Niagara College’s Career Services and Community Employment Services teams will host the College’s first-ever Virtual Career Fair on Wednesday, February 17 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Current students, alumni and community residents are welcome to attend the online event to explore job opportunities, share resumes and meet with employers relevant to their program or experience who are recruiting for available positions.

While NC has moved its annual Career Fair online this year, the new format provides an opportunity for job seekers to network with a broad range of organizations in a virtual setting.

“We’re really encouraging our students, grads, and community members to participate in our Career Fair as an opportunity to virtually connect with employers from the Niagara area and beyond,” said Dina Fox, NC’s associate director, Student Engagement, Academic Advisement and Career Services. “Our Career Services team, along with our colleagues from Community Employment Services, is looking forward to facilitating those connections for participants in the current world of work.”

Using an interactive online platform, employers will set up virtual booths and host one-on-one and open group sessions with job seekers in real-time. The one-on-one sessions can be booked in advance and spots are limited, so job seekers are encouraged to visit the Virtual Career Fair website early to browse through a list of employers, their opportunities and available time slots. Participants are also required to register, free of charge, and create a profile, where they can upload their resume for employers to review prior to Feb. 17.

So far, more than 40 employers have registered for the event, representing a variety of industries including community services, hospitality, policing, healthcare, manufacturing, and various business-focused areas in business solutions, software, engineering and operations. Registration is open for interested employers until February 5 at careerfair.niagaracollege.ca/registration.

“Meeting and interviewing with potential employers virtually is the new reality for those currently searching for work during COVID-19,” said Rebecca Nicholls, manager, Community Employment Programs and Services. “Attending Virtual Career Fair is the perfect opportunity for job seekers to gain confidence interacting with employers online, while for employers, it’s a chance to continue searching for talent as they adapt their recruiting methods.”

Since the connections made at NC’s Career Fairs can lead to real opportunities, including on-the-spot job offers, NC is also helping students and community residents prepare for the experience to help them put their best foot forward on Feb. 17.

Leading up to the event, the Career Services team is offering a variety of sessions for NC students and recent grads including resume review sessions, virtual interview practice tutorials, and Virtual Career Fair 101 sessions. A list of offerings is available at careerfair.niagaracollege.ca/prep-events.

Community Employment Services provides similar support to all NC alumni and community residents through interview and resume workshops and open drop-in sessions. Their website lists current workshops and resources.

Throughout the year, NC’s Career Services department offers students a full suite of employment services, including job search resources and coaching, resume and cover letter reviews, interview practice, and workshops. It also helps to connect employers with students seeking part-time, seasonal, or co-op work experiences, or new graduates seeking employment. Employers are encouraged to visit mycareer.niagaracollege.ca for information on how to post an opportunity or to find out more about how the Career Services team can support your hiring needs.

Funded through the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities’ Employment Ontario, NC’s Community Employment Services provides support for individuals seeking employment or training; employment related workshops, job postings and job search resources; and assistance to employers to meet their hiring needs. COVID-19-specific help for both job seekers and employers is also available. Services are currently available virtually on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visit www.niagaracollege.ca/ces to learn more.

Niagara College offers more than 150 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 inquiries, please contact:

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

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

A global pandemic doesn’t mean ‘game over’ for Niagara game students, when it comes to participating in the world’s largest annual game creation event.

Game students and alumni alike are ready to power up for this year’s Global Game Jam, a 48-hour game development challenge, which will be held virtually from January 29-31.

This will be the sixth consecutive year that NC will be an official ‘site’ for Global Game Jam, which takes place annually in hundreds of locations around the world. Typically, the event brings students and alumni to the College’s Welland Campus to create a video game in just one weekend – with sleeping bags and plenty of snacks in tow to fuel their creative buzz. The 2021 event however, will be the first time NC is hosting the event virtually.

“This event brings out the spirit of collaboration, connection and creativity of our game students and alumni as they join game developers from around the world and apply their skills in new innovative ways,” said Linda Roote, associate dean, NC’s School of Media Studies. “We are proud of our game development community for continuing their tradition of participating in the Global Game Jam remotely during these extraordinary times, and thank organizer Tom Brown for championing this outstanding experience for our students.”

Game professor and Game Development alumnus Tom Brown has been organizing the Global Game Jam at NC since 2016. He noted that it presents a valuable opportunity to bring students from all of the College’s game programs together – including NC’s Game Development program as well as joint NC-Brock programs: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Game Design and Bachelor of Science (Honours) Game Programming. Students have a chance to work together, create new games for their portfolio and polish their technical skills. They are also able to collaborate and network with the several program alumni who return to their alma mater to participate in the event each year.

While game programs are currently being delivered remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown felt it was vital to continue the tradition of hosting the Global Game Jam this year.

“With COVID-19 restrictions, I think socializing and collaborating online is even more important than ever for interacting between the programs and with alumni,” said Brown. “Through open-access channels and with volunteers chatting to participants as well, we hope it will nurture an atmosphere where participants are open to communicate.”

Students will collaborate with their teams using Discord – a gaming-focused server which enables users communicate directly via voice, video or text. Brown and volunteers will monitor the channels to check in on the teams throughout the Global Game Jam, as they would have on campus throughout the weekend.

Fourth-year Game Design student Kseniia Syromiatova will join her team of classmates from her home in Ukraine for the Global Game Jam this year. While she will miss working with her team on campus for the Global Game Jam as she did for a previous event – as well as access to high-end PCs from the College’s game lab – she values the opportunity to take part online as she pursues her studies remotely for the term.

“It will be a little weird since I’m in a different time zone, but I think we can figure it out,” she said, noting that many game jams are already virtual. “I think game jams are a really fun experience but there’s also a lot I can learn from them. It requires good teamwork and the ability to make good decisions fast.”

When she enrolled in the program, Syromiatova felt that creating games was a fun and fulfilling way to spend time. Now that she is in her fourth year however, she is looking ahead to her future.

“I’m thinking of it more as a career I’ll be able to pursue,” she said. “The ability to create something new out of scratch is still very alluring.”

NC’s Global Game Jam Online will kick off on January 29 at 7 p.m. with opening remarks from Brown and the much-anticipated announcement of this year’s Global Game Jam theme, which all participants must use as a guide for their game development. After the event concludes on January 31 at 5 p.m., games will be posted to the Global Game Jam website and will be available to the public.

No winner is announced for the Global Game Jam – the event is held in the spirit of collaboration, rather than competition.

Global Game Jam is operated by an international non-profit corporation founded in California. For this year’s online event, teams from around the world may participate in any 48-hour period between January 27-31, 2021. For details visit globalgamejam.org.

NC’s three-year intensive Game Development diploma program prepares students for careers in the digital game and interactive media industry. Students learn industry skills such as game programming and scripting, digital art production techniques, game design principles and game production practices.

NC also offers two dual-credential game programs with Brock University. A Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Game Design grants a four-year Bachelor of Arts-Game Design degree from Brock University and a three-year Advanced Diploma in Game Development from NC (completed in four years); a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Game Programming grants a four-year degree from Brock and a three-year Advanced Diploma in Game Development from NC (completed in four years).

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 inquiries, please contact:

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

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

A submitted news release from the Ontario government :

ST. CATHARINES – The Ontario government is investing $6,166,900 in capital funding to help Niagara College and Brock University address their deferred maintenance backlog, undertake critical repairs and upgrades, and provide a modern and safe learning environment for students, faculty and staff. The announcement was made Friday at Brock University in St. Catharines by Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, along with Dr. Gervan Fearon, President of Brock University, and Sean Kennedy, President of Niagara College.

“Well-maintained facilities and the latest in learning tools and equipment are critical parts of a postsecondary education,” said MPP Oosterhoff.

“By investing in postsecondary infrastructure, our government is supporting economic recovery, creating jobs and ensuring students obtain the skills they need for the in-demand jobs of today and tomorrow.”

As part of the Facilities Renewal Program (FRP), the province is providing $2,469,100 to Niagara College and $2,952,800 to Brock University to help address the ongoing need for maintenance, repair, renovation and modernization of existing facilities. The 2020-21 FRP funding represents an increase of more than $1.7 million to Niagara College and $1.4 million to Brock University over and above last year.

As part of the College Equipment and Renewal Fund (CERF), the government is also providing $745,000 in capital funding to help Niagara College purchase and renew instructional equipment and learning resources. For 2020-21, CERF funding can also be used to purchase equipment to support student virtual learning during COVID-19.

“The first-class education students receive at our postsecondary institutions is critical to the future of Ontario, our economy, and the prosperity of our people,” said Ross Romano, Minister of Colleges and Universities.

“That is why our government is committed to providing annual funding that will help our colleges and universities renew and modernize their facilities.”

“This is very important support for Ontario’s critical post-secondary infrastructure, and at Brock we applaud the vision shown by the provincial government for making this investment,” said Dr. Fearon, President of Brock University.

“Having fully up-to-date and effective education and research facilities is crucial to having the graduates and talent that will help Ontario be one of North America’s most competitive and innovative jurisdictions.”

“We are grateful to the province for the important funding that they have announced today,” said Sean Kennedy, President of Niagara College.

“As we look beyond the pandemic, this investment helps to ensure that our learning environments and equipment will support the critical role that Niagara College will play in the economic recovery of our region.”

Quick Facts

• As announced in the 2020 Ontario Budget, Ontario’s Action Plan: Protect, Support, Recover, the Ontario government is making an investment in critical maintenance, repairs, upgrades and renewals of $466 million in capital grants over three years starting in 2020-21 for Ontario’s universities and colleges. This investment under the Facilities Renewal Program (FRP) includes:

• • $144 million in 2020-21, an increase of $73 million over last year,
  • $144 million in 2021-22, and
  • $178 million in 2022-23.

• In addition to the $144 million investment in FRP funding for 2020-21, the Ontario government is investing $20 million through the College Equipment and Renewal Fund (CERF) to help Ontario colleges purchase and renew instructional equipment and learning resources.

• Established in 1986, the FRP provides annual funding to assist universities and colleges with renewing and modernizing their campuses through the repair, renovation and alteration of existing facilities.

• Established in 2002, the CERF provides annual funding to help publicly-assisted colleges acquire and renew instructional equipment and learning resources.

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Media Contact | [email protected]

Staff and students at the Niagara College Teaching Brewery are clinking beer steins this week after three student-made beers medalled at the U.S. Open Beer Championships, including winning gold.

The trio of beers that were awarded honours at the competition, which drew 6,000 entries from throughout North America, are:

• Gold for Beer 101 Bock in the Bock category;
• Silver for Beer 101 Strong in the Old Ale category;
• Silver for Beer 101 Bitter in the Bitter category.

Both the Beer 101 Bitter and Strong have consistently medalled at the U.S. Open Beer Championships over the past eight years. This is the third medal this year for the Beer 101 Bock, which also scored a gold at the Ontario Brewing Awards and silver at the Canadian Brewing Awards earlier this fall.

“This is a significant accomplishment for students and staff at the Niagara College Teaching Brewery,” said Steve Gill, general manager of NC’s Learning Enterprises. “Our beers have performed well at competitions this year attesting to the quality of the applied education we offer at the college and to our students’ abilities to make some of the best beers in North America year after year.”

College Brewmaster Jon Downing noted that students in the Brewmaster and Brewery Operations program mastered the key characteristics judges seek when choosing winning beers in a competition.

“Students are learning how to make consistent, high-quality beer and they’re knocking it out of the park,” Downing said. “Quality and consistency are what the judges look for, and these beers have it. And with the Bock, we just nailed the recipe this year.”

The U.S. Open Beer Championships is the second-largest competition in North America and the only one to include suds from both professional and home brewers. Judges from the U.S. and Canada select winners in blind tastings, knowing only the categories, not the names or locations of beers competing.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, judging was held in both the U.S. and Canada.

Competition Director Dow Scoggins said Niagara students don’t just perform well at the competition while enrolled in school. They continue to do so after graduation.

He noted NC alumnus Jared Lewinski, who’s now the head brewer at Listermann Brewing Company in Cincinnati, produced four beers that medalled this year, including a gold in the nut beer category. 

Another alumnus, Henriques Soares, who came from Brazil to study in the program, saw two of his beers for Tire Shack Brewing Co. in Moncton, N.B., medal, including a gold in the Gose category. 

“One of the important things about Niagara College is the students do well there, but they also medal outside the College,” Scoggins said. “The No. 1 thing is we’re very big on clean beers with no alcohol taste. That speaks to the quality of brewing and the brewery at Niagara College.”

The award-winning beers are sold in 473-millilitre cans, which are available for purchase at the Wine Visitor + Education Centre, located at the College’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Sales of the brews support student education. 

NC’s Brewmaster and Brewery Operations Management program was launched in 2010 as the first of its kind in Canada. The award-winning, two-year program offers extensive hands-on training at an on-site, state-of-the-art Teaching Brewery to prepare students for employment in the expanding brewery, microbrewery and brewpub industries. Located at the College’s Daniel J. Patterson in Niagara-on-the-Lake, students learn from award-winning faculty and have access to on-site hop yard and local farm products to brew a full range of beer styles. Visit ncteachingbrewery.ca/

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 inquiries, please contact:

Michael Wales
Manager, Corporate Communications

Cell: 905-328-4101
[email protected]

Julie Greco

Communications Consultant

Cell: 905-328-2532

[email protected]

On the heels of Treaties Recognition Week, Niagara College is hosting its first-ever Living Library event to help educate the community about the historical and cultural significance of treaties, and the role they continue to play in the lives of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Ontario.

We Are All Treaty People, a free online event hosted by NC’s Indigenous Education department and the Library and Learning Commons in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Indigenous Affairs, will be held on Tuesday, December 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. and the community is invited to join the live remote conversation via Zoom.

NC’s director of Student Services Lianne Gagnon noted that the event provides a learning opportunity for the College community, as well as the broader public.

“Niagara College has a strong partnership with the Indigenous community and we value this relationship greatly,” said Gagnon. “Part of this commitment is welcoming opportunities that provide meaningful dialogue about Indigenous history and traditions to support cultural connections for our Indigenous students and education for anyone who is willing to learn.”

The event features guest speakers Karl Dockstader and Sean Vanderklis, recipients of the 2020 Canadian Journalism Foundation’s CBC Indigenous Fellowship Award and co-hosts of the Indigenous-focused One Dish, One Mic radio program, which airs weekly on Newstalk 610 CKTB, who will offer an in-depth discussion about treaties, including the local importance of the Treaty of Niagara.

“In December 2015, when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its Calls to Action, education was at the centre,” said Vanderklis. “We are all treaty people is intended to do just that, educate.”

Drawing on recent events, Vanderklis also noted, “Canadians have witnessed three crucial events this year; the Wet’suwet’en and the Mi’kmaq asserting their inherent rights, and members of Six Nations of the Grand River fighting for their rights to be recognized.”

“This presentation will focus on the collective responsibilities we have to honour the treaties that could have prevented these events from happening,” he said.

NC’s Living Library event is part of a broader initiative from the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs that aims to educate students and Ontario residents about the importance of treaties during Treaties Recognition Week in November. The Ministry’s Living Library program provides an opportunity for students and members of the public to learn more about treaty rights and relationships and receive teachings from Indigenous Elders and knowledge keepers about why treaties matter to all Ontarians. Since 2016, the Ministry has organized more than 700 Living Library events.

This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Ministry encouraged partners of the Ontario Library Association, which NC is a member of, to host their own Living Library events, virtually.

Gagnon encourages the broader community to participate, and hear from diverse Indigenous perspectives.

“Our Living Library event is a wonderful opportunity for all NC students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the community, to deepen their knowledge about Indigenous history and treaties right here in Niagara,” she said. “We look forward to hearing from Karl and Sean, who will offer a rich conversation to help facilitate a greater understanding of this important topic.”

Registration is required for the event. Visit the ncLibraries and Learning Commons website here for further details and to register.

About One Dish, One Mic

The winners of the 2020 Canadian Journalism Foundation’s CBC Indigenous Fellowship, hosts Sean Vanderklis and Karl Dockstader aim to highlight Indigenous Excellence and bring to light issues that are affecting Indigenous People.

Vanderklis is Mississauga of the Curve Lake First Nation who lives in St. Catharines, while Dockstader is a Haudenosaunee member of the Oneida, Bear Clan living in Niagara Falls. Both have worked as social service providers before launching their podcast, now broadcast – One Dish, One Mic. The radio program is live every Sunday from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Niagara’s house of talk, Newstalk AM 610 CKTB.

Niagara College offers more than 150 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 inquiries, please contact:

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

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