Bachelor of Early Learning and Community Development (Honours)

at Algonquin College - Ottawa Campus Canada

The one-year Project Management Ontario College Graduate Certificate program prepares you for a rewarding career in project management. Project management is a highly sought discipline that applies technical, leadership and business strategy skills to plan and execute projects effectively and efficiently. There is a growing demand for project managers in the global economy.

Our experienced faculty are dedicated to preparing you to thrive in a project leadership position. Algonquin College is a Registered Education Provider (REP) with the Project Management Institute (PMI)®and is approved by the PMI to issue Professional Development Units (PDUs) for its training programs.

Learn to move a project along its lifecycle phases through the application of concepts, strategies and best practices. Acquire creative, practical and advanced expertise that contributes to ensuring overall project success via the combination of in-class and practical learning activities. Get hands-on project experience via a work integrated learning opportunity, which serves as a vehicle for incorporating and applying skills obtained during the academic studies and providing an opportunity to handle real-life situations.

Learn the tools, perspective and expertise necessary to successfully achieve results and deliver value. Develop a critical understanding of ten knowledge areas according to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)®.

Students also have the option to gain real-world experience through a paid co-operative education (co-op) work term (see Additional Information for more details). Please note that places in the co-op version of the program are subject to availability.

Upon graduation, you may find employment as a project management practitioner in a wide range of national, international, profit and non-profit organizations. You could also pursue a career as a(n):

• Assistant or junior project manager
• Project administrator
• Project control officer
• Project coordinator
• Project manager
• Project scheduler
• Project team leader
• PMI and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

The one-year Geographic Information Systems Ontario College Graduate Certificate program provides you with knowledge and skills relating to geographic and cartographic science, with a focal point on information systems technology.

In this program, you use both hands-on and theoretical approaches to explore topics such as:

• Field data collection
• Programming
• Remote sensing
• Enterprise geo-database design and management
• Cloud-based services
• Application development
• 2D and 3D cartographic design
• Spatial analysis and project management

A key part of this program is the independent project that you begin in your first semester and complete throughout your studies. You identify an area of interest, develop a project proposal, and then implement and complete your project, all in collaboration with an industry or government sponsor.

Cooperative education (Co-op)    
Cooperative education (Co-op) allows students to integrate their classroom learning with a real-world experience though paid work terms. Two academic terms prior to the cooperative education work term, students are required to actively participate in and successfully complete the self-directed co-op online readiness activities and in-person workshops.

Students must actively conduct a guided, self-directed job search and are responsible for securing approved program-related paid co-op employment. Students compete for co-op positions alongside students from Algonquin and other Canadian and international colleges and universities. Algonquin College`s Co-op Department provides assistance in developing co-op job opportunities and facilitates the overall process, but does not guarantee that a student will obtain employment in a co-op work term. Co-op students may be required to re-locate to take part in the co-op employment opportunities available in their industry and must cover all associated expenses; e.g., travel, work permits, visa applications, accommodation and all other incurred expenses.

Co-op work terms are typically 14 weeks in duration and are completed during a term when students are not taking courses.

In the one-year Marketing Research and Analysis Ontario College Graduate Certificate program you master the current and emerging techniques in marketing research. This program prepares you for a data-driven career in the marketing research discipline.

You learn to investigate how and why people purchase products and services. In this program, you develop the employable skills to conduct marketing and opinion research in the public, not-for-profit and private sectors. The curriculum emphasizes the marketing research process including:

• Research design
• Questionnaire construction
• Moderator`s guide construction
• Data collection
• Basic and intermediate statistical analysis and interpretation, and
• Report writing and presentation skills

In addition, you become familiar with the scientific method of hypotheses testing and reaching conclusions to solve business problems.

Graduates may have opportunities to work in a wide variety of research settings in government, not-for-profit organizations, research providers and private businesses that use marketing research.

Offering a broad range of social science courses, this two-year General Arts and Science Ontario College Diploma program gives you the chance to begin your studies and build up your academic level of knowledge. Explore your skills and interests and discover what educational path is the best for you.

This program lets you develop and explore interpersonal and communication skills as well as skills in critical thinking and research. These are essential universal skills for a world where change is rapid and adaptability is critical.

The program gives you the opportunity to discover new pathways for your future and find your potential. With the diversity of the courses, you explore many new ideas. The program presents the opportunity to learn in a post-secondary setting. This program shows future employers, colleges and universities that you can learn at the post-secondary level.

The two-year Office Administration - Executive Ontario College Diploma program prepares you for a rewarding career as an administrative professional in the public or private sector.

Develop essential skills through extensive applied practice in a simulated office in the areas of human resources, social media, office management, domestic and international travel, event planning and finance. Enhance your MS Office suite abilities through document production, transcription, desktop publishing, accounting practices, and database and project management.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Conduct oneself professionally and adhere to relevant legislation, standards and codes of ethics.
• Manage the scheduling, coordination and organization of administrative tasks and workflow within specific deadlines and according to set priorities.
• Coordinate the collection, analysis, distribution and response to communications in the workplace to facilitate the flow of information.
• Operate and provide support related to the use, maintenance and procurement of office equipment and technologies.
• Evaluate, establish and administer a variety of records management systems* to ensure confidential, secure, accessible and organized electronic and paper records.
• Produce financial documents and reports by identifying and compiling relevant information and using accounting software.
• Prepare and produce a variety of business documents using available technologies and applying industry standards.
• Use interpersonal, leadership and client service skills to respond to diversity and to support the vision and mission of the organization.
• Research, analyze and summarize information on resources and services and prepare summary reports with recommendations.
• Select and use information technologies to support communication with internal and external stakeholders and to promote the organization.
• Organize and coordinate meetings, conferences, special events and make travel arrangements, including the preparation of related documentation.
• Support the implementation of projects by applying basic principles of project management.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

In the one-year Performing Arts Ontario College Certificate program, you enjoy the thrill of performing and are committed to pursuing your craft to industry standards. You learn how to advance your craft while developing live and digital performance skills.

Learn the artistry of the stage and how to shine in front of an audience. Through collaboration with other performers, create unique performance pieces and perform to audiences. Learn how to audition and prepare for live and digital performances in professional studio settings.

Enhance your performance ability in:

• Voice
• Movement
• Spoken word
• Comedy
• Theatre
• Film
• Music
• Entertainment

In professional studio settings, you acquire vocal, audition, stage presence, production and on-camera techniques. Through collaborative activities, you experience various forms of basic performance, including the development of stage presence and audience interaction. Learn the essentials of proper breathing and voice production, as well as movement workshops, along with exercises that cultivate physical self-awareness and enable you to make better creative and enduring choices in the performing arts.

Benefit from the college experience while developing confidence in your performance skills. We work with industry to make connections that can help you achieve your future goals. You can choose to prepare for an audition, pursue a career path or apply for further education in the arts.

The one-year Marketing Management Ontario College Graduate Certificate prepares you to thrive in today`s marketing industry. Analyze consumer attitudes and behaviours in regards to products and services in our rapidly changing world. Through a creative, flexible and customer-focused approach, develop an understanding of both domestic and international marketing issues.

Among other topics, you develop a critical understanding of the competitive and customer-oriented demands of a business, its product and service operations and its marketing processes and resources. Acquire creative, procedural and critical marketing expertise to generate, implement and evaluate marketing programs that satisfy customer requirements.

Act as consultants and complete an industry project where you apply your knowledge and skills to a real-world situation by developing a marketing plan and strategy for a local organization.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Develop a promotion mix for marketing a product or service based on an identified target market within conventional and digital media spaces.
• Develop domestic and global pricing strategies which take into account perceived value, competitive environment, and corporate objectives.
• Develop strategies for efficient distribution of products and services.
• Design and modify strategies for developing a new brand or product portfolio or improvise an existing brand or product in the context of marketing objectives and evolving market trends.
• Analyze the Canadian and global marketing environment, segment and target markets, position products, develop lifecycles and evaluate marketing results with respect to costs, sales and profits.
• Formulate a comprehensive marketing plan including marketing research, competitive analysis, target market, marketing objectives, marketing mix, marketing strategies and evaluation criteria in both Canadian and International markets.
• Create and convey a marketing communications plan integrating various aspects of traditional and digital communications.
• Conduct primary and secondary research using both qualitative and quantitative methods on internal and external environmental factors in order to evaluate the current situation and draw a future marketing roadmap for an organization or a particular product or service.
• Create personal professional development strategies and plans to enhance leadership knowledge, human resource management skills, and marketing expertise in order to improve individual and team performance within the marketing function of an organization.
• Employ marketing management techniques in the planning, directing, and controlling of an enterprise.
• Develop strategies to establish, enhance and maintain working relationships with clients, consumers, customers and stakeholders within conventional and online domains.
• Recognize and address ethical dilemmas and corporate citizenship, applying ethical and organizational values to marketing situations.
• Apply the key constructs in consumer behaviour to marketing a product or service in Canadian and international markets.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

Baking and Pastry Arts Management is a two-year Ontario College Diploma program that offers the pâtissiers and the aspiring bakers an entry into the baking and pastry industry. During the course, the students spend the majority of their time in receiving hands-on experience in the labs and the college facilities, with current industry technologies and equipment and regard to sanitation and safety. Besides baking and decoration, the students also gain entrepreneurial experience related to sales and cost forecasting, marketing and capital costs, business planning, and labor distribution with respect to the daily operation of a professional bakery.

Trained industry professionals guide the students via a balance of traditional and contemporary baking techniques to make chocolate specialties, gum paste, almond paste figurines, blown, pulled and cast sugar pieces, plated desserts and specialty products, artisan breads, specialty and wedding cakes, emphasizing on nutrition throughout. 

During the duration of the program, the students participate in various industry-based field placements, perfecting their knowledge and skills with real-world experiences. Interested students may also have the option to travel to an international location for practice and instruction to further develop their knowledge and skills in the fine art of baking and pastry. The students can seek employment in patisseries, resorts and catering companies, in-store bakeries, wholesale production facilities, restaurants, hotels, artisan bakeries and commercial bakeries. 

Accredited by the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT), Computer Systems Technician is a two year Ontario College Diploma program that prepares the students for a career in either the public or the private sector in Information technology. 

The program focuses on the technical aspects of widely used troubleshooting techniques and components for networking technologies, system administration, computer hardware, operating systems, and a suite of related support and application software packages along with developing the communication skills, IT workplace ethics, technical report writing skills, customer support/interpersonal skills, workplace health and safety knowledge. 

The requirements and subject matter found in certifications, such as Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) A+, Network+, Linux+, Security+,  Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) and Cisco Academy CCENT/CCNA are explored, and the students are encouraged to write relevant industry certifications once they have met the requirements.

The college provides the students with access to the most modern computing facilities running Windows and GNU/Linux/UNIX-based operating system (O/S) platforms, hardware labs, Aruba and Cisco, specialized networking, network-based O/S servers, licensed versions of selected Microsoft O/S, VMWare and supporting a wide variety of pre-installed software applications offering them great exposure to real-world technologies. 

The three-year Biotechnology - Advanced Ontario College Advanced Diploma program gives you a strong overview of the science that drives biotechnology. With a mix of laboratory and theory courses, you learn about:

• Cell biology
• Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Molecular biology
• Microbiology
• Bioinformatics
• Statistics

You also gain a foundation in the social and ethical implications of this field, giving you the ability to make informed choices. As a student, you have the opportunity to carry out experiments and use state of the art laboratory instruments and tools throughout the program. Some of the topics you encounter include water analysis, soil analysis, quality and safety of food and beverages, DNA manipulation, and protein purification and analysis.

Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:

• Perform laboratory duties independently and in compliance with pertinent legislation and regulations, as well as biotechnology standards and guidelines.
• Collaborate in implementing and evaluating quality control and quality assurance procedures to meet organizational standards and requirements.
• Select and implement best practices for sustainability.
• Complete complex biotechnological applications using advanced principles of chemistry, biology and biostatistics as well as basic principles of physics.
• Co-ordinate, implement and validate laboratory procedures to carry out quantitative and qualitative tests and analyses.
• Co-ordinate, implement and validate standard cell culture procedures under aseptic conditions.
• Co-ordinate, implement and validate molecular biology procedures.
• Manage biological data to support biological scientists and researchers in capturing, organizing/summarizing and storing data.
• Prepare, analyze, interpret, maintain and communicate scientific data effectively.
• Develop and present a strategic plan for ongoing personal and professional development to enhance work performance.
• Apply basic business principles to biotechnology practices.
• Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.

You have the opportunity to work with government and industry professionals through optional industry internships or through participation in industry-aligned applied research projects.