June 21, 2021
Several colleges and universities are holding virtual gatherings and talks to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day today. Saskatchewan Polytechnic will be hosting several events today, including a pipe ceremony, a performance from Métis musician Jordan Daniels, and Cree Bingo! hosted by Elder Rick Daniels. The University of Calgary will be holding virtual Campfire Chats this afternoon, where attendees will hear from a panel of Traditional Knowledge Keepers moderated by Elissa Twoyoungmen and be able to watch the presentation of a buffalo robe. Lethbridge College will be hosting a virtual event that includes a discussion of the significance of residing on Blackfoot territory and a presentation from William Singer III (Api’soomaahka). Vancouver Island University will be bringing together its community to decorate 215 orange wooden hearts.
Sask Polytech |
UCalgary |
Lethbridge |
VIU (National)
HEC Montréal, Georgian College, St Lawrence College, and Thompson Rivers University have announced new courses. HEC Montréal is launching a MOOC called Introduction to Energy Management Powered by RETScreen, which will give participants information about effectively managing energy to combat climate change. Georgian is offering the Supportive Care Assistant program, a free micro-credential co-designed and developed by Georgian that will prepare students to enter careers in long-term care. Students in the course will complete six weeks of flexible online training and a four-month paid work placement. St Lawrence College has launched a selection of micro-credentials that can be stacked to allow students to earn certificates or serve as pathways in areas such as Logistics, Tourism & Hospitality, and Cybersecurity. TRU has launched a 12-day Trails to Reconciliation course through which students build biking trails while learning about reconciliation.
HEC Montréal |
Barrie360 |
ChooseCornwall.ca |
Sun Peaks (National)
Conestoga College and Wilfrid Laurier University have received the Government of Ontario’s approval to establish a new campus in Milton, ON. Conestoga and WLU will collaborate on the Milton Education Village, which will offer high-demand STEAM programs such as science, health care, engineering, technology, and business. The location will also include space for a new Schlegel Villages long-term care home and potential hospice. “The university is excited about what this new campus will mean for students in the Greater Toronto Area and Halton Region, for The Town of Milton, for the future of work in the province of Ontario and for the university’s growth and community/industry partnerships – especially in the areas of STEAM and planetary health,” said WLU President Deborah MacLatchy.
ON |
Conestoga |
CBC (ON)
Assiniboine Community College has partnered with Prairie Mountain Health to offer a Dietary Aide program. The program is delivered online and takes 18 weeks to complete, with students taking the course at a self-directed pace. Students learn about different diets and food textures, and will be prepared to assist with tasks such as service assembly, production, and distribution. “This program will help train interested learners for a current workforce need,” said Angela Pearen, Program Coordinator with Assiniboine. “In Prairie Mountain Health alone, there are dozens of positions available for part-time, full-time and casual Dietary Aides.”
ACC (MB)
Olds College has launched a Smart Farm network that focuses on sharing information called the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network. The network, which includes Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm in Saskatchewan and the Lakeland College Student-Managed Farm in Alberta, allows farmers, industry, and developers to share data gleaned from sensors that measure soil, climate, and crop conditions across different agricultural zones in order to gain more depth when making evaluations. “Independent validation of ag technologies is critical and so is ensuring that validation is done using more than a single Smart Farm,” said Dr Joy Agnew, AVP of Applied Research at Olds and Principal Investigator for the project. The article says that other smart farms in Canada and around the world will have the opportunity to be linked to the network.
Lakeland |
Olds (AB)
Earlier this summer, the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies announced a partnership with Sustainable Development Technology Canada to create an Indigenous Innovation Accelerator. Through a $3M investment, SIIT and SDTC will work together to empower grassroots Indigenous entrepreneurship. SIIT will accept its first entrepreneurship students in the upcoming 2021-22 academic year. “Partnership is at the heart of what SIIT does” said Riel Bellegarde, President and CEO of SIIT. “Partnering with SDTC to create our Centre for Innovation puts Indigenous entrepreneurs at the centre of empowering our communities’ and sharing their gifts and teaching with the world.”
SIIT |
Facebook (SK)
The Government of Ontario has announced that it will be investing $3.6M into the Indigenous Workplace Development Program, which will support skilled trades training for Indigenous people in Northern Ontario. The funding will provide 150 Indigenous people with free training in a variety of occupations, such as construction craft workers, heavy equipment operators, truck drivers, crane operators, welders, and millwrights to enable them to start careers at the Greenstone Gold Mine. Students in the program will participate in in-class instruction, hands-on learning, and job placements, and can receive financial support for accommodation, transportation, and childcare while they complete the program.
ON (ON )
Confederation College has announced the transformation and re-envisioning of its Native Child and Family Services program into Onajigawin Indigenous Services, a name gifted to the program by Elder Sam Achneepineskum of Marten Falls First Nation. The name change highlights the new direction of the program, which will focus on preparing students to participate in decolonization as they support child well-being. Students in the program will be equipped with knowledge, skills, and culturally safe tools to help those they are working with. “Graduates of the revitalized program will continue the tradition of bringing their wisdom and compassion to their critical work as helpers, while becoming catalysts of change, shaping a better and more hopeful future for us all,” said Confederation President Kathleen Lynch.
Confederation |
CKDR (ON)
Huntington University has announced that it has signed educational partnership agreements with three Peruvian educational institutes: Universidad Nacional Mayor De San Marcos (Lima), Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria (Lima), and Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa (Arequipa). The partnerships, which were signed at the inaugural Peruvian Canadian Institute event, will facilitate collaboration between the institutions. “The relationships built through this Summit, and the resulting exchange of knowledge, have laid a strong foundation for the future of the institute,” said Mary-Liz Warwick, Chair of Huntington’s Board of Regents. “We are very much looking forward to exploring various opportunities for collaboration with our academic partners in the coming months.”
NewsWire |
(ON)
Brandon University has announced that it has added new flags to its campus, including several Indigenous flags. BrandonU now permanently will fly a Treaty Two flag, Métis flag, as well as an All Nations flag in addition to a Canada flag, Manitoba flag, and BrandonU flag. Before raising the flags, the grounds were cleansed and the flags were smudged, and an honour song was performed after the raising. “Representation matters, and seeing Indigenous flags flown side by side up there stirs a lot of pride,” said Chris Lagimodiere, Director of the Indigenous Peoples’ Centre at BrandonU. “This continues to add to the Indigenous influence on campus, such as our seven teachings plaques, and each piece that we add makes all of BU a warmer and more inviting place.”
BrandonU (MB)
rtraction