DARE District

Inaugural Global Conference on Indigenizing Entrepreneurship

Posted on Thursday, May 31st, 2018

Experts from Canada and around the world will gather in Ottawa to share how Indigenous values, histories, and ways of knowing can transform entrepreneurial thinking.

Ottawa, ON – May 31, 2018 — Algonquin College is pleased to host the first Global Conference on Indigenizing Entrepreneurship (GCIE), a unique learning and networking opportunity that frames the question, “What is Indigenous entrepreneurship?”

Held at the Delta Ottawa City Centre Hotel from June 3 to 5, 2018, the conference coincides with the May 2018 opening of Algonquin College’s DARE District — a centre for Discovery, Applied Research & Entrepreneurship that weaves Indigenous knowledge and culture throughout.

Ron McLester, Executive Director of Truth, Reconciliation and Indigenization at Algonquin College, is excited to see Indigenous knowledge and teaching methods being woven into the entrepreneurial mindset.

“Entrepreneurship is seen as my investment, my risk, my reward,” he explains. “Indigenized entrepreneurship is about community — our investment, our risk, our reward. It’s me to we.”

The conference will assemble experts from across Canada and around the world to share best practices, compelling stories, and crucial insights regarding Indigenous entrepreneurship.

During the conference, attendees are invited to share ideas with pre-eminent figures in Indigenous studies and entrepreneurship, including JP Gladu, Rick Colbourne, Ella Henry, Shyra Barberstock, Carol Anne Hilton, Keith Henry, Leo Dana, and more.

“It’s all about supporting business and management in allowing Indigenous participation in entrepreneurial opportunities. This conference is an exciting step in that process,” says Rick Colbourne, Fulbright Fellow in Indigenous Entrepreneurship and Adjunct Professor at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Conference themes include:

1. Challenges faced by Indigenous entrepreneurial women and youth
2. Indigenous entrepreneurship and community development
3. Nation-specific differences in approaching entrepreneurship
4. Community-based supports and resources for Indigenous entrepreneurship

Learn more about the conference, and register today, by visiting: iie2018.ca

About Algonquin College: Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded English-language college that is home to more than 25,000 full-time students. Algonquin’s campus, located on the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin and Anishinabek peoples, has one of the highest populations of Indigenous students in Ontario’s college system.

To set up interviews, or for more information please contact:

Phil Glennie
Communications & Partnerships Manager
Academica Group Inc., London ON
phil@academica.ca

Ruth Dunley
Communications Manager
Algonquin College
613-727-4723 ext. 6452
dunleyr@algonquincollege.com

Chris Lackner
Communications Officer
Algonquin College
613-727-4723 ext. 2091
lacknec@algonquincollege.com

Algonquin College opens new DARE District  

Posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2018

Grand opening of the DARE District

Grand Opening of the DARE District
May 03, 2018
(PHOTO: Jana Chytilova)

May 3 – OTTAWA – Algonquin College capped off its 50th Anniversary year celebrations by daring to look to the future with the grand opening of its new building, the DARE (Discovery, Applied Research, and Entrepreneurship) District.

At a special event and ribbon cutting, the College opened the doors on the new heart of its Ottawa campus – an innovative project two years in the making. Fittingly, Algonquin’s past and present were on hand to mark the milestone. The over 500 attendees included students, employees, alumni, and community leaders.

The DARE District will include the College’s new library and learning centre, an Indigenous Commons, makerspaces that will allow students to get their hands on the latest technology, a Cybersecurity Centre, and more. It will be home to new training and test facilities for high-demand job sectors, a multimedia production facility, expanded Applied Research and Innovation programs, and an area dedicated to Indigenous entrepreneurship.

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Algonquin College announces new DARE District

Posted on Friday, February 9th, 2018

FEB. 9 – OTTAWA – DARE District is coming to Algonquin College.

At a special reception, the College announced the name of its new innovation, entrepreneurship, and learning centre, which is opening in May 2018.

Algonquin College President Cheryl Jensen described the importance of the name, which was chosen from a list of more than 200 name suggestions from across the College community. DARE stands for Discovery, Applied Research, and Entrepreneurship.

“In choosing the DARE District, we are not just saying something about what we hope this exciting new building will become, but we are making a profound statement about who we are as a College,” Jensen said. “Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Right now.

“We are dedicated to Discovery. We are dedicated to Applied Research. We are dedicated to Entrepreneurship. In fact, we are committed to instilling an entrepreneurial mindset throughout the College – in our students and our employees. We are ready to dare. To be bold. To be strong. To be imaginative.”

The building will include the College’s new Library and Learning Centre, an Indigenous Commons, a Makerspace, a Cyber-Security Centre, and more. It will be home to new training and test facilities for high-demand job sectors, a multimedia production facility, expanded Applied Research and Innovation programs, and Indigenous entrepreneurship projects – and serve as a multidisciplinary space for students, faculty, researchers, and businesses.

Board of Governors Chair, Peter Nadeau, issued a challenge to the College community: “We still have a few weeks before the building is officially opened, but in that time, I would challenge everyone to think of what they might dare to innovate inside its walls. In this new DARE District, there will be no limits to creativity, no barriers to success.”

Victoria Ventura, President of the Students’ Association – which invested $1 million towards Indigenous art and architecture for the DARE District, including the courtyard – called the name fitting. “I believe calling it the DARE District just fits because becoming a student starts with a dare – to follow a dream… to put your education first, to learn new things… to forge new connection, friends, clients, and contacts,” Ventura said. “I believe great things will happen inside of the DARE District at Algonquin College, too.”

In her own remarks, Jensen said the DARE District would not be a place where Indigenous culture is compartmentalized in an office or a workspace. “I know you have all heard about the beautiful Indigenous courtyard — but that’s not where our commitment to Indigenous history, tradition and life begins and ends,” she said. “Indigenous culture will be a thread that runs through the DARE District, to be sure, but also through all of our campuses. It will touch every learner, employee and visitor to Algonquin College. We must accept nothing less — Indigenization is something that we carry in our name, that we aspire to in our everyday work and that we must honour as part of our unwavering promise to seek Truth and Reconciliation.”

For more on the DARE District, visit algonquincollege.com/dare.

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MEDIA CONTACT

Chris Lackner
Communications Officer
Algonquin College
613-727-4723 ext. 2091
lacknec@algonquincollege.com