With summer just around the corner, spring is in full swing! Here is Campus Manitoba’s post-secondary news roundup, featuring stories and events from our seven partner institutions.

UWinnipeg Grad Student Partners with City to Map Mosquito Dispersal Patterns

Watch out mosquitoes – your days are numbered!

The City of Winnipeg is teaming up with Martine Balcaen, a UWinnipeg graduate student, working on her thesis of mosquito spatial dispersal patterns.

Balcaen, a second-year student in the Master of Science in Bioscience, Technology and Public Policy program believes landscape characteristics contribute to mosquito population and that fogging schedules should be determined by more than trap counts.  Ultimately, Balcaen wants to assist the city in their control efforts and provide a strategy that targets mosquitoes based on their relationship to different landscapes.  “What I’m looking at is an end-of-pipe solution, so we’re acknowledging the fact that we can’t get rid of all the breeding sites,” she says. “So what my project is looking at is if we do have to spray, we can spray the areas where we can hit them the hardest.”

Assiniboine Instructor, Former Winnipeg Chief of Police Receives Award for Work on First Nations Safety Officer Program 

Jack Ewatski, a coordinator and instructor at Assiniboine Community College (ACC) and current board of governors member, received an award for his work with the First Nations Safety Officer program (FNSO). The program was initiated by ACC to provide training for safety officers in rural and remote First Nations communities.

“I wanted to use some of the experiences I had in policing to give back to the next generation of students seeking out a career in this field,” said Ewatski. “The program is very positive and having individuals from those communities receive a level of training to go back into those communities is a positive as well.”

The program has trained more than 200 graduates, who represent regions throughout the province. Working closely with local law enforcement, the safety officers are responsible for crime prevention, enforcing band bylaws and some specific provincial laws.

Canada and Manitoba Invest in Research at Canadian Mennonite University

Government Support Helps RRC Reach New Heights in Aviation and Aeronautics Training

With support from the Province of Manitoba, Red River College has acquired the Stevenson Aviation Campus.  The purchase of the previously leased space allows for agility in adaptation and growth within the aviation and aeronautics program.

“As one of the largest aerospace composite manufacturers in Canada, our partnership and collaboration with the College has been imperative in advancing our role in the global aerospace industry. We are proud to celebrate this important milestone with you today, and a bright future ahead,” says Kim Westenskow, general manager of Boeing Canada Winnipeg.

The Stevenson Aviation Campus is located near James Richardson International Airport. Diploma programs are available for aircraft maintenance engineers, aerospace manufacturing technicians and gas turbine engine repair. Each year, RRC trains about 400 students in these programs.

Biodegradable Plastic Research Wins Sanofi Biogenius Provincial Science Competition at the UofM

This year’s prestigious Sanofi Biogenius Canada (SBC) Manitoba competition took place at Fort Garry campus. Grade 12 Grant Park High School student, Jacob Harvey, took home top honours for his research project examining the production of biodegradable, environmentally-friendly plastic.

The competition, which has produced many promising scientific breakthroughs, pairs students with academic mentors to engage in real-world research projects. “The level of scientific research accomplished by the students in this competition is simply inspiring,”said Niven Al-Khoury, President and CEO of Sanofi Canada.

College Announces New Programs, Positions to Advance Indigenous Education in Manitoba 

This fall, Red River College will launch five new and enhanced programs for Indigenous learners, aimed at strategically growing its student population and paving a new path forward for Indigenous Education.

“Red River College is proud to be a key signatory to the Manitoba Collaborative Indigenous Education Blueprint, and we are fully committed to providing the student-centred and culturally relevant supports necessary to help aspiring students successfully transition from community to classroom to career,” says Rebecca Chartrand, RRC’s Executive Director, Indigenous Strategy.

NOSM and the University of Manitoba Max Rady College of Medicine Announce Collaboration Agreement 

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba (U of M) have signed a collaboration agreement. The agreement will facilitate development of medical education programs that are responsive and accountable to patients in underserved, rural areas.

“This collaboration agreement between the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and the University of Manitoba Max Rady College Of Medicine will allow us to pursue education and research initiatives to maximize the positive impact our organizations are having on the populations we serve,” says Dr. Roger Strasser, NOSM Dean.

 

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Campus Manitoba is a consortium of Manitoba’s public post-secondary institutions. 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.