News

Algonquin College to bestow degrees and awards at Convocation

Five community leaders to address graduates at Canadian Tire Centre

For Immediate Release

June 17, 2024, Ottawa, Ont. — Steve Barkhouse, Graham Bird, Tomson Highway, Dipak Roy and Chris Phillips will be front and centre this week as they are honoured at the Algonquin College Ottawa Campus Convocation Ceremony at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Four will be awarded honorary degrees and the fifth, Steve Barkhouse, will receive the Fellowship Award. This is the highest honour for Algonquin College and has only been previously presented once in its history. Continue reading →

“Kwey” shares vocabulary, phrases and information as part of Indigenous Heritage Month

June 3, 2024, Ottawa, ON – As part of its commitment to embracing the traditional Anishinàbe Algonquin language on campus, Algonquin College has created an Indigenous language video series to share common words and sayings with the College community.

The video series is called Kwey, an Algonquin greeting that means hello.

“It is fitting we say kwey as we introduce employees and learners to a series of videos we’re sharing over the next month to familiarize everyone with vocabulary, expressions and phrases in the Anishinàbe Algonquin language, the traditional language of this region,” said Anita Tenasco, Director, Indigenous Initiatives at Algonquin College. Continue reading →

Chris Phillips is the longest-serving player in Ottawa Senators franchise history and an Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame inductee. Phillips’ professional accomplishments are abundant. He played for Team Canada at the 1996 and 1997 World Juniors, won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year, and the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy for top defenceman. Phillips assisted the Senators in reaching the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, and he was the longest serving alternate captain for the Senators for 10 seasons. His jersey number, #4, was retired by the team in 2019.

In addition to his accomplishments as a professional athlete, Phillips put his business mind to action in 2012 when he became the co-owner of Big Rig, a microbrewery in Ottawa, which he has since sold. In 2014, his Big Rig Black IPA beer won a gold medal at the Ontario Brewing Awards. Continue reading →

Dipak Roy knows a thing or two about the future of technology.

With engineering degrees from Kolkata’s Jadavpur University and Ottawa’s Carleton University, two tech patents, appearances in more than 30 technical publications and membership in AOC Global’s Electronic Warfare Technology Hall of Fame — the first Canadian to ever receive this prestigious recognition — Roy has made a name for himself as an authority in the electronic defence sector.

A long-time entrepreneur, Roy started his first company, ICS, in 1978, initially operating out of a warehouse basement. With a focus on sonar, radar and communications technologies for the defence market, his company grew to serve in more than 20 countries and win multimillion dollar contracts, including a $50 million sonar upgrade for the United States Navy. Continue reading →

“I learned to appreciate life early because death was a possibility,” said Tomson Highway. His gratitude is evident in his prolific body of work. An impressive wordsmith, Highway is an author, playwright, novelist, songwriter and musician who has enhanced the Canadian literary, music and arts scene for decades.

Continue reading →

The roots of the Bird family run several generations deep in the Ottawa area. Graham Bird has taken that family legacy as an obligation to keep making Ottawa better for future generations. As president and CEO of GBA Group, Bird often says that helping to build Ottawa is a great privilege – to imagine what could be, to work with visionary partners and to achieve that vision together. This aligns with the vision of Algonquin College and the School of Business and Hospitality.

Bird’s work at GBA Group included involvement in several large redevelopments in the Ottawa area and beyond. A few notable projects include the Lansdowne Revitalization Project, World Exchange Plaza, the Shaw Centre, and the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. Currently, GBA Group is engaged in the major New Campus Development of The Ottawa Hospital, a multi-year project comprised of several progressive infrastructure developments. Continue reading →

Community is an important word to Steve Barkhouse. Growing up in a farming community in Stittsville, he was raised by his parents who he described as “exceptional” and who taught him that community did for them, and they did for you. His grandfather and father were both drywallers and builders, so he knew early on that a career in the trades was something he wanted to pursue. “I always knew sitting behind a desk wasn’t for me,” he said. “I knew I wanted to be in the construction industry.”

Those small-town values stayed with him and led him to study at Algonquin College, first in the Architecture program before switching to Business Management. He graduated in 1988, then attended and graduated from Lakehead University with a degree in human resources and industrial relations. All the while he describes his sense of community as being ingrained in him as a part of his fabric and make up. He believes Algonquin College shares those same values. Continue reading →

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OTTAWA — May 22, 2024 – Algonquin College is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with Porter Airlines, marking a significant commitment to enhancing educational and career opportunities in the aviation sector. This new strategic partnership is poised to leverage Porter’s position as a leading provider of air services in Ottawa, with the official signing ceremony that took place on May 21 during the grand unveiling of Porter’s Airlines’ new maintenance facility in Ottawa.

Continue reading →

OTTAWA, May 16, 2024 — Invest Ottawa, lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries, and Algonquin College, today announced a strategic partnership that will enable new agricultural innovation, research and science at the Ottawa Smart Farm powered by AgExpert (Farm Credit Canada’s whole farm management system), located at Area X.O. Building on shared goals, this new partnership will directly support agtech R&D led by researchers, companies and producers, helping to fuel the future adoption of new solutions and their impact on farmers. These emerging innovations will further increase the sustainability, profitability and productivity of producers, and our agriculture sector as a whole. Continue reading →