Whitehorse, YT – Students attending college in Canada’s three northern territories will soon have greater opportunities to further their studies at other universities. That’s because of a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed today in Yellowknife, NWT between Yukon, Aurora and Nunavut Arctic Colleges and Dalhousie University, University of Laval, University of Alberta and University of Ottawa.

The five-year agreement also opens the door at four of Canada’s leading universities – founding members of the CALDO consortium - to increased opportunity to transfer to programs in the three territories. There are also plans to promote exchange programs and take part in joint research ventures in the North.

Whitehorse - Science Adventures in partnership with the Association of Professional Engineers of Yukon are pleased to welcome everyone to the 19th Annual Bridge Building Contest this Saturday, April 14, at Porter Creek Secondary School in the gym.

Bridge viewing happens between 12:00 and 1:00 pm followed by bridge strength testing. This year 8 schools participated in building just over 80 different bridges. Join us to witness the loads these bridges can endure before they break.

“We are really excited to see this program in its 19th year, “said Heather Dundas, Coordinator of Science Adventures at the Yukon Research Centre, Yukon College. “So much passion goes into this event. The youth and families that compete are learning engineering principles, design concepts, building skills, and teamwork, and having a great time. It’s really a spectacular show.”

Whitehorse – The Yukon College Board of Governors is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Bill Dushenko as vice-president Academic.

Dushenko comes to Yukon College from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton where he spent six years as a dean, most recently for the School of Sustainable Building and Environmental Management.

Dushenko starts his new position this week and is eager to get to work. He says his first priority is “increasing accessibility for students”.

“I believe that greater flexibility, such as providing more co-op opportunities for our students, increasing our ability to deliver core programs via distance-ed, as well as developing new programs is our path to this.”

Whitehorse –The chair of Yukon College’s Board of Governors is inviting the public to get involved in imagining the future of the College.

“Yukon is evolving,” says Paul Flaherty. “We have a growing population and an expanding economy. Yukon College must also evolve to ensure we are providing students with the right tools to meet the challenges and opportunities in the future.”

Kristina Craig, a Whitehorse-based facilitator, will hold a series of public meetings across the territory on behalf of the Board of Governors throughout April and May.

The Board will use this feedback to assist in creating a fresh strategic plan for 2013-2018. Flaherty says the last strategic plan was important for accomplishing the College’s goals.

 WHITEHORSE – Yukon College announced today it will not be accepting new students for the Yukon Native Teacher Education Program for the 2012-13 academic year.

“The College will suspend new intake for this September,” says Dr. Deborah Bartlette, the Dean of Applied Arts at the College.

“We’re doing this in order to be able to fully implement the recommendations expected from a review of the program now underway.”

The College launched a review of the 24-year-old program in December 2011. Dr. Thomas Fleming, a professor emeritus of Education at the University of Victoria, is now conducting the review. He’s expected to deliver his report to College administrators in June 2012.

 Whitehorse – The Yukon Research Centre and the Yukon Arts Centre are presenting a double feature on climate change, with Canadian explorer and environmental filmmaker Mark Terry presenting two of his award-winning documentaries in an evening of exploration and discussion on the topic

The Antarctic Challenge: A Global Warning and Terry’s latest feature, The Polar Explorer, will be screened on Thursday, March 22 at the Yukon Arts Centre, starting at 7:00 p.m.

Completed in 2011, The Polar Explorer was made in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme. It was the only film officially invited by the UN to screen to delegates and world leaders attending COP16, the Climate Change Conference in Cancun last December. His presentations resulted in a new resolution being added to the Kyoto Protocol (Enhanced Action on Adaptation, Section 2, Subsection 25).

Whitehorse – Mitch Miyagawa has an unusual job description: for the next year and a half, he’ll be tasked with building awareness about cultural diversity in the Whitehorse community and its institutions.

Miyagawa started work in February as the new co-ordinator of Yukon College’s “Yukon Cultures Connect” project. He’ll be organizing workshops and public events designed to break down barriers between cultural groups, create public dialogue about diversity, and improve how institutions respond to our changing demographics.

Yukon Cultures Connect is funded by a two-year multi-culturalism grant from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and is driven by a unique and growing team of people from Whitehorse’s “intercultural hubs”: Kwanlin Dun First Nation, l’Association franco-yukonnaise, Canadian Filipino Association of the Yukon, the Yukon African-Caribbean Association, Japanese-Canadian Association of Yukon, Yukon Arts Centre, and the Multicultural Centre of the Yukon.

WHITEHORSE – The good work, accomplishments and growth of Yukon College staff and students are highlighted in a new ‘Report to the Community’ released today.

The 16-page report gives Yukoners a chance to catch up with stories about the College that may have not made the news last year. It’s also a chance to get a glimpse of the ‘big picture’ of how the College is doing.

“It’s an engaging, user-friendly way for people to really get a sense of where the College is today,” says Jacqueline Bedard, the director of College Relations and International. “This is a standard publication for post-secondary education institutions, reaching out to inform the public they serve.”

 Whitehorse – It’s just become a lot easier for students at Yukon College wishing to transfer to colleges and universities in Alberta.

The College has just been accepted into the Alberta Transfer System of the Alberta Council on Admissions and Transfer.

“This is a huge development in the life of the College,” says YC president Karen Barnes. “Admission into the ACAT system is a real feather in our cap.

“Students can come to Yukon College secure in the knowledge that many of the courses they take will be recognized by Alberta institutions.”

ACAT is essentially a system for educational institutions to work co-operatively for the benefit of students. It helps colleges and universities recognize courses taken by students when they want to transfer from one institution to another. Educational institutions develop agreements on transferring and admitting students, and determine what program courses or credits are accepted.

WHITEHORSE- A revolution is about to begin for adults who want to improve their education in the territory.

The announcement of new adult basic education funding by the federal government- $27 million over five years, distributed across the three northern territories- will allow for vastly expanded programs tailored to help hundreds of people better their lives and their job opportunities.

“We’re really excited about this,” says Shelagh Rowles, the acting Vice-President, Academic at Yukon College. “There has been pent-up demand for years. We are ready to explore how we deliver adult basic education and rethink how we support people who want to improve their education.”

The College will be receiving a portion of Ottawa’s new Northern Adult Basic Education Program funds- announced this morning by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Iqaluit- to launch new upgrading programs across the territory.