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RDC’s Donald School Of Business Celebrates Major Enrollment Milestone!

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The Donald School of Business at RDC is celebrating a special milestone, as enrolment at the School has surpassed 1,000 students for the 2016-17 academic year.

“We officially opened the doors at our downtown campus to students in the fall of 2011,” says Darcy Mykytyshyn, Dean, Donald School of Business. “It’s incredible to consider that, over the last five years, we’ve continued to expand and grow our offerings, and our student enrolment has also grown by 82% during this time.”

“The enrolment increase can be explained by the manner in which we look at our business,” says Mykytyshyn. “We focus on what we call the three A’s of the Donald School of Business – Achievement through Access and Application.” Course delivery is a critical component to meeting students where they are. Online courses and innovative delivery options, such as the new executive weekend delivery of Business Administration 110, make courses more accessible to those in the workforce.

The breadth of business programs offered is also positive for students, allowing them to follow their chosen career paths without having to leave central Alberta. As an example, the Donald School of Business offers a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at RDC, partnering with Mount Royal University, which allows business students to remain in central Alberta while completing the fouryear degree.

For RDC alumna, Laura Allard, the opportunity to stay in her community while pursuing her education was a huge benefit. “I had lived in Calgary and Edmonton for several years, but Red Deer is home, as I grew up here and my family are in this community,” she says. “Through Red Deer College and the Donald School of Business, I was able to go through a laddering option for my education, where I completed a Management Certificate, then a Business Administration Diploma and finally my Bachelor of Business Administration Degree – all right here in Red Deer.”

Now a Senior Accountant with MNP in Red Deer, Allard is still a part of RDC through her volunteerism with the Donald School of Business Advisory Council, which allows her to have a positive impact on the School and its students.

Allard’s on-going connection to the Donald School of Business reflects the commitment demonstrated by the central Alberta business community. “From the beginning, we’ve emphasized building strong relationships with key stakeholders, from the generosity and engagement of Jack and Joan Donald, to the students and the businesses that hire them,” says Mykytyshyn. “By embracing the location of our campus, which is in the heart of Red Deer’s downtown business district, and working with business leaders we have been able to bring strong practical opportunities to the classroom that augment the academic experience we provide. We’re educating students who will be part of our local business community, and that means we have a very special relationship with our partners.”

Through these relationships, Mykytyshyn notes that students can learn from local entrepreneurs and business leaders through presentations and special events, and many students have hands-on learning experiences through practicums, community service learning and applied opportunities they gain during their education. None of this would be possible without the in-class expertise and instruction students receive from a diverse, experienced and professional team of faculty who teach at RDC’s Donald School of Business.

“As one of the Schools at Red Deer College, we take great pride in educating students and connecting with local businesses for the benefit of everyone,” says Mykytyshyn. “We’re a part of central Alberta and, while we’re celebrating this 1,000 student milestone, we’re also looking ahead to the exciting ways we can continue to grow.”

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GOP Lawmakers Urge Coast Guard To Defend US Ports Where ‘Chinese Military Company’ Operates

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Philip Lenczycki

Republican lawmakers urged the U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday to take “decisive action” against a Chinese military company that has “expansive operations at major U.S. ports,” according to a letter exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The House Committee on Homeland Security and House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter to U.S. Coast Guard Acting Commandant, Admiral Kevin E. Lunday requesting information and a classified briefing related to COSCO Shipping, a Chinese state-owned enterprise that the Department of Defense (DOD) recently added to its list of “Chinese Military Companies.” COSCO Shipping poses a “significant” national security threat to the U.S., ranging from “espionage, cyber intrusions, sabotage, and supply chain disruptions,” according to the letter.

“Permitting vessels and personnel affiliated with COSCO SHIPPING to operate within U.S. ports without adequate safeguards exposes the nation to unacceptable risks, particularly during times of increased geopolitical tension,” the letter states. “As the lead federal agency for maritime security, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) must take decisive action to mitigate these risks.”

The letter is signed by House Homeland Security chairman, Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, China Select Committee chairman, Michigan Rep. John Moolenaar, Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez and South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) exploits “Chinese Military Companies” for intelligence and military purposes as part of its “Military-Civil Fusion Strategy,” the letter states.

Military-Civil Fusion “supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army by ensuring it can acquire advanced technologies and expertise developed by PRC companies, universities, and research programs that appear to be civilian entities,” according to the DOD.

Toward that end, China engages in “forced technology transfer, intelligence gathering, and outright theft,” and directs Chinese enterprises to “undertake classified military R&D and weapons production,” according to the State Department.

In addition to being a state-owned enterprise, the committee’s letter warns that COSCO Shipping vessels “frequently have Chinese Communist Party (CCP) political commissars embedded amongst their crews.”

COSCO Shipping’s website includes a section for “Party building” and states that its CEO, Wan Min, also serves as the Party secretary of the firm’s internal CCP branch. A “Party branch” is the smallest “grass-roots” CCP organization, and one must be established within any Chinese institutions containing three or more Party members, according to the Chinese government.

The committee’s letter also urges the USCG to intensify its protocols for “screening vessels, owners, and crew members associated with COSCO Shipping and other entities linked to the PLA or the PRC’s security and intelligence services.”

COSCO Shipping’s previous CEO, Xu Lirong, simultaneously served as deputy director of the China International Culture Exchange Center (CICEC), which former analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Alex Joske identified as a front for China’s premier civilian intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security, the DCNF previously reported.

“It is essential that biographical information for all foreign mariners, particularly those from the PRC and other high-risk countries, undergo comprehensive scrutiny utilizing the complete range of classified and unclassified data resources accessible to the U.S. government,” the committee’s letter states.

A USCG spokesperson told the DCNF it “routinely evaluates vessels before arrival within U.S. waters” and examines vessels “for safety and security” after arrival as well.

The committee’s letter also requests for USCG to provide answers to nine questions by Feb. 3.

More than half of the questions relate to the protocols, process, or datasets USGC uses to vet foreign vessels and mariners.

For example, one question asks: “What classified and unclassified datasets are used by the USCG to vet foreign mariners, vessel owners, and operators?”

Another question asks: “Is the USGC’s vetting and screening process for foreign vessels and mariners fully automated, partially automated, or primarily manual?”

Other questions concern USGC’s possible coordination with federal agencies, like the FBI, and inquire into whether or not USGC has conducted a risk assessment specific to COSCO Shipping.

“The USCG must prioritize the integration of both classified and unclassified intelligence, strengthen interagency coordination and collaboration, and leverage advanced technological solutions to enhance its ability to detect and deter emerging threats,” the committee’s letter states.

COSCO Shipping did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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Google Dumps EU’s Anti-“Disinformation” Code, Defying Digital Services Act

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Does Google’s bold rejection of EU mandates signal a shifting balance of power between tech giants and censors?

It’s as good a time as any to effectively pull out of the EU’s “voluntary anti-disinformation” deal, which social media companies were previously strong-armed into accepting. And Google has now done just that.

The “strengthened” Code of Practice on Disinformation was introduced during the heyday of online censorship and government pressure on social platforms on both sides of the Atlantic – in June 2022, and at one point included 44 signatories.

One of those who in the meanwhile dropped out is X, and this happened shortly after Twitter was acquired by Elon Musk.

Now, as the “voluntary” code is formally becoming part of EU’s censorship law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), Google took the opportunity to notify Brussels it will not comply with the law’s requirement to include fact-checkers’ opinions in the search results, or rely on those to delete or algorithmically rank YouTube content.

Accepting these DSA requirements “simply isn’t appropriate or effective for our services,” Google’s Global Affairs President Kent Walker stated in a letter sent to European Commission’s Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Renate Nikolay, reports said.

At the same time, Google is withdrawing from “all fact-checking commitments in the Code” – this refers to the signatories working with “fact-checkers” across EU member-countries. The code also requires tech companies to flag content, label political ads, demonetizing users found to be “spreading disinformation,” etc.

Even though Google’s censorship apparatus does not use third-party “fact-checkers” as it is, the news that the company has decided to defy the EU on this issue is interpreted as yet more proof that social media giants are breaking free from some of the constraints imposed on them by the authorities over the past years.

Meta recently announced that its fact-checking scheme in the US was ending in order to make room for more free speech on Facebook and Instagram, but it remains a signatory of the Code in the EU.

It remains to be seen what decision Meta will make once that agreement becomes part of the DSA – the deadline for which is currently unknown.

If you’re tired of censorship and surveillance, subscribe to Reclaim The Net.

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