OCNews

Collaboration & Partnerships

Research Innovation Partnership Expo logo
RIPE with opportunity: Join OC for a conference showcasing applied research in the region

April 9, 2021

From proposal writing to hydroponics, chemotherapy to climate change, and early childhood education to engaging with marginalized populations, the region is RIPE with applied research projects and Okanagan College is inviting you to attend its free showcase event to hear about the innovative research projects happening in your own backyard. RIPE (Research, Innovation and Partnerships Expo) is happening on May 4 from 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. as a virtual event, allowing people from across the region to attend. The event is an opportunity for comm...

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OCSU members
Students invest in Health Sciences Centre

April 7, 2021

It’s an investment in future students and community health, and one the Okanagan College Students’ Union (OCSU) says is even more important in light of the ongoing pandemic. OCSU is donating $15,000 to the Okanagan College Foundation’s Our Students, Your Health campaign to complete construction of a new Health Sciences Centre on the Kelowna campus. “It’s always good to invest in education, but the pandemic has really brought to the forefront how important nurses and other health care providers are," says Joseph Welton, OCSU board member. “T...

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FruitSnaps Regional team 2021
OC business students take trio of first-place finishes at Enactus Western Canada Regionals

March 30, 2021

Okanagan College business students enjoyed a fruitful victory at the Enactus Western Canada Regionals, earning three first-place finishes and ensuring their ticket to the National Competition in May. The Regional competition took place last week in a virtual format with teams from a multitude of post-secondary institutions submitting their student-created and student-run initiatives that seek to positively impact communities in a social, economic or environmental way. The award-winning OC Enactus initiative FruitSnaps was entered – and won...

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OC Serves Up
College culinary program supports students facing food insecurity

March 15, 2021

When Mariko Nagata picks up a free lunch at Okanagan College she likens it to a warm hug. The mother of two was laid off during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic giving her a chance to return to school and enrol in the Culinary and Pastry Arts program. Now, she's helping cook healthy meals that not only support her during her studies but a range of fellow students who are facing food insecurity. “It's nice to be able to access this help and the food is always so beautifully presented,” says Nagata. “I think it makes a difference in a lot ...

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Ford donation to OC
Okanagan College automotive program receives donation from Ford of Canada and Orchard Ford

March 8, 2021

Contribution of a 2020 Ford F-150 will allow students to gain valuable hands-on experience Automotive trades students at Okanagan College are getting a big boost for their education with the arrival of a shiny new training tool on which they can hone their skills. Ford of Canada and Orchard Ford are donating a 2020 Ford F-150 to the College to be used by students in its automotive service training programs. The vehicle has arrived at the Kelowna campus and will be put to good use in the shop immediately, notes Dean of Trades Steve Moores. “...

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Kelowna campus conceptual rendering
Student housing initiative announcement

March 5, 2021

To the Okanagan College community, Earlier today, B.C. Premier John Horgan, Vernon-Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu, and OC President Jim Hamilton – joined by Business Administration student Evan Smith – announced an important student housing initiative that will see 376 more beds added to the College’s housing stock. The project involves buildings in Kelowna (216 beds), Vernon (100 beds) and Salmon Arm (60 beds) and will cost a total of $67.5 million, with the province contribution $36.3 million in grants, another $30.2 million in loans and O...

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Roen Janyk
Open education efforts continue to enhance access for OC students

February 25, 2021

Thanks to a grant from BCcampus, over the next several months Okanagan College will be adding to its strong track record for promoting and supporting open education practices, including the creation, use and adaptation of open educational resources (OER). The $10,000 grant is empowering project lead Roën Janyk, Web Services Librarian, and a group of OC employees and student union representatives who have been meeting for the past several years, to focus their efforts on honing an open education strategy and action plan for the College. “T...

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Austin MacArthur
Indigenous Awards drives support for OC students

February 24, 2021

Kamloops’ Austin MacArthur moved to Kelowna to attend Okanagan College’s Automotive Service Technician program to unlock a lifelong dream of becoming a mechanic – a dream fueled in part by the Irving K. Barber BC Scholarship Society’s Indigenous Student awards. MacArthur is one of over 600 BC Indigenous students who shared more than $2.2 million in awards from the Society in support of post-secondary studies. The Society’s Indigenous Award program is one of six award programs and was created to assist in removing barriers to higher educatio...

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App Project
College and Monashee applied research projects seeks participants

February 16, 2021

An applied research project by Okanagan College and Monashee Health Collective, a local allied health professional clinic, is in need of participants to help guide the creation of a cutting-edge new tool to enhance communication between patients and health care professionals. Funded by a grant from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the goal of the project is to launch a prototype holistic wellness app. “We are looking for people to participate in this research project to investigate the impact of a new health a...

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Xiaochen Yang, OC School of Business student
OC students get primed for financial success

February 16, 2021

A local partnership with a non-profit company, Launch Financial Education Society (Launch Okanagan), is powering up to help Okanagan College students boost their financial literacy this spring. Starting March 2, OC students will benefit from a free financial literacy program hosted online by Launch Okanagan. The Primer for Life series is an interactive, five-week program that offers students a chance to learn about their relationship with money, consumerism, budgeting, saving and credit. A number of Okanagan College Business students are al...

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Medical Cannabis
OC partners with Durham and NorQuest Colleges to offer Medical Cannabis Essentials for Health Professionals

January 20, 2021

New course for health care providers explores rapidly-evolving medical cannabis use in Canada Okanagan College is partnering with Durham College (DC) in Oshawa, ON and NorQuest College in Edmonton, Alta. to deliver a two-day Medical Cannabis Essentials for Health Professionals course. Facilitated live online over the weekend of Feb. 6 and 7, this unique introductory course is aimed at new and experienced health care professionals across Canada seeking to better understand medical cannabis in the context of client-centered care. “Since addi...

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Beverlie Dietze, Director, Learning and Applied Research
From Colleges to Communities: Lawson Foundation supports early childhood education project at OC and partner PSEs

January 19, 2021

A major investment by the Lawson Foundation will support researchers from Okanagan College and three partnering institutions in their innovative approach to advancing outdoor early learning and teaching across Canada. Okanagan College has received a grant of $750,000 for a collaborative project with Bow Valley College, New Brunswick Community College and Saskatchewan Polytechnic called Outdoor Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education: From Colleges to Communities. This goal of the three-year project is to demonstrate a model of outdoor pedago...

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Zahra Salon and Spa team
Zahra Salon takes a cut for College fundraiser

December 18, 2020

Experience in – and experience of – health care services has led management of Zahra Salon and Spa to turn their attention until the end of January to supporting the education of health care professionals at Okanagan College. Zahra Salon will be inviting its customers to make a holiday or New Year donation to the College’s Our Students Your Health campaign, along with selling raffle tickets for a gift basket valued at $1,000. The salon’s medical spa will also be donating 10 per cent of all laser treatments services to the campaign during th...

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Masked elementary student with a hat on picks an apple in an orchard
Enactus’ FruitSnaps transitions into social enterprise

December 8, 2020

The award-winning Enactus initiative FruitSnaps is now running as a social enterprise after the student-run team recently launched apple juice boxes. The direct result of an abundant number of apples over the fall semester, the five-litre boxes of fresh apple juice are now available locally and online for purchase. All proceeds go back into the program and help to keep it sustainable. OC alumni, staff and community members were among the first people who showed up to help the Enactus team pick the approximately 13,000 pounds of apples that ...

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Screenshot of five panelists talking on a call
OC’s Thurnheer sheds light on lessons from the pandemic in CPHR virtual roundtable

December 8, 2020

Laura Thurnheer, Okanagan College’s Associate Dean of Science, Technology and Health, was one of four panelists on the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) Canada virtual roundtable on Dec. 1. Titled, “In Conversation with HR Leaders,” the session saw human resources specialists from across Canada discuss next steps on workplace recovery from the pandemic, asking crucial questions around changes made in light of the pandemic, mental health and attracting and engaging talent. With close to 300 attendees, the event also gave thos...

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United Against Violence Against Women Online Candlelight Vigil
OC joins Vernon and Salmon Arm communities to hold vigil against violence against women

December 1, 2020

Many activities stopped as a result of the 2020 pandemic. Violence against women, however, is not one of them. This is why communities in the Okanagan and Shuswap are paying special attention to the 31st anniversary of the École Polytechnique Massacre, in addition to the ongoing cases of missing women from the region, with a Virtual Candlelight Vigil on Dec. 6 co-hosted by a network of organizations and volunteers. “The SAFE Society has been partnering with Okanagan College Students’ Union and Aboriginal Services for over a decade to offer ...

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