2025-08-28 – Newsroom

#DawsonProud, Dawson Foundation, Homepage news, In the news/in social media

Quebec first: Dawson students bound for Hamburg after winning global science competition

Nine Dawson College students are heading to Hamburg this September after winning a major international science competition. The “Dawson Technicolor” team will spend two weeks at DESY, Germany’s renowned particle physics laboratory, to test their own detector using a particle accelerator.

The student-initiated project began nearly a year ago in the context of the Dawson High Energy Physics group, led by Physics faculty members Manuel Toharia and Joel Trudeau. With funding from the Dawson Foundation, the team designed and built a muon detector called The Scintillating Chamber during the winter 2025 semester. Teacher Manuel believes this prototype was key to the team’s winning proposal in CERN’s prestigious Beamline for Schools (BL4S) competition.

Visit the link for the homepage news story.

Dawson Foundation, Dawson Gives, Perks for Dawson Employees, Student Services, Sustainability, Well-being for all

Free food for students and employees begins Sept. 8

Beginning the week of Sept. 8, free food will be offered every day of the week to students and employees thanks to the Office of Sustainability, Student Services, the Dawson College Foundation and the Dawson Student Union.

For all the details, please visit the link.

#DawsonProud, Academic News, Dawson Grads, Homepage news, In the news/in social media

Celebrating a Decade of Dawson’s Research in Neuroscience Program

This summer, Dawson’s renowned Research in Neuroscience Program marked its 10th anniversary with a lively celebration on Aug. 7. Coordinators Hélène Nadeau (Faculty, Physics) and Sylvia Cox (Faculty, Psychology) welcomed current interns and alumni for an afternoon of reflection, inspiration, and connection.

Read about the impact of the program in the homepage news story.

#DawsonProud, Office of Academic Development

Changes to the Teaching IN French Task Force

This fall, to comply with Law 14, Dawson is offering specific education, complementary and Humanities courses in French. We want to recognize the hard work and courage of the teachers who have taken on the challenge of teaching in French this first semester. Chapeau!

The Teaching in French Task Force is back this year with a team of three French teachers and one pedagogical counsellor. We want to thank the outgoing members for their innumerable contributions and the resources they created: Jeff Gandell, Cathy Roy, Monica Lopez and Einat Idan. We also want to welcome Laëtitia Desanti who will bring her expertise from Programme d’aide en français (PAF) to those programs offering internships and technical courses in French.

We look forward to supporting colleagues teaching in French this semester or preparing to do so in the future. As always, you can contact us by emailing teachinginfrench@dawsoncollege.qc.ca . There are also many resources available on our SharePoint site.

-The 2025-26 Teaching in French Task Force (Laëtitia Desanti, Laurent Duval, Chantale Giguère, Jane Hudson)

#DawsonProud, Academic News, Office of Academic Development

3D Animation and Business Administration launch newly revised programs this fall

The Office of Academic Development congratulates the faculty of 3D Animation & Computer Generated Imagery and Administration & Management Technology on the launch of their newly revised programs this fall.

Over the past year, faculty have dedicated their time, expertise, and creativity into developing courses that are relevant, engaging, and well-aligned with program goals. We extend special thanks to the course design leads, whose leadership in analyzing competencies, crafting clear learning outcomes, developing comprehensive course design documents, and guiding their departments through a collaborative design process has been exemplary. Their dedication and hard work have been pivotal in ensuring the successful launch of these new programs.

Thank you for your outstanding contributions to the design of your new program’s courses:

3D Animation: Geoff Carley, Raymon Fong, and Charles Le Guen
Business Administration: Fabienne Cyrius, Jim Parthimos, and Amanda Petriello

Dawson Professional Theatre, Dawson Talent, Events, Perks for Dawson Employees

Three Dawson Theatre productions to enjoy this fall season

Dawson's Professional Theatre program is back with three productions to enjoy this fall. Members of the Dawson community, students, employees, retirees and alumni enjoy special ticket prices.

Visit the link to see details about the fall line-up.

#DawsonProud

ICYMI: Three Dawson employees honoured by SALTISE

Three Dawson employees were honoured at the SALTISE conference at Dawson in June. Physics teacher Chris Whittaker received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Geography teacher Gisela Frias and pedagogical counsellor Azra Khan (pictured) each received the Best Practices and Pedagogical Innovators Award.

Visit the link to read their homepage news stories.

#DawsonProud, Homepage news, In the news/in social media

Ready for challenges as school year begins

The Fall 2025 semester is officially underway , as 2,936 new students joined the Dawson community last week, bringing total day enrollment to 8,030. Welcome Days were held Aug. 18 and 19, and classes began Wednesday, Aug. 20.

Visit the link for the homepage news story, which contains some of the remarks shared at Welcome Back by Director General Diane Gauvin and Academic Dean Leanne Bennett.

#DawsonProud, Awards Office, Dawson Grads

Celebrating our Winter 2025 award recipients

Meet Dawson’s Winter 2025 award recipients! These students are distinguished by their involvement in student life, commitment to community service, and determination to succeed. Congratulations to our students and many thanks to all the donors, faculty, and staff who make these awards possible.

Visit the awards celebration page to see all the recipients.

Photo: Vadele Hergelle Djokou Mbounou (Class of 2025, General Social Science), 2025 recipient of the Raymond Ellis Memorial Award. Credit: Jacee Juhasz

Events, Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery

Visit Dawson’s gallery this fall

The mission of Dawson’s Warren G. Flowers Art Gallery is to educate, empower, inspire and showcase diverse contemporary art practices to the Dawson College community and general public. The gallery is located in room 2G.0 at street level by the entrance to the college at 4001 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West and features artwork by alumni, faculty, staff, and students, as well as contemporary artists from across Canada and abroad.

This coming academic year features a variety of exhibitions beginning with Lifeboat: An Unnatural History featuring the work of Dawson alumna Kim Vose Jones. The first vernissage is Thursday, Sept. 11 at 5 PM and the exhibit is on through Oct. 18.

Coming up this fall at the gallery:

Consumed Consequences featuring the work of Dana Edmonds from Oct. 30 – Dec. 4
Photography Department Fifth Semester Exhibition from Dec. 11-18
AEC Photography Exhibition from Dec. 21-24

Come visit the gallery in 2G.0: Monday to Friday from 11 AM to 7 PM, and Saturdays from 11 AM to 5 PM.

Sustainability

Dawson DishShare: Making Sustainability Simple, One Dish at a Time

Looking to host an event at Dawson College and reduce waste at the same time? Say goodbye to single-use plastics and hello to the Dawson DishShare program, a free, eco-friendly service brought to you by Dawson College’s Office of Sustainability. You receive as many clean dishes as requested and you return them dirty after composting any leftover food.

Visit the link to get all the details for your next meeting or event as well as the form to reserve the service.

Communications Office, Events, Student Services

Reserve your Dawson Orange Shirt by Sept. 4

If you would like to buy an Orange Shirt featuring artwork entitled “Remember me” by Shayla Chloë Oroho:te Etienne (Class of 2025, Visual Arts), fill out this form to reserve your shirt before Thursday, Sept. 4: https://forms.office.com/r/sGyK1xF8U3

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day are Sept. 30. Stay tuned for more information.

Sustainability, Well-being for all

Foster parents wanted for Painted Lady butterflies

This is your invitation to gather as a community with your colleagues and foster a beautiful Painted Lady Butterfly.

“Caring for such small creatures together helps us recognize the importance of every living thing and the role they play in the ecosystem, reconnecting people, community and Nature,” said Sophie La Font of the Office of Sustainability.

Visit the link for more info and to sign up.

Dawson Remembers, Milestones

In memoriam: John Henry Burrows, Bruno Geslain and Donald Hackett

The Dawson community lost three retirees over the past few months.

John Henry Burrows taught in the Electrical Engineering Technology program from 1971 until his retirement in 1997. He passed away on July 7, 2025.

Bruno Geslain was employed at Dawson from 1978 until 2013. He started as a Pedagogical Counsellor in the Processional Development and Research service. He later became a permanent manager in 2007 (Coordinator des services pédagogiques / Coordinator, Canada – Québec Entente) prior to his retirement in 2013. Bruno died on July 20, 2025. His obituary is here.

Donald Hackett was a Computer Science teacher from 1971 until his retirement in 2005. He also taught in the Continuing Education sector. Donald passed away on May 4, 2025. His obituary is here.

#DawsonProud, Communications Office, Dawson Grads, Events, Homepage news, In the news/in social media

ICYMI: Meet our two 2025 valedictorians

Alessia Panait (Class of 2025, Enriched Health Science) and Aya Tir (Class of 2025, Law, Society and Justice profile of Social Science) were the valedictorians for the two graduation ceremonies for Dawson's Class of 2025, which took place at Place des Arts on June 18.

You can read more about Alessia, who is starting dentistry at McGill University this fall, and see her speech here: https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/news/alessia-panait-2025-valedictorian-inspires-with-passion-perseverance-and-patience/

You can read more about Aya, who is beginning a dual law degree – a Bachelor of Civil Law and Juris Doctor – at McGill University this fall, and see her speech here: https://www.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/news/aya-tir-2025-valedictorian-leads-by-taking-things-to-heart/

Photo: Aya delivering her valedictorian speech. Credit: Jacee Juhasz.

#DawsonProud, In the news/in social media

Dawson at Eureka! Festival 2025

Each spring Brian Mader (Biology) and Andrew Stewart (Physics) take a group of students to the Eureka! Festival at Parc Jean-Drapeau as part of the Regroupement des cégeps de Montréal. Eureka! is Quebec's largest science fair and includes fun, discovery, and forays into the world of science and technology aimed mainly at grade school students.

On May 30, Brian and Andrew brought eight Dawson Science students: Marianne Gervais, Maria-Alessandra Ionescu, Luca Lamarche, Daniel Looi, Oscar Proudlove, Asia Sawyers-Sandy, Sabina Riga, Cassandra Verdecampo. They lead activities on leaf printing, microbial communities, and insect viewing.

Visit the link for more photos.

#DawsonProud, Academic News

Medical Ultrasound student wins bursary from order

Last May, the Medical Ultrasound Department celebrated the end of the semester with a BBQ for our first and second-year students. A bursary was also granted by our professional order, the OTIMROEPMQ.

The Ordre des technologues en imagerie médicale, en radio-oncologie et en électrophysiologie (OTIMROEPMQ) established this bursary in 2023 and grants a scholarship to each CEGEP in Quebec with a Medical Ultrasound program. Our faculty recognized one student who they felt showed hard work, dedication and improvement over the course of their studies at the college. Rebecca Hamilton is now in her third and final year of the program and is currently interning at our affiliated hospitals. Congratulations, Rebecca!

Photo:  From left to right: Dania Gonzalez, Diana Ranalo, Melanie Nash, Eleni Joannides, student Rebecca Hamilton, Gaëlle Mpiana, Kieran Bradshaw, Cassandra Mofford

DawsonITE

DawsonITE Newsletter # 675

DawsonITE is your curated news related to IST and Education prepared by Dawson's Rafael Scapin.

In this issue:

What Teachers Should Know About ChatGPT’s New Study Mode Feature
Version control: how I combat the rise of generative AI in the classroom
The Only Open-Source PDF Editors You'll Ever Need

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025