WHITEHORSE—Gillian McKee spends a lot of time watching ravens: their swaggers, their struts, their gurgles and squawks. In McKee’s poem The Black Bird Gang, which is featured in the new issue of Yukon College’s Northern Review, she explores how the birds expertly toe… or rather, claw… the line between majestic and absurd.

Whitehorse—Cold Climate Innovation (CCI) at Yukon College and Government of Yukon’s department of Economic Development have launched the fourth annual Yukon Innovation Prize (YIP). Yukoners can win up to $70,000 for their innovative product or service designed under the theme of social entrepreneurship.

Innovators first compete for one of four $10,000 prizes which is used to further develop their idea and provide evidence of social impact and economic viability. The four finalists then submit their refined plans to compete for the grand prize of $60,000 in additional funding to bring their innovation towards commercialization.

$3.057 million joint federal and territorial investment is creating jobs, expanding research and fostering innovation in Whitehorse.

Whitehorse, Yukon

WHITEHORSE—Kaska artist Dennis Shorty is sharing his family stories through a new display opening this month in the Hilltop Bistro at Yukon College. Shorty is known for his antler and wood carving, but this show will feature his most recent works in watercolour and ink.

“I wanted to try something new and expand my artistic endeavours,” said the Ross River-based artist.

WHITEHORSE—Bachelor of Social Work instructors Dana Jennejohn and Janice Wiens and Drs.

The Campus Alberta Quality Council (CAQC) has recognized Yukon College’s readiness to deliver and sustain its own high-quality undergraduate degree programs following an organizational evaluation process. This marks the first time that a post-secondary institution in any territory has been evaluated to grant degree programs.

WHITEHORSE—All Yukon College campuses will be participating in a planned lockdown exercise on Thursday, November 30, 2017 between 11:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.

The scheduled drill is part of the College’s new “Safety Months” initiative, aimed at increasing awareness of safety protocols at Yukon College. The initiative includes monthly safety information reminders and practice exercises focusing on a different topic from the College’s Emergency Response Plan.

TESLIN—Yukon College launches a series of community meetings about the transition to Yukon University this week with a feast and discussion in Teslin.

Whitehorse – Partners for Children (PFC) has a new home. Moving forward, the Network for Healthy Early Human Development (NHEHD) will host the program, instead of Yukon College.

NHEHD is a local non-profit organization dedicated to improving outcomes for children by providing workshops and resources to Yukoners who work with kids, personally or professionally.

“Under Yukon College, this has become a hugely successful program. It has created a real community for early childhood development in the Yukon,” said Tanja Westland, Vice-President of NHEHD. “It’s a great fit for us to take on because it fulfills our mandate and because we have partnered with PFC through the College in the past.”

WHITEHORSE—Yukon College ranked 2nd out of comparable smaller colleges in Canada for the number of paid student researchers according to the newly released Canada’s Top 50 Research Colleges by Research Infosource Inc.