Collaboration & Partnerships
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 l...
Read more...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 Col...
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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...
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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 ne...
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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 s...
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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. “...
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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 outd...
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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 ...
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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 app...
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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 g...
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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 Indigenous Services for over a decade...
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Culinary Arts students help take a bite out of food insecurity, one apple at a time
November 24, 2020
As the Okanagan days start to get shorter and orchardists wrap up their harvest for the year, Culinary Arts students at the College’s Kelowna campus are busy transforming apples into healthy snacks for the community. Earlier in the fall semester, the Okanagan Fruit Tree Project (OFTP) approached the College’s Culinary Arts team with an idea: could culinary classes somehow help process apple donations into snacks, going into backpacks for local students in need? The answer was a resounding yes. With some creative thought on how to...
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College launches Applied Bachelor of Arts degree
November 23, 2020
New four-year degree focuses on community research and evaluation Who will be the future change-makers in our communities? Who will help organizations tackle the most pressing social issues we are faced with as a society? The answer might just be the graduates of a new program unlike any before it in the region. Okanagan College has received provincial approval for its first new degree program in more than 15 years – and its focus couldn’t be timelier. The Applied Bachelor of Arts: Community Research and Evaluation is a four-year...
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OC Foundation and Jane Hoffman Realty present Season’s Eatings, a virtual cooking class fundraiser
November 17, 2020
On Dec. 3, fire up your oven and your laptop to join a festive, virtual cooking class and wine tasting fundraiser. The Okanagan College Foundation and Coldwell Banker Jane Hoffman Realty are presenting OC Cooks: Season’s Eatings, with ticket sales benefitting the Our Students, Your Health campaign to complete a new Health Sciences Centre on the College’s Kelowna campus. “Season’s Eatings is an opportunity to come together virtually, enjoy good wine and cook alongside the College’s award-winning chefs,” says Okanagan College Founda...
Read more...RBC, local experts offer up virtual financial advice for students
November 6, 2020
Okanagan College trades students will have a unique opportunity later this month to ask questions of local experts and learn how they can build a strong financial foundation. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is hosting Business Planning for Trades, a virtual panel discussion geared toward students currently training for a career in the trades at the College. Panelists include: Jason Williamson, Commercial Account Manager with RBC (previously a small business account manager and has worked with clients through all stages of their bus...
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New app aims to enhance communication between health professionals and patients
October 27, 2020
An applied research project by Okanagan College with Monashee Health Collective is focused on developing an innovative new tool that will help allied health professionals connect with patients in real-time – and support them on their path to wellness. Funded by a grant from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the researcher and students are working to develop, test and launch a prototype holistic wellness app over the next six months. Monashee Health Collective (MHC) provides chiropractic, physiotherapy...
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