Manitoba Post-Secondary News Roundup

RRC Polytech hosts in-person Pow Wow for graduating Indigenous students

At the beginning of May, RRC Polytech celebrated Indigenous students with an in-person Pow Wow to celebrate graduation. With the past two years being held virtually, the day-long event featured a traditional pipe ceremony, drumming, dancing, singing, feasting and an Indigenous makers market.

“Nothing can replace celebrating our students in-person and creating these memories that help mark a special moment in their lives and where their cultures are celebrated,” says Fred Meier, President and CEO of RRC Polytech. “Indigenous success is vital to all areas of our College and is just one of the ways we will contribute to the ongoing process of reconciliation. We’re seeing Indigenous students register for this year’s Pow Wow from across all program areas: health, business, trades, and many in between.”

Joint message on the one-year anniversary of the discovery of the first 215 unmarked graves

The following message is from Dr. Catherine Cook, vice-president (Indigenous) at the University of Manitoba and Stephanie Scott, executive director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation

WARNING: Some information in this statement may be distressing. A national Residential School Crisis Line is available for anyone affected: 1-866-925-4419.

In the 365 days since the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc shared their discovery of the remains of 215 children at the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, we have experienced palpable change as a university, as a centre of learning and keeper of truths, and as a country.

When the announcement was first made, the reaction we saw from individuals was one of anger. Anger that they were never taught this history. Anger that the story of Canada was a lie and there is a different truth to be told. Even though Indigenous people have been sharing the atrocities of the residential school system for decades, it took the spirits of 215 lost children to get through to the nation. Read more…

UCN Information Technology Project Trains Indigenous Women for Technology Careers

In 2021, the University College of the North (UCN) launched the first-ever IT training program for women in Northern Manitoba with the aim to lessen the digital and economic divide for Indigenous women in the North. Recently, the project has received additional funding from Future Skills Center to continue operation for the 2022-2023 academic year.

“The Future Skills Centre is committed to accelerating innovative practices in skills development in order to help the squeeze many industries are feeling across Canada,” said Pedro Barata, Executive Director, Future Skills Centre. “These project partners have demonstrated a drive to test, learn and find promising approaches that will help workers, employers and industries adapt and thrive in the economy of the future.”

Assiniboine Opens the Diane Shamray International Education Centre

The Diane Shamray International Education Centre at Assiniboine Community College has officially opened the doors to its newest space. The Centre serves as a central hub for the college’s English as a Second Language programming that work to support international students through to graduation.

“We are delighted to recognize Diane Shamray with the naming of this new space. It is a fitting celebration of the mark she has left here at Assiniboine,” said Mark Frison, president of Assiniboine. “Diane is someone who has been absolutely central in shaping and growing our college into what it is today.”

“I have been very fortunate to have had a long career in education and have witnessed how the growth in international and newcomer students continues to transform Assiniboine College and surrounding communities in a positive way,” said Shamray. “I am incredibly honoured that the college and its Board of Governors felt it fitting to recognize my passion and work at Assiniboine in the naming of this new space on campus.”

Dr. Jenny Heijun Wills curates Asian Heritage Month reading list

May is Asian Heritage Month. Dr. Jenny Heijun Wills, University of Winnipeg award-winning writer and author of Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related: A Memoir, has shared a list of Asian-Canadian creative writing published this year.

“It has been a remarkable year for Asian Canadian publishing, across genres, races, ethnicities, and experiences,” shared Wills. “Below are but a few examples of literary fiction, non-fiction, poetry, genre literature, and literatures written for youths, and more. This is a small sample of what is available, but there is always room and appetite for more!”

See reading list.

Campus Manitoba is a consortium of Manitoba’s public universities and colleges. Through collaborative projects and shared services, we facilitate student mobility and expand access to post-secondary programs for students in Manitoba. In addition to campusmanitoba.ca, our websites include ecoursesmb.ca, setyourcourse.ca, and openedmb.ca.

Looking for more news? Read April’s Post-Secondary News Roundup.