School of Business & Hospitality

Algonquin College students win Riipen Cross-College Entrepreneurial Challenge

Posted on Friday, April 29th, 2022

OTTAWA (APRIL 29, 2022) – Students from Algonquin College’s Business Management and Entrepreneurship program won top prizes at the Riipen Cross-College Entrepreneurial Challenge on April 29. Student teams from colleges across Ontario took part in the inaugural event. Sponsored by Enactus, HSBC, and RBC, the virtual event invited student teams to present innovative solutions to business challenges for Goodums Food and Riipen. Individual awards, including Most Cohesive Team, Most Engaged and Best Presenter, also went out to College learners.

The teams were coached by Michael Wood, professor in the Business Management and Entrepreneurship program, and Stephen Gagné, professor in the Business Management and Entrepreneurship program and mentor with the Office of Applied Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship.

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Michael Wood Named Alumni of Distinction Business Recipient

Posted on Wednesday, September 22nd, 2021

Every year, Algonquin College celebrates the incredible achievements of its alumni through the Alumni of Distinction Awards. These awards honour the extraordinary contributions our graduates make to the community while achieving career success. Here is a closer look at the Alumni of Distinction – Business recipient Michael Wood. To register for the Alumni of Distinction event, click here.

Former Chief Marketing Officer/Managing Partner, Ottawa Special Events

Travel Counsellor – Class of 1997

From playing rock ’n’ roll in stadiums across North America to appearing before the federal finance committee during the pandemic, Algonquin College Professor Michael Wood has maintained a simple philosophy.

“My whole thing is that kindness matters, and everything happens for a reason. I am really just motivated by people being happy,” said Wood, one of Algonquin’s Alumni of Distinction Award winners for 2021.

After graduating from high school, the only career pursuit that appealed to Wood was becoming a rock guitarist and touring. His parents offered encouragement but wanted him to focus on school first.

“Because there was no music program at Algonquin back then, I went into the Travel and Tourism program. I thought that would be a way to get on a cruise ship and become a musician or learn how to book tours,” said Wood, who graduated in 1997.

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Adam Vettorel Named Alumni of Distinction Apprenticeship Recipient

Posted on Friday, September 17th, 2021

Every year, Algonquin College celebrates the incredible achievements of its alumni through the Alumni of Distinction Awards. These awards honour the extraordinary contributions our graduates make to the community while achieving career success. Here is a closer look at the Alumni of Distinction – Apprenticeship Recipient Adam Vettorel.

Co-Owner and Chef, North & Navy and Cantina Gia

Cook Apprentice, Class of 2007

As a young man, Adam Vettorel’s intended goal was law school. Restaurant jobs were just what he took on to pay the bills along the way.

Vettorel began working in restaurants in high school, and continued working his way up the line while taking a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies at Carleton University and then a second degree in political science. “I loved working in kitchens, and I had a proficiency for it,” he says, “so I was able to pay my way through university without taking out a student loan.”

But as his political science course load grew heavier, Vettorel was compelled to step away from the kitchens. He had a mentor at the time, a lawyer to whom he confided that the kitchen was where his real passion was, not the law. He gave the younger man the life-changing advice he wanted to hear: if he was passionate about cooking, that is what he should pursue.

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Algonquin College helps set Canada’s Table

Posted on Saturday, August 26th, 2017

AC Culinary StudentsAlgonquin College is helping set Canada’s Table, a unique, sold-out culinary experience at which Canadian food and wine will be showcased at a 1000-person, open-air table on Wellington Street on Sunday, Aug. 27.

On Saturday, Aug. 26, the event’s star-studded roster of out-of-town chefs will cook up a storm in Algonquin College’s kitchen labs — the ideal local space to bring their culinary creations to life. Chefs from the School of Hospitality and Tourism will be helping organize the guest chefs. Continue reading →

Syrian refugees take centre stage at special AC grad ceremony

Posted on Thursday, July 20th, 2017

Restaurant International lived up to its name on Wednesday afternoon as it hosted an audience from around the world for a special graduation ceremony.

The ceremony celebrated students graduating from a new course in the School of Hospitality and Tourism that is aimed at new Canadians — all of the students graduating are Syrian refugees. The course is intended to help newcomers to Canada with language training, kitchen skills, workplace safety, and the transition from one culture to another.
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