Diploma in Engineering Design Technology

at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Canada

Environmental Monitoring & Assessment students investigate the impact of human activities on air, water, soil and vegetation, and gain a solid foundation in environmental sampling, assessment and laboratory skills. Students learn how to monitor and assess environmental quality, apply principles of quality assurance/quality control, manage waste, and reclaim and remediate land. Graduates may conduct environmental site assessments, collect samples from surface and ground water, air, soil and waste, or analyze samples for pollutants in an environmental lab. They work with industry, consultants or government on land and water remediation and reclamation, and investigate environmental issues for various research groups.

Hands-on, industry-relevant skills
During the first semester, you'll acquire skills and knowledge in the general sciences of biology and chemistry, communications, ethics, botany, zoology, genetics, and lab techniques and calculations.

You'll then be trained in the following areas
Field Skills:

• Perform field analysis of soil, vegetation and water quality
• Monitor air pollutants
• Collect environmental samples from air, water, soil, plants and waste for further lab analysis
• Conduct environmental site assessments – ESA (Phase I - III)
• Maintain and calibrate field equipment for environmental sampling

Additional Skills:

• Design and manage group-based projects
• Measure effects of pollutants on the environment by studying toxicology
• Use current solid and hazardous waste treatment technologies and monitoring systems
• Use legislation and standards related to environmental issues
• Employ pollution prevention and pollution control technologies
• Use quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) principles to obtain accurate data
• Generate and keep detailed log books
• Compile and manage data using MS Office
• Write reports, perform literature reviews, and prepare and give presentations

The NAIT Advanced Care Paramedic program prepares graduates for a rewarding and challenging career in providing emergency medical services to the sick and injured. Advanced Care Paramedics are members of the inter-professional health care team, working collaboratively with other emergency medical personnel, physicians, nurses, and other health professionals. They primarily provide care of patients at emergency scenes in the pre hospital care setting, but can also have roles in emergency departments and other settings within an acute care hospital setting. They are responsible for assessing a patient’s condition to determine the extent of his or her injury or illness and immediate care needs, and providing treatment that includes advanced life support procedures, airway management, medication administration, tending to traumatic injuries, intravenous catheterization, bandaging, splinting, suturing child birth, mental health crisis interventions, and more. Patient care often includes initial stabilization of the patient and transport via ambulance to health care facilities for further treatment.

Demands of the job and practicum training as a student include standing, reaching, walking, crouching, bending, and lifting of heavy equipment, as well as exposure to stressful emergency situations where patients are critically ill or injured, and quick decisions must be made in managing the patient and delegating roles to first responders. There are also risks for exposure to chemicals, bodily fluids, needle sticks, moving traffic, weather conditions.

The NAIT Advanced Care Paramedic program utilizes facilities at NAIT, active treatment hospitals, and ambulance services to train and prepare students for graduation and employment.

 What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant training

In this 2 year diploma program you will build on your prior learning as a primary care paramedic and learn about providing advanced emergency care, including assessment and treatment of patients with a variety of medical disorders and injuries. Your learning environment will consist of lectures, labs, clinical simulations and practicum. Areas of learning will be focused on but are not excluded to:

• Human anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology
• Advanced life support skills including medical and trauma management
• Pharmacology
• Child birth and neonatal care
• Pediatric patient care
• Diverse patient populations
• Professionalism, inter professionalism, and medical legal aspects

You will also be trained in physical and mental health self-care, to ensure you are prepared for a demanding patient care environment.

Practicum will consist of placement with ambulance services and a variety of acute care hospitals. You will be expected to work shifts including evenings, nights and weekends, and you may be required to travel outside of Edmonton for your practicum placement.

The first year of the program consists of lectures, labs and clinical simulations. The second year of the program consists of some lectures, labs and clinical simulation in advanced courses, as well as approximately 1200 hours of practicum.

You can expect to spend, on average:

• 28 hours per week attending classes over the course of a semester
• 15 to 20 hours per week studying and completing class assignments
• 40 hours per week on practicum

Over 10,000 employees are injured at work in Alberta every year. Some are seriously injured, even killed.

As a result, organizations across the province continue to invest more time and resources to better train and equip their personnel, identify potential dangers and develop strategies and policies that keep employees safe.

The NAIT Occupational Health & Safety (OHSD) diploma program will prepare you to fill essential health and safety roles in industry to meet the growing demands of government regulations.

Our 2-year program focuses on real-world issues and practical skills and is the only program in the province that offers full-time OHS training. We are recognized by the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals, and our graduates meet the educational requirements for Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP) certification, the most recognizable designation for safety professionals in Canada.

Over 5 terms, you’ll be provided with classroom and lab instruction, as well as applied learning opportunities in a variety of workplace settings.

Co-Op Work Term
Your co-op work term will give you the opportunity to apply your professional skills and theoretical understanding in a workplace setting. You’ll be given various occupational health and safety responsibilities and projects in a business, industry, government, education or non-profit organization. 

In addition to providing new learning experiences, the work term will give you valuable on-the-job skills and industry contacts that will set you up for success after graduation.

Captioners and court reporters are highly skilled professionals who can capture speech at speeds of 225 words per minute (wpm) and higher. Using an electronic shorthand machine and sophisticated computer technology, reporters translate a conversation virtually simultaneously to the printed word.

Being a captioner or court reporter is a profession like no other. It is exciting to meet the challenges when no 2 days are alike and when you learn new and fascinating information every day.

NAIT offers the only captioning and court reporting program in western Canada to be approved by the National Court Reporters Association - a 35,000 member organization based in the United States. Consequently, the program is well-regarded and graduates obtain employment not only across Canada and the United States, but around the world.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant skills
In the Captioning and Court Reporting program, you will learn how to write machine shorthand at 225 words per minute (or faster). This will allow you to work as a court reporter, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) provider or broadcast captioner.

You can expect to learn and develop:

• The ability to write machine shorthand verbatim at 225 words per minute with 95% accuracy
• Proficiency with computer-aided transcription software
• Comprehensive English skills
• An extensive understanding of criminal and civil law
• Interpersonal and leadership skills

The Digital Media and IT (DMIT) program is multi-disciplinary in its approach. Spanning a range of career opportunities from business analyst to visual designer, this innovative program allows you the ability to meet industry demand while developing skills aligned with your individual talents and inclinations.

As an Information Technology (IT) System Administrator, you could be responsible for implementing and maintaining data infrastructure and providing IT solutions that deliver value to an organization.

This program will show you what you need to know in order to get started in this highly sought after profession.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant skills
In the IT System Administrator area of emphasis, you will learn how to plan, install, upgrade and configure computer operating systems along with essential software applications and services, including:

• Vital data network services (DHCP, DNS and Active Directory Services)
• Virus and patch-management services
• Web, SharePoint, deployment and remote desktop servers

These courses will teach you how to identify requirements for data network infrastructure services based on functionality, resource utilization, capacity and growth, security, ease of use and maintenance activities. You will also learn how to specify, order, install and connect hardware based on those requirements.

You will leave this program with the skills necessary to determine and document software, roles, features, settings and parameters required to maintain a reliable and manageable IT environment.

Co-op Opportunities
As a result of DMIT's close connection with industry, various co-op opportunities exist for students in the DMIT program. Many companies offer our students paid co-op positions that provide direct experience in specific areas of study. Co-op is also seen as a staffing strategy for many organizations.

NAIT's Construction Engineering Technology program will provide you with a broad knowledge of the management, estimating and technical aspects of construction, with a primary focus on commercial and residential buildings and related support industries.

You'll develop your drawing interpretation, detail sketching and site surveying skills. You'll also be shown the ins and outs of project planning, contract administration and sub-trade coordination so you can advance your career into site leadership and project management.

The Construction Engineering Technology program works with a program advisory committee made up of industry experts who ensure the program provides students with the knowledge and skills currently required by employers. The program is also accredited by the Canadian Construction Association Gold Seal Certification program and by the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET).

Look around you – virtually every printed, silk screened and digitally-rendered display you see every day has moved through the hands of a graphic communications professional.

NAIT's intensive 1-year Graphic Communications certificate program will prepare you for entry into the creative and rapidly evolving digital, print and publishing industry. You'll take projects from the creative planning stage through graphic design, digital file creation, customer proofing and final output. You can also expect to gain practical, hands-on experience with industry-standard software and equipment, and get the opportunity to complete a wide range of projects you're likely to encounter in industry.

Before all this, you'll develop a firm understanding of theoretical concepts and methods that are critical in the various press, bindery and large-format processes that follow digital file creation. This technical knowledge is what sets NAIT's Graphic Communications program apart from other technical institutions.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant skills
The program has an excellent reputation among the Capital Region’s business community; classroom projects often involve design assignments relevant to their current ventures. Direct industry experience is gained through the program’s two-week professional experience component, allowing eligible students the opportunity to apply their technical and interpersonal skills effectively within a workplace environment.

The graphics industry is constantly undergoing change, whether it is new software developments, updates in output equipment and technologies, or trends in design elements. The program is in constant contact with industry and supply representatives to be sure the training demands are being met and grads have the skills necessary for employment. Skills acquired in this program have allowed our graduates to seek employment opportunities all across North America.

Students in NAIT's renowned Culinary Arts program are introduced to the fundamental skills of cooking with an emphasis on safe food handling, sanitation and nutrition. These skills are enhanced by hands-on participation in advanced cooking practices including contemporary hot and cold presentation, pastry art and international cuisine.

The NAIT Culinary Arts program provides students with relevant, high-quality culinary training. Our grads are in demand for a variety of career opportunities in leading hotels, restaurants and catering facilities. Our students get real-world experience through

• Hands-on training in the state-of-the-art Hokanson Centre for Culinary Arts
• Preparing the dishes served in Ernest's, NAIT's acclaimed fine dining restaurant
• Participating in work experience placements

Culinary Arts students also have the opportunity to join Culinary Team NAIT, which competes in regional, national and international culinary competitions.

Chef in Residence Program
The Department of Culinary Arts and Professional Food Studies' unique Chef in Residence program provides students with the rare opportunity to learn first-hand from some of the best chefs in the world. This ongoing program will bring culinary authorities from around the world to NAIT to share their insights and expertise with students and faculty. The goal of the Chef in Residence program is to expose students to innovative cooking techniques and diverse culinary trends and styles.

Learn more about the Chef in Residence program

This nationally recognized program provides a wide range of training and will give you the skills necessary to make full or partial dentures, repair crowns, bridges and orthodontic appliances. You’ll learn the art and science of creating corrective devices for natural teeth and tissues.

A dental technologist is a master of their craft and an essential member of the dental-health team. To be successful, you’ll need to display meticulous attention to detail and an equal combination of technical skills and artistry.

What You Will Learn
Hands-on, industry-relevant training 
Throughout the program, you’ll recreate the appearance of natural teeth in fixed restorations such as crowns and implant restorations using porcelain, metal alloys and ceramic materials. For corrective devices like orthodontic appliances, you’ll learn the physical and biological forces of handling waxes, wires and acrylic materials.

You’ll have an individual workstation in the dental lab, complete with the latest industry-standard equipment, like:

• press ceramic furnace
• digital laboratory scanner
• acrylic injection system
• pressure thermal-forming machine

You can expect to spend, on average

• 32 hours per week attending classes over the course of a semester
• 10-15 hours per week studying and completing class assignments

The Advanced Plumbing Technology diploma is a unique opportunity to get the technical and career essential skills you need to succeed in the plumbing industry. The diploma program offers a direct pathway into trades training at NAIT without having to first be a registered apprentice and can also serve as a pathway to apprenticeship.

The program focuses on theory and hands-on training required to master installation, repair, perform mechanical system maintenance and more. You will learn specific technical knowledge and get hands-on skills and experience. You will also get to explore new technologies and systems such as water recycling and re-use, solar and geothermal heating systems and water conservation.

Industry-approved training
A career in plumbing calls for an understanding of both technical knowledge and career essential skills. Learning outcomes for this program include:

• Industry standards, legislation and workplace expectations
• Design, installation and maintenance of all relevant systems, including:
  • Gas systems
  • Hydronic heating systems and gas appliances
  • Potable and non-potable water systems
  • Service drainage, waste and vent (DWV) systems
• Design, interpretation and conversion of drawings for plumbing installations
• Mathematical concepts for plumbing installations, and
• Effective written and verbal communication tools

The program content and structure aligns with Alberta Credential Framework expectations. After completing the program, you will have the technical training comparable to a journeyperson plumber.
After completing the program, you will be eligible to enter into an apprenticeship and complete apprenticeship hours to receive a journeyperson’s certificate.