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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Student has clear vision to graduate as Health Care Assistant
October 27, 2020
Fifty-two-year-old Jacquie Thom can feel victorious as she graduates as a Health Care Assistant (HCA) from Okanagan College this month. Thom is legally blind and was born with an eye condition called coloboma. She describes her vision as blurry and like seeing through a tunnel. Yet despite her vision impairment, she was inspired to pursue a career caring for the elderly after taking care of her parents when they were palliative. “Supporting my parents showed me that it is such an honour to help someone through that period of time ...
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Athabasca University President to replace Hamilton at Okanagan College
October 22, 2020
Dr. Neil Fassina, an experienced and respected leader in post-secondary education, is going to be taking over the helm of Okanagan College when current President Jim Hamilton retires in 2021. “After a search that drew candidates from around the world, Okanagan College’s Board of Governors has selected a Canadian educator who has balanced classroom experience with leadership experience to lead Okanagan College into the next stage of its evolution and growth,” announced Gloria Morgan, Chair of Okanagan College’s Board of Governors. “...
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Okanagan College Water Engineering Technology students recognized
October 21, 2020
Three Okanagan College students were honoured recently by Environmental Operators Certification Program (EOCP) with the organization’s annual Outstanding Student Awards. Presented to students who have displayed distinctive leadership and meritorious service in the water and wastewater industry, the award, which includes a cash prize, was disbursed in early October to Ruben Kubbenga, Daniel Soroka and Peter Wilson. All three students are enrolled in the Water Engineering Technology Diploma program at the College’s Kelowna campus and...
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Meet Ayla Kilic, Political Science Professor
October 20, 2020
What is your education and area of interest? I have a BA in Political Science, MBA in Human Resources Management, Istanbul University-Turkey; MA and a PhD in Political Science and International Relations, Bosporus University, Istanbul (Turkey). My primary research and teaching foci are global politics, global political economy, global governance, human security, ethnic politics, gender politics and religion and politics. My broader area of expertise is West Asia. Next...
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Textbook project celebrated during Open Access Week
October 20, 2020
ɫɫɫƬ at Okanagan College have many reasons to celebrate Open Access Week – more than a million in fact. Since 2013, access to open education resources (OERs) and free access e-texts through the College’s library has saved students more than $1 million and that number continues to pick up the pace with each semester. A new OER developed by Okanagan School of Business Professor Michael Orwick is just one of those resources that is enhancing access to information and improving student outcomes, all while saving students money. “...
Read more...Meet Priscillia Lefebvre, Sociology Professor
October 19, 2020
What is your area of interest, research and/or creative work? I have a PhD in Sociology with a specialization in Political Economy from Carleton University. My research examines mental health within the context of the neoliberal restructuring of work and cuts to public funding around health care, social assistance and post-secondary education. I examine experiences of stress, worry and struggle within the political cont...
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Meet Chris Newitt, Psychology Professor
October 19, 2020
What is your area of interest? I have a PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver). My research interests are in social and moral decision making and the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education. How did you know you had found your discipline? I found Psychology in second year. Initially I was interested in ground water sciences, but I took Psychology as an elective and things changed for me. I gravi...
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Meet Kerry Gilbert, Creative Writing Professor
October 19, 2020
When did you know you had found your discipline? When I took my first Creative Writing class with John Lent, at what was then Okanagan University College, I knew that I had found my ‘zing.’ Why did you choose to work at Okanagan College? I told John Lent, when I was a first year student, that I wanted to come back to take his job when he retired. What do you like the most about the work you do? I love to see student excitement and growth. Favourite teaching expe...
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Meet Ed Henczel, Communications Professor
October 19, 2020
What is your area of interest, research and/or creative work? I’m a communications professor with a masters of journalism. I focus my research/teaching on mass and social media and how it’s used to influence public perception When did you know you had found your discipline? I was working for a news organization in Kamloops. I started the day doing a tour of the local prison, then I interviewed the mayor (a former journalist) and spent the evening covering a Ka...
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