support workers have been frontline heroes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, providing critical care to those who most need it right now,” said Sean Kennedy, Niagara College president. “Niagara College is proud to collaborate with the province to increase access to education and training for much-needed PSWs.”

 

Visit niagaracollege.ca/nursing/programs/psw-accelerated-draft/ to learn more.

Missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people (MMIWG2S+) will be remembered by the Brock University and Niagara College communities during a weeklong display of red dresses and through several virtual events from Monday, Feb. 8 to Sunday, Feb. 14.

The REDress Project, which involves the hanging of red dresses in public spaces, began as an art installation by Métis artist Jamie Black first displayed at the University of Winnipeg in 2011 and has since been replicated in communities across Canada. The empty red dresses are meant to signify the loss of thousands of Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit, lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (2SLGTBQQIA) people over the past 40 years to colonial violence.

Since 2019, Brock University has hosted an installation of red dresses around campus and a public event raising awareness about MMIWG2S+ organized around Feb. 14 in solidarity with the annual Women’s Memorial March held in Vancouver since 1991.

Brock’s Acting Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement, Robyn Bourgeois said continuing to raise awareness of the longstanding injustices the week discusses was of critical importance.

“Violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGTBQQIA people has always been a part of colonialism in Canada, and it continues to be a part of Canadian society because Canada remains a colonial country,” she said. “While Canada undertook a formal inquiry into this violence, the government has yet to respond to its findings and, more importantly, take action to protect Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGTBQQIA people from violence. This inaction comes with an extraordinary cost for Indigenous Peoples.”

Along with an array of virtual events to further raise awareness, this year will see red dresses hung at Brock University and Niagara College, the latter of which is participating in the initiative for the first time. Dresses will be hung outside at the University’s main campus and the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, and at Niagara College’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Welland Campus — each including an attached note with information about the project to help increase awareness. The College community is encouraged to share photos of themselves tying a red ribbon to a tree to honour the MMIWG via social media.

“Being a part of the REDress Project with our partners at Brock University and having the opportunity to display the red dresses on our campuses is very meaningful to the Niagara College community. It will offer a striking visual reminder in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day and Family Day that each and every missing and murdered Indigenous woman and girl was loved,” said Lianne Gagnon, Director, Student Services, Niagara College.

“The important issue of MMIWG is in the hearts and minds for all of us at Indigenous Education, and supporting the LGBTQ2S+ community is a vital component of our core NC values to ensure a safe, diverse and inclusive place for all. We hope that our involvement will further engage our College and the public to learn more.”

Bourgeois said the partnership with Niagara College showed awareness of the issue was growing.

“I’m so excited this year’s REDress event is a collaboration between Niagara College and Brock University,” she said. “Partnership and collaboration are the cornerstones of success, and I’m so pleased we can work together to raises awareness about MMIWG2S+.”

Along with the existing red dress display and participating in the virtual events, community members are also encouraged to hang a red dress where they are (for example, in a window or outside) for the week and to send a photo of the dress to [email protected] to be part of a virtual display.

By hanging red dresses, participating virtually and taking time to learn about ongoing injustices, Bourgeois said participants can contribute to appropriate remembrance and necessary changes in policy going forward.

“We need events like this because the work isn’t done,” she said. “Not only do we need space to remember MMIWG2S+, we also need to continue to press this issue and demand justice for MMIWG2S+, their families and Indigenous communities generally. We cannot be silent as long as this violence continues.”

The REDress initiative is sponsored and supported by Brock University’s Human Rights and Equity Office, Social Justice Centre, Sexual Violence Prevention Committee, Faculty of Social Sciences Dean’s Discretionary Fund and Office of the Vice-Provost, Indigenous Engagement; and Niagara College’s Facilities Management and Indigenous Education. That support will allow virtual events for REDress 2021 (listed below) to run from Monday, Feb. 8 to Friday, Feb. 12.

Both the Brock and Niagara College communities, as well as the public, are encouraged to attend the virtual events to learn more about the REDress Project, the MMIWG inquiry and the impacts the issue is having in Niagara.

Families of MMIWG

Monday, Feb. 8 from 2 to 4 p.m.

To launch REDress week, we are centring the stories of families of MMIWG. Community member Linda John will share her family’s experiences.

To attend the event, please visit Brock’s REDress website.

2SLGTBQQIA + MMIWG

Tuesday, Feb. 9 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

This session highlights the experiences of 2SLGTBQQIA and features panelist Nenookaasi Ogichidaa.

To attend the event, please visit Brock’s REDress website.

Brock’s Decolonial Reading Circle hosts Helen Knott

Wednesday, Feb. 10 from 7 to 9 p.m.

Brock’s Decolonial Reading Circle (DRC) will host author Helen Knott to discuss her memoir, In My Own Moccasins: A Memoir of Resilience.

To attend this event, please email Bourgeois at [email protected] to be added to the DRC email list and receive link information.

Men, Masculinity and MMIWG

Thursday, Feb. 11 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

This panel discussion considers the role of Indigenous men in addressing the issue of MMIWG2S+. It features a panel of prominent Indigenous men: former CFL player JR LaRose, journalist Sean Vanderklis and filmmaker Nick Printup.

To attend the event, please visit Brock’s REDress website.

Our Sisters in Spirit Gala

Friday, Feb. 12 from 7 to 9 p.m.

A gala film screening of Brock student and NC alumnus (2015) Nick Printup’s film Our Sisters in Spirit. Printup created the film as a student in NC’s Broadcasting — Radio, Television and Film program to explore the question of calling a national public inquiry into Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director. The event will be opened by Fallon Farinacci, a Métis woman who served as a member of the National Family Advisory Council for the National Inquiry into MMIWG2S+. To attend the event, please visit Brock’s REDress website.

 

Media inquiries, please contact:

 

Julie Greco

Communications Consultant

Niagara College

905-328-2532

[email protected]

 

Dan Dakin,

Manager Communications and Media Relations

Brock University

905-347-1970

[email protected]