Northern College partners with Queen’s to offer Mining Engineering degree program
Two community colleges in Northern Ontario have announced partnerships with southern Ontario universities.
Northern College in Timmins and Queen’s University in Kingston have agreed to work together to establish an accredited Mining Engineering degree program at the college’s Porcupine Campus, while Cambrian College in Sudbury has struck a bridging agreement with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa.
Northern College will begin recruiting students for the Mining Engineering program in September 2014 and begin offering the program the following year.
“There is strong demand for mining engineers in Northern Ontario, and this trend is likely to continue as the demand for highly skilled trades and technology personnel is expected to soar over the next few decades,” said Fred Gibbons, president of Northern College. “Collaborating to combine our expertise in mining will allow us to offer this degree-granting program in Northern Ontario where the need is greatest.”
Through its long established Haileybury School of Mines, Northern College also offers a Mining Engineering Technician program delivered primarily through a distance education model. The agreement with Queen’s allows Northern College to also offer a degree program locally.
“The City of Timmins, the economic development corporation, the chamber of commerce and Northern College have been reaching out to universities throughout Ontario to broker undergraduate studies here in Timmins,” said Gibbons.
Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Nipissing University in North Bay and Queen’s University in Kingston responded positively.
“Queen’s,” said Gibbons, “would also like to follow up with an Electronics Engineering degree program because that’s also an area of need.”
The Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining at Queen’s claims to be the largest mining school in North America and one of the largest in the world, graduating one-third of the mining and mineral processing engineers in Canada.
Cambrian College’s agreement with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) will provide advanced standing to college graduates interested in transferring into UOIT degree programs, allowing students to complete a university degree in a shorter period of time.
“This new agreement will put Cambrian grads on track to complete university degrees at UOIT in as little as two years, offering them additional exposure to research, technology, and expert faculty in their field of study,” said Sonia Del Missier, the college’s vice-president, academic.
The bridging agreement is in effect for students considering application to UOIT’s programs for September 2013 and will remain in effect for five years. UOIT’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science offers programs in Electrical, Mechanical, Automotive, Manufacturing and Software Engineering.
