Peterborough campus

Today we hosted a group of colleagues from Polytechnic Institutions in Indonesia at our aviation campus in Peterborough. It is always a real nice campus to show; a mini airline in operation with a variety of training aircraft, simulators and a full dispatch operation.

Having the visitors experience the simulators is always a hit.....

Ottawa

Being in Ottawa for the annual CBIE conference, I always love walking around in the city. My favorite is the bridge between Ottawa and Hull. During the period 1991 - 2005 I ran many times over the bridge and then along the river on both sides during my stays in Ottawa during periods I was doing training for the five marathons I ran. No more running now, but still love the sight from the bridge towards Parliament Hill. On the other side is the Museum of History where the conference opening reception was held last night.

Wakefield in Quebec

While in Ottawa this weekend for a conference starting tomorrow, I made a short visit to Wakefield in the Gatineau region. Just a short half hour drive and you are in the middle of a beautiful nature area. The small town is known for several historic sites such as this covered bridge. The views over the river and lake were again beautiful, even in this early winter weather in the middle of November..

Kenya project documentary

Our colleagues at Durham College in Oshawa had a nice "red carpet" event taking place tonight with the "screening" (premiere) of a documentary made by a group of their broadcasting program. They went under the guiding eye of one of their teachers to Kenya and filmed during three weeks. The result was a short documentary of 30 minutes describing the work of 9 Canadian institutions working on a 5 year program financed by Global Affairs Canada and managed by "Colleges & Institutes Canada" (CICan). Seneca has one of the projects in this program (see some of my posts in August).

A brief reception was offered and then some speeches before the screening started....

After the viewing of the documentary the students and their professor were interviewed. A nice evening and well organized by the team at Durham. I am now on my way to Ottawa for meetings and a conference of the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE).

New offices complete

The new offices of Seneca International are almost complete. A few photos on how the space looks now. The entrance has a nice welcoming design for our mostly external visitors: this area is visited by prospective students (both in person and "virtual" through e-mail and phone) who have questions on how to apply for programs at Seneca. Our team of student ambassadors speaking 9-10 languages is there to assist them.

We have introduced an open office concept including three small "break-out/meeting" rooms.

The work stations all have desks that can be moved up and down so that staff can vary from sitting to standing work. Better for body and mind according to health & wellness studies.

In the back we have what we call a "hoteling" station area for frequent travelers and visitors. This area has some locker space and cabinets for the winter coats & boots.

Happy and proud to have made this transformation possible. This will be a good place for the team to work in for many years to come.