News

WHITEHORSE – Dr. Joel Cubley can’t think of a better place to teach Yukon College’s new Mineral Resources program than right here in Whitehorse.

“There is such an incredibly varied natural geology to expose students to – right outside the classroom door,” said Cubley, instructor and coordinator for the one-year certificate and two-year diploma program.

“The long history of mining in the Yukon provides an excellent framework for exploring the industry with a focus on local mineral deposits. In addition, there is also a heightened level of awareness and involvement from the mining community that will serve to support the students’ learning.”

“It’s a fantastic place to offer these courses.”

Fresh from completing his Ph.D. at the University of Calgary, Cubley arrived in the territory in April to take charge of the new program.

WHITEHORSE – Move over Trader Time. Get out of the way Kijiji. There’s a new kid in town. Borealist.com is a brand new website launched this month by Whitehorse programmer Marko Marjanovic with help from Technology Innovation at Yukon College’s Yukon Research Centre.

Marjanovic has dubbed his site “Yukon’s online marketplace” and hopes to attract Yukoners looking to buy, sell and trade away from more established sites like Kijiji, Craigslist and Facebook.

“Kijiji is clunky, ugly, and cluttered with ads. The Whitehorse buy/sell groups on Facebook have no search function and your ad gets lost pretty quickly – but the informality can be entertaining,” said the 28-year-old software engineer.

“Borealist provides a cleaner, more intuitive user experience. It combines the advantages of a traditional online classifieds site with a social media twist that more people are demanding today.”

Five local governments, agencies and corporations are working together to look into the possibility of a biomass project for Haines Junction.

The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, the Dakwakada Development Corporation, Yukon Energy, Cold Climate Innovation of the Yukon Research Centre, and the Village of Haines Junction are investigating the potential for a two to three megawatt biomass plant in the community.

If approved, the plant would provide some much-needed renewable electricity for the territory. It also has the potential to produce district heat and create economic opportunities for local businesses and corporations.

WHITEHORSE – Yukon College and University of Saskatchewan have been jointly awarded $660,600 in project funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). This award comes only one year after the Yukon Research Centre at Yukon College became the first territorial institution eligible for such funding.

“For us to receive this grant speaks to the strength of the partnerships Yukon College is forging with older, more established research universities in a very short time,” said Karen Barnes, Yukon College president.

Barnes is confident that receiving such high caliber funding recognition will serve to attract high caliber researchers to the Yukon.

Beyond the economic activity of spending increased research dollars, the Yukon benefits through researchers working directly with communities and businesses, and sharing knowledge through presentations and courses.

Whitehorse – If you go to the 2012 Yukon River Quest website and click on “Race Tracker” you’ll find the result of three years planning, testing and programming by Yukon-based software programmer Peter Coates.

Click on any of the teams listed down the side and an info-graphic pops up on the map showing where the team is located. Zoom in and you will see where that team is relation to the other teams. Underneath the map, 17 spreadsheets breaking down the various race categories are updated in close to real-time with athlete times and locations.

This years’ race is the first field test of this new software, which works with Spot personal tracker technology to track each of the 68 teams, their canoes and kayaks - updating competitor locations every 15 minutes on the race website via Google maps.

WHITEHORSE—Yukon College released a report today that calls for far-reaching changes to the Yukon Native Teacher Education Program (YNTEP).

"Looking Forward: Preparing Yukon Teachers for Yukon Schools" is a summary of findings and recommendations by external reviewers Dr. Thomas Fleming and Dr. Colin Chasteauneuf, who spent the past year studying the 23-year-old YNTEP program.

Dr. Fleming, a professor emeritus from the University of Victoria, conducted numerous private interviews and public meetings over the winter assembling information for the report. Dr. Chasteauneuf, recently a chair of the education department at the University of Northern British Columbia, reviewed YNTEP’s curriculum.

"We thank both reviewers for their hard work, insights and recommendations," said Bill Dushenko, vice-president Academic at Yukon College. "They have certainly given us much to think about and we are excited about moving forward."

Whitehorse - Graduates from the Practical Nursing diploma program at Yukon College are certainly not “average”.

All 13 recent graduates aced the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Exam – a national competency test - taking an important step towards becoming licensed practitioners. The grads scored higher than the Canadian average in all parts of the four-hour written exam, which was administered by Consumer Services, the LPN Registrar’s Office at Yukon government.

Sue Starks, program coordinator, believes this is the result of dedicated students, instructors and program partners.

“Yukon government, Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Whitehorse General Hospital provided clinical practice settings and supportive staff to facilitate students in their learning and skill development,” said Starks, chair of the School of Health, Education & Human Services at Yukon College.

This summer, Karen Zgeb and Amber-Rain Hyshka are going from a place where the sun never sets, to a land that never sleeps. The two Yukon College grads are heading to South Korea.

Beginning July 1, they will take part in a summer school at the Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH) in the city of Cheonan, 80 kilometers south of Seoul.

Zgeb and Hyshka will spend three weeks learning about and experiencing Korean language, Confucian values and Korean culture. The two women also have opportunities to take classes in Taekwondo, a traditional Korean martial art, and Samulnori, a traditional musical instrument.

“I have Korean students at the multicultural centre in Whitehorse and have picked up a little of the language,” said Zgeb, an English as a Second-Language (ESL) instructor. “I’d really like to learn more and know more about the Korean culture.”

However, the field trips have Zgeb the most excited.

Whitehorse - Jesse Vigliotti will be the first ever Yukon College graduate to receive a Collegiate Governor General’s Academic Medal this week.

The medal is awarded to the student with the highest grade point average at the diploma level. Vigliotti graduated with honours last month with a Northern Environmental Studies diploma and a 3.99 grade point average.

“To go for so many years not being able to say I finished high school, to now graduating with honours is a big deal for me, and very satisfying,” said Vigliotti.

After a hand injury ended his carpentry apprenticeship, the 31-year-old father of two went back to school, completing his G.E.D. at Yukon College just two years ago.

This is not the first time he has been recognized for his hard work and academic performance. In 2011 Vigliotti received the Aron Senkpiel Award from the College and a $5,000 Northern Resident Award from the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies.

WHITEHORSE—Students can continue to train for careers as educational assistants with the Yukon College’s Educational Assistant certificate program (EACP). The expanded program has received $156,583 in funding over the next three years from the Yukon government.

”We are pleased to renew funding for the successful Educational Assistant certificate program for another three years,” Education Minister Scott Kent said. “This program reinforces the Yukon government’s commitment to increase support for vulnerable learners.”

The next round of students in the accredited certificate program will begin their course this fall and will now have more study options. Students can choose to complete the EACP with two years of full-time study or the original three years of part-time study. Students from across Yukon can participate in the program through videoconferencing at any Yukon College community campus.

Whitehorse –The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) and Minister of Health today announced that the Yukon Research Centre will move forward with four cold climate research projects that have potential to stimulate economic development.

“The Government of Canada is committed to supporting a strong and diversified northern economy,” said Minister Aglukkaq. “The commercialization of these Yukon projects has tremendous potential to create new business and export opportunities for innovative Yukon businesses.”

“Support for these projects will enable Cold Climate Innovation to work with local businesses to commercialize their innovative ideas,” said Yukon Member of Parliament Ryan Leef. “This investment in research will create opportunities for economic diversification of the territorial economy while building its scientific capacity.”

Whitehorse – First Nations youth across Yukon are being encouraged to consider their own governments when thinking about their career options. Pathways to Success is a poster campaign being launched this week by Yukon College.

Each poster showcases an individual, their current job at a Yukon First Nation, and the educational path they took to get there. Erika Tizya-Tramm from Old Crow is one of seven individuals featured in the campaign.

“When considering your career there are so many different pathways to research and navigate. It can be very difficult to make a decision,” said Tizya-Tramm. “I didn’t have this kind of help when I was at high school and I think it could have made a difference.”