Leadership in postsecondary education that benefits our students, our employees, our communities and our partners

Continue to develop the Humber-Seneca Polytechnic Partnership:

• collaboration day resulted in academic and service/support areas throughout Seneca and Humber identifying priority actions, achievement include:
• foundational operational plans for 2019-20 completed
• shared procurement processes established
• ITS teams collaborating
• co-developing diversity training programs

Build additional pathways for graduates with national and international postsecondary institutions:

• signed additional outbound pathway agreements for graduates including Fashion Arts graduates into Honours Bachelor of Arts Fashion Marketing degree at University of Arts London, Fashion Business graduates to University of Manchester, Informatics & Security graduates to Northeastern University, Veterinary Technician graduates to Royal Veterinary College, University of London (UK), Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs and Quality Operations OCGC graduates to master’s degree at Northeastern University
• in Ontario, signed agreements with Cambrian, Canadore, Confederation, Lambton, Mohawk and Niagara colleges to support transfer of their diploma graduates into Seneca’s Honours Bachelor of Therapeutic Recreation Degree
• signed agreement with Loyalist College for graduates of their Business Administration diploma to enter third year of Seneca’s Honours Bachelor of Commerce Business Management Degree

Seneca wins academic pathway awards

The inaugural 2019 Transfer Awards of Excellence recognized Seneca’s academic pathways with two awards. Henry Decock, Associate Vice-President, Academic Partnerships, received the Leadership Award. The Centre for Research in Student Mobility received the Research Excellence Award.

Students expands opportunities for veterinary students

Seneca signed a memorandum of understanding with Royal Veterinary College (RVC), widely considered the best veterinary college in the world, to allow Veterinary Technician students to study RVC’s Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine course and learn from RVC staff during annual visits to Seneca.

Seneca signs agreement to expand student pathways

Seneca signed a memorandum of understanding to officially partner with top-ranked University of the Arts London. The agreement strengthens ties between the two institutions and enhances educational opportunities for students and faculty.

Seneca signs new agreements in India

Seneca built on its partnership with the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), the training arm for the Government of India's finance ministry, by entering into an agreement for faculty exchange. As well, Seneca has a new academic partner in India, GD Goenka University in Gurugram near Delhi. Pathways for the university students to Seneca's advanced diplomas and degrees will be established.

Seneca signs sustainable fashion agreement in Peru

Seneca signed a memorandum of understanding with Chio Lecca School of Fashion, Peru's most prominent fashion institute. As a result of the partnership, students from Seneca's School of Fashion will participate in a two-week faculty-led program at Chio Lecca School of Fashion to learn about Peruvian textiles and techniques to naturally dye fabrics. They will have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in this sustainable industry from local artisans while learning about the challenges Andean communities face with marketing and sales of their products.

Seneca forges partnership with Northeastern University

Seneca signed a new memorandum of understanding with Boston-based Northeastern University to create a new pathway for students in the Clinical Research and Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs & Quality Operations graduate certificate programs. Graduates from these Seneca programs get advanced standing in Northeastern’s regulatory affairs master’s program, allowing them to purse a master's degree either online at Northeastern’s Toronto campus while working full-time.

New math course helps prospective students reach degree goals

Seneca launched a free course to provide prospective students and applicants the opportunity to upgrade their skills if they do not meet the high school math requirements of a Seneca degree program. Students may be eligible for an offer of admissions to their desired program after successfully completing the Math: 12U Equivalency course.

Seneca signs unique pathway agreement with Loyalist College

A transfer agreement signed between Seneca and Loyalist College students in Belleville will create pathway opportunities for students enrolled in a two-year business program at Loyalist program to enter into the third year of Seneca's Honours Bachelor of Commerce – Business Management degree program. Students will be able to study while staying in Belleville through a combination of synchronous classes being taught at the same time at Seneca and Loyalist, guest lecturers and online classes.

Provide applied research support across the data science continuum using a cross-disciplinary approach:

• DARC opened and seven research projects were completed with seven additional research projects started

Enable mid-career professionals to gain the 21st century skills required to thrive in an ever-changing world of work:

• TD Career Recharge workshop series developed and launched June 2019 to run until May 2020
• 18 of 24 workshops delivered to date with close to 2500 participants

Ontario Lieutenant Governor tours School of Fashion

Ontario Lt.-Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell visited Newnham Campus to open the Transforming Our World symposium on sustainability in the fashion industry. The Lieutenant Governor also toured the School of Fashion, visiting Seneca’s extensive collection of decades of fashion and talking with students in the Fashion Arts Sewing Lab.

Minister visits Markham Campus

Michael Tibollo, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, visited Markham Campus for a tour of the School of Tourism & Hospitality. The tour included stops in the Flight Services training fuselages and the hospitality lab. Mr. Tibollo was joined by tourism and hospitality students for a lunch cooked and served by Seneca hospitality students and faculty.

Seneca employee and governor elected president of CACUSS

Mark Solomon, Associate Dean, Student Services & Indigenous Education, was elected president of the Canadian Association of Colleges and Universities Student Services (CACUSS) for the 2020-22 term. He is only the second president elected from a college and the first Indigenous leader of the organization.

MPP visited Peterborough Campus

David Piccini, Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP, visited Peterborough Campus for the first time. President David Agnew and Seneca's Chief Flight Instructor Michael Hitchins gave the MPP a tour of the campus. Mr. Piccini also had the opportunity to try out one of the School of Aviation's newest flight simulators.

Premier of Ontario visits Newnham Campus

Premier Doug Ford visited Newnham Campus along with Ross Romano, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, and Vincent Ke, Don Valley North MPP. The group toured the CNC labs, mechatronics and Kuka robotics labs and met with HELIX entrepreneurs. The minister and MPP also visited Odeyto and the aviation simulator.

Premier’s Awards nominees

Seneca's nominees for the 2019 Premier's Awards include a renowned international market consultant, an advocate for families experiencing homelessness and a CEO and co-founder of a social enterprise dedicated to tackling food insecurity in Ontario. They are: Mauricio Ospina, Business; Kevin Kennedy, Community Services; Zacary Campbell, Creative Arts and Design; Moranne McDonnell, Technology; Steven Bourne, Recent Graduate; and Shan Khan, Health Sciences.

Seneca hosts fashion conference

Seneca hosted the Insights: Fashion Business to 2030 conference for fashion students and faculty from Seneca, George Brown and Humber at Newnham Campus. Attendees explored a variety of topics driving the future of business over the next decade, while speakers Carrie Kirkman, President, Kirkman Consulting and Claire Santamaria, Vice-President, Yorkdale Shopping Centre, led a panel discussion to educate and inspire students about the future of fashion business.

The art of sustainable cuisine

Nancy Gilmour, Aramark's Executive Chef at Newnham Campus, joined culinary professionals from more than a dozen postsecondary institutions from across Ontario at the Forward Food training workshop, exploring the creation of various plant-based meals. She was featured on Global News for her participation in the training workshop.

Donors celebrated for supporting business students

Wawanesa, a Canadian insurance firm, donated $20,000 in support of Seneca's Business – Insurance students and events organized by the Student Leaders in Accounting & Financial Services club. The company's cumulative gifts total more than $77,000 over the past five years.

Raptors founder captivates Seneca

Seneca welcomed the founder of the Toronto Raptors and entrepreneur John Bitove Jr. as a special guest for a HELIX Speaker Series event at Newnham Campus. Mr. Bitove spoke to students, employees, graduates and guests from other organizations about his passion for sports. He also shared his wisdom regarding entrepreneurship and retraced the journey of how Canada secured its first NBA team. CP24 anchor and Seneca graduate Brandon Gonez moderated the two-hour event, which was sponsored by Seneca Alumni.

Virtual reality wins at annual Giving Circle voting meeting

A virtual reality (VR) project aimed at improving public speaking won the King Township Women of Influence Giving Circle $10,000 grant. Members of the Giving Circle voted to support the VR project, which will see specialized training units installed at King to allow students to recreate key interactions such as panel interviews and elevator pitches in a VR training simulation.

Seneca’s partnerships in India acknowledged as one of Ontario’s top accomplishments of 2019

The Ontario government acknowledged Seneca's work in India as one of its top accomplishments in 2019. Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, took a trade mission to India and was witness to the establishment of Seneca’s new Fintech Centre in Mumbai in partnership with the Thakur Institute of Management Studies and Research.

Seneca hosts delegates from India

Seneca hosted 31 delegates from the Government of India's Institute of Secretariat Training and Management. During their week at Seneca, the delegates experienced in-class presentations and took field trips to various government offices in the Greater Toronto Area, including meeting mayors Bonnie Crombie of Mississauga and Patrick Brown of Brampton.

Seneca was selected from among competing postsecondary institutions around the globe to train officials from the Government of India’s Central Secretariat Stenographer Service and Central Secretariat Service.

Commissioner concludes Data Privacy Month

More than 120 employees attended the Access and Privacy — Latest Developments event at Newnham Campus. The event, which concluded Seneca's Data Privacy Month initiatives, featured David Goodis, Assistant Commissioner, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. Mr. Goodis provided an overview of the Freedom of Information and Protections of Privacy Act and reviewed privacy obligations to prevent breaches.

Consul General Tao Han visits Newnham Campus

Consul General Tao Han from the Chinese consulate in Toronto visited Newnham Campus, touring through the Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship. During a meeting with President Agnew, Mr. Han talked about the measures the Chinese government has taken to control the outbreak of the coronavirus strain originating in Wuhan.

MP Helena Jaczek visits King Campus

MP Helena Jaczek toured Magna Hall at King Campus. She was the provincial member for the campus when the Government of Ontario announced the funding for the building in 2011.

MP Han Dong visits Newnham Campus

Newly elected MP Han Dong toured Newnham Campus, located in his riding of Don Valley North. Previously a member of the provincial legislature, he was the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development.

Enhance professional development opportunities for employees:

• more than 100 learning events in 2019/20 developed
• launched five online learning streams featuring more than 50 online learning modules
• Phase 2 of the Seneca Leader program has been completed, including: development and pilot of the multi-rater (360) process, analysis and plan for conflict management program

Plan and execute employee transition initiatives in support of the phased Seneca2020 project:

• launched the Living the Change toolkit with support events scheduled up to September 2020

Continue to implement the cloud strategy and begin the digital optimization initiative, focusing on student experience, digital workforce and smart campus:

• cloud framework has been established for the identity-management systems
• authentication of all Seneca applications and services have been moved to the new cloud framework
• database systems that drive the ERP have been moved to customer private cloud

Seneca ranked top employer for 11th consecutive year

Seneca has earned the title that has become a benchmark for best practices in the workplace for the 11th year in a row. The annual Greater Toronto's Top Employers competition recognizes employers with exceptional human resources programs and forward-thinking workplace polices. Some of the reasons why Seneca was selected a top employer include support for new parents, professional development opportunities and inclusive culture.

Seneca employee recognized for contribution to student services

Tanis Fink, Director, Seneca Libraries, won the Art King Award by the Coordinating Committee of Vice-Presidents Students (CCVPS) for her contribution and leadership in the field of student services.

Employee inducted into Ontario Sports Hall of Fame

Angela James, Seneca graduate and Senior Sports Co-ordinator, was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, which honours the province’s greatest athletes and sports personalities with outstanding achievements and contributions to Ontario sports.

FCET online facilitators gather for second annual conference

The Faculty of Continuing Education & Training hosted its second annual conference for online facilitators. The event brought together more than 40 participants who were treated to an opening keynote address by Nina Spencer. Facilitators participated in a number of workshops throughout the day, providing opportunities to share best practices and challenges, while interacting and learning from peers.

Employee begins internship in Kyrgyzstan

Irina Onipchuk, Project Manager, Community Outreach & Engagement, at Seneca's International Mobility Office, began a six-month internship with the University of Central Asia in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan. She acts as a liaison between local communities in Naryn and the university, building on projects that began with Seneca's first intern at the university in 2018. As a two-time School of Hospitality & Tourism graduate, Ms. Onipchuk was selected from a number of applicants for the long-term internship that welcomes one current student or recent graduate each year.

Commence infrastructure projects including; Newnham Campus parking expansion through additional spaces and a structure parking garage, Newnham Campus landscaping renovation, office space renovations at Newnham and Seneca@York campuses and CITE office floors construction associated with Seneca2020 moves:

• Phase 1 hydro field parking expansion has been completed; construction of a structured parking garage has begun
• renovations have begun for the Newnham Campus cafeteria expansion
• upgrades to Newnham Campus Residence suites have been completed
• Phase 1 of the multi-year Newnham Campus landscaping renovation completed
• office space renovations have been completed, construction of floors 4 and 5 at CITE has begun

Establish an enterprise data repository:

• three OCAS data dashboards and five admission dashboards are complete and available online

Co-ordinate a range of activities that support student recruitment and smart growth in enrolment, including optimizing and expanding Seneca’s digital presence:

• International Web Application (IWA) complete and in full operation
• Grade 12 English and math equivalency courses developed and offered to prospective students
• bundling graduate certificates model designed and technology process in development
• two-year graduate certificate programs identified in development
• Challenge Accepted student recruitment campaign successfully launched in Fall 2019
• launched Start@Seneca conversion initiative aimed at providing VIP service to fall 2020 domestic applicants
• redirect strategy initiative has been developed and launched

Expand Seneca’s corporate training client base, building on the success of recent corporate partnerships

• integration of Salesforce.com in business development practices to capture leads and agreement pipeline
• collaboration with various Seneca departments to jointly develop relationships with clients such as Estee Lauder and Multimatic, identified opportunity for Rapid Skills partnership with Magellan/industry partnership, developed partnerships with YRDSB, March of Dimes and CGI
• provided support for agreements with Hockey Hall of Game and CERC for cFlex

Demonstrate Seneca’s leadership in sustainability:

• Phase 2 of the geothermal project at King Campus completed by March 31, 2020
• preparing application for the Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS) with report submitted on March 31, 2020.

Odeyto wins 2019 Toronto Urban Design Award

Odeyto won the 2019 Toronto Urban Design Award in the Public Buildings in Context category. The structure, designed by Gow Hastings Architects and Two Row Architect, is shaped like an upturned canoe to represent students leaving their communities to stop at Seneca for education before continuing on their journeys.

Odeyto highlighted in the Toronto Star

The Toronto Star published an article featuring Odeyto, highlighting its role as a community and cultural events hub for Indigenous students who are far from home.

Jane Campus closes

After 38 years on Beverly Hills Drive in Toronto’s west end, where the Seneca-branded red building is visible from Highway 401, students, employees and alumni bade farewell to Jane Campus, marking the end of an era. Advanced manufacturing programs are now offered in the new Centre for Innovation, Technology & Entrepreneurship building at Newnham Campus.

Innovative solar technology installed at CITE

Belnor Engineering installed Canada's first transparent photovoltaic solar window in the Centre for Innovation, Technology & Entrepreneurship. This installation's multifunctional bioclimatic properties will help Seneca shrink its carbon footprint.

The Rudy and Rita Koehler Library named

Seneca honoured the Koehler family with the naming of the Rudy and Rita Koehler Library in Magna Hall at King Campus. Mr. and Mrs. Koehler are Seneca’s most generous individual donor whose bursaries and scholarships have helped more than 500 students. The Rudy and Rita Koehler Library serves as a centre for learning and research for the Seneca community and features group and independent study spaces, a children’s book reading area and media rooms.

Seneca celebrates grand opening of CITE

Seneca celebrated the grand opening of the Centre for Innovation, Technology & Entrepreneurship at Newnham Campus. During the event, Indigenous artist Joseph Sagaj shared his journey in making the award-winning terrazzo medallion (see below). Guests also toured the high-tech labs in the facility and visited a series of large-scale visuals. Collectively called Manifesto for Making, the visuals highlight the relationships between Indigenous symbols and technology.

CITE terrazzo medallion named Project of the Year by industry association

The terrazzo medallion, Circle of Indigenous Knowledge, was named Project of the Year by Terrazzo, Title and Marble Association of Canada. Designed by Indigenous artist Joseph Sagaj, the medallion measures 10 metres across and is the centerpiece of CITE’s Innovation Gallery.

New recruitment campaign paints the town red

Seneca launched a new recruitment campaign designed to attract high-quality candidates — and popped up all over the Greater Toronto Area. The Challenge Accepted campaign highlights Seneca students and graduates and their work. At its heart is an online and television commercial featuring the words of Seneca's founding President Dr. William T. Newnham. It has aired on television including on various networks during the federal election coverage.

New lab at CITE honours graduate

The Karen M. Mason Network Lab officially opened at the Centre for Innovation, Technology & Entrepreneurship. The lab was named in honour of the late Karen Mason, a former employee and graduate who, along with her husband Ross, was a generous donor to scholarships in the schools of Software Design & Data Science and Information Technology Administration & Security.