A graduation ceremony was held yesterday afternoon for the University of Guelph’s inaugural agricultural communications diploma students, the first group to complete the 16-month, five-course program.
The agricultural communications diploma is offered by distance through the Ontario Agricultural College and the Office of Open Learning. It’s based on communication skill development and application. Students learn news writing, editorial writing, photography, blogging and writing for the web, among other skills, against a back drop of ethics and theory.
The program’s first graduates all reside in Ontario. They are Jennifer Atkinson of Schomberg, Joanne Falk of Rockwood, Scott Hodgins of Dorchester, Patricia Grotenhuis of Listowel, Brent Piercey of Bolton, Melissa Snyder of Elmira and Terry Stevenson of London.
The students’ final course was a three-month virtual internship. Each student worked with a specific host on an agricultural communications project, interacting mainly through electronic communications. Virtual hosts for the first cohort were DuPont Canada Agricultural Products, McCormick Global Communications, BASF, Foodlink Waterloo, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Ontario Wheat Producers and AGRIS Co-op.
The second cohort started its studies in September. Applications for cohort three will open in the late winter. Program information can be found at www.agcommunications.ca.
Owen Roberts,
Agricultural Communications coordinator
University of Guelph
Post new comment