Open Session - Any College or Polytechnic
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County of Simcoe Business Development | Project Management: The Agile Approach
This free session, co-hosted by the County of Simcoe Economic Development Office, introduces the agile approach in project management as an alternative to the traditional methods. It explores how agile methodologies enable teams to respond quickly to changing requirements, deliver value incrementally, and foster collaboration for better outcomes in dynamic environments. You'll learn why agile is ideal for projects with uncertainty, with a focus on the Scrum framework, emphasizing adaptability, continuous improvement, and customer feedback to reduce risks and enhance project success.
County of Simcoe Business Development | Project Management: The Classic Approach
The County of Simcoe Economic Development Office co-presents this free session introducing the classic approach in project management, aligned with the Project Management Institute's (PMI) guidelines. It covers the PMI framework, the project life cycle and typical phases, the key processes, and the main knowledge areas. It provides the foundational knowledge with a set of tools and techniques for managing projects, as well as the essential project documents and templates. A mini case is used for demonstrations.
Student Spotlight: Brandon Rehfuhs Pays it Forward
This Lakehead Leader Award Winner is Someone to Look Up to
On the road to success, some people sprint up the corporate ladder, while others extend that ladder behind them, lifting those who need help.
Brandon Rehfuhs, a Master of Science in Management student, offers a firm grip for those coming up behind him because he believes his purpose is to share his knowledge and experience.
The impact he's had on and off campus hasn't gone unnoticed.
Brandon received a 2025 Lakehead Leader Award in the Luminary category. The university's Student Success Centre recognized him with this honour for his success in spearheading projects that address community needs through entrepreneurship.
Brandon (centre), accepts a 2024-25 Lakehead Leader Award, as well as certificates of recognition and achievement, from Student Success Centre Director Paula Jean Broderick (left) and Vice-Provost & Registrar Andrea Tarsitano (right).
A Deep Love for the North
Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Brandon credits his father Axel—who graduated from Lakehead in 1993 with a Bachelor of Administration—with being his most inspiring mentor.
"He started his own water and plumbing business, and taught me about that as well as how to manage people effectively," explains Brandon, who earned his Honours Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting in 2024.
With that foundation to build on, he took advantage of Lakehead's many experiential learning opportunities, like the Enactus entrepreneurship club.
"I joined Enactus in my first year and later became president. They do amazing work helping people in the north."
Brandon loves welcoming new students to Lakehead during orientation, as well as providing academic support through small and large group peer mentorship sessions.
Building a Better World
Brandon's passion for social impact began early.
In 2017, when he was in grade nine, the City of Thunder Bay's Recreation and Culture Division gave him a Young Entrepreneurs Award to recognize his contributions to the community.
Calendars he designed raised $870 for charity.
He credits his time with the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy, Rotary Adventure in Citizenship Program, and the Thunder Bay Police Youth Corps with instilling civic pride. He has participated in many local events including The Terry Fox Run, Empty Bowls Caring Hearts, and Road Cleanup.
"Since then, I've wanted to help people learn more about leadership, public speaking, and soft skills. That's why I deliver workshops through the Student Success Centre," he says.
"I'm also grateful to Ingenuity—Lakehead's first business incubator—for giving Enactus space for hosting workshops and to Ingenuity Manager Alyson MacKay for offering us lots of pointers and assistance."
Through Enactus, Brandon (centre) and his fellow team members Morgan Gordon (left) and Aidan Woodhouse (right), competed at the 2024 Enactus Canada National Exposition.
Brandon has designed and run interactive programs for Indigenous youth groups and university students dedicated to developing critical thinking skills, professional development, and leadership training, as well as a workshop series to help young people develop practical workplace skills.
"I'm mostly just trying to help people be the best person they can be, and I want to help shape the new generation by sharing the knowledge I've gained," he says.
Welcoming High School Students to Lakehead
In 2022, Brandon started working as a program assistant with Shad Canada as another way of giving back.
Shad is an immersive mentorship and entrepreneurship program for high school students that takes place on university campuses. It's focused on young people who want to make a difference in the fields of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics.
Shad Canada is an international nonprofit organization that inspires students to improve the world through entrepreneurial action. As Shad Lakehead's program coordinator, Brandon helped plan and execute a month-long program for high-achieving high school students that sparked innovation, creativity, and teamwork.
"I love being able to teach the amazing students going into Grade 11 and 12 who come to the program for the month of July," says Brandon, who recently became the program coordinator for Shad Lakehead.
For 'Pitch Day!', he matched entrepreneurial students with business mentors who could help them develop their ideas and pitch them to a panel of judges.
"I've gotten messages from past students who are now in university about how the Shad program affected them and helped them grow," he says.
Forging a Future for All
In 2023, Brandon won the Founder's Bursary presented by the John Dobson Foundation for his superior leadership with Enactus. He also received the Enactus Canada Gold Community Service Leadership Award.
Lakehead's Enactus Team was a runner-up in the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge for their project involving soft skills, entrepreneurship, and mental health.
"Being recognized shows me that other people are seeing the impact we're having, and I'm hoping it inspires them to do this type of work as well," he says.
Brandon wants young people to dream big. He's even started his own business, Garant Enterprises, to teach them soft skills and entrepreneurship.
"They're our new generation of leaders and entrepreneurs, so helping them become their best selves is so fulfilling."
Course Registration
Each program at Lakehead has specific courses students must take in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year in order to graduate with their degree. Confused about how to register for these classes? Not sure where to find the class listings?
Join our recruitment team as we host special guests to walk through the basics of the course registration process. Bring your questions for the live Q&A. Register today!
Tuition & Fees
Wondering about upcoming deadlines to pay your fees? Join our webinar to find out how to make a payment towards your tuition and what your tuition fees cover as a Lakehead student.
Our recruitment staff will be leading the presentation with special guests. Bring your questions for the live Q&A. Register today!
On Campus Residence & Housing
At Lakehead, we embrace the fact that you cannot go home every weekend. From the people you’ll meet to the laughs you’ll share, living in Residence will become a whole new way of life. Staying in Residence allows students to walk to classes, athletics, the cafeteria, and social spots without spending time commuting. Going to university isn’t just about going to class. Your Residence Life Team will ensure you always have something to do!
Co-op Work Permit Workshop
Have you recently been accepted into a co-op work term for Spring 2026? If so, you will require a co-op work permit to complete this work in Canada. This is separate from your study permit. If you don't already have one, we recommend applying online right away. Work permit processing is very delayed in Canada so please apply early. You can join this workshop to go over the online application with your International Student Advisor.
Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Temitope Ojo
Our Region’s Forests are in Good Hands with this Rising Star
An Unlikely Forester
Dr. Temitope Ojo had big dreams when he was growing up, but working in the natural resources industry wasn't one of them.
"As a kid in Nigeria, we didn't have constant electricity," Temitope says. "So I set my mind on becoming an electrical engineer because I wanted to be part of the solution."
For Temitope's PhD thesis, he did a comparative analysis of two communities that relied upon one primary industry for their survival—Atikokan, Ontario, and Oloibira, Nigeria.
After he finished high school, he applied to the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Nigeria.
Then Temitope hit a snag.
It would be a full year before his electrical electronics engineering spot would become available, and he didn't want to wait around. When the university told him they had a spot open in their forestry program, Temitope took it.
His friends weren't sure about this unexpected choice. "They laughed when I told them and said, 'You're going to be a forester?'"
"But I fell in love with forestry," he says.
Helping Restore a Ravaged Landscape
When he finished his undergraduate degree, graduating with distinction, Temitope put his newfound knowledge to practical use.
In Nigeria, all university graduates are required by law to complete a year of national service with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to promote national unity and community development. Temitope was eager to use this service year to support reforestation efforts.
"Nigeria is in an environmental crisis caused by deforestation," he explains. "With fewer trees to anchor the soil and break the wind, communities are facing landslides and strong winds that rip roofs off homes."
He planted over 10,000 trees during his year of service—both fast-growing Gmelina and sturdy teak trees.
His herculean efforts earned him a National Youth Service Corps State Coordinator's Award from the federal government.
Temitope was admitted to PhD programs in multiple countries, but Lakehead stood above the others. "I wanted professors with track records of mentoring their students and who specialized in my interests," he says. "I also wanted small classrooms and to be close to nature."
But Temitope wasn't finished with academia. He returned to school to complete a Master of Forest Economics and Management at FUNAAB, graduating at the top of his class.
"Then I decided to continue my passion for forestry, and began looking at PhD programs in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Hong Kong, and Canada. I picked Canada because it has the best forestry programs in the world."
A Friend You Can Lean On
Temitope's research led him to choose Lakehead. So, in 2019, he made the life-changing journey from Nigeria to northwestern Ontario.
"When you come to Lakehead, you don't only come to study," Temitope says. "Lakehead has the resources to help you fit into the community and to inspire you to give back to the community.
My PhD supervisor, Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu, instilled this ethos in me. I wanted to replicate that goodness."
Soon, Temitope was helping other students transition to life in a new country.
He started a shuttle system, giving new international students rides from the airport to their residences and buying groceries for them with his own money. He also introduced them to services available at Lakehead and in Thunder Bay.
"I became friends with many of the students I met."
Temitope was recognized by the university’s Student Success Centre with Lakehead Leader Awards for Diversity and Inclusion (2020) and Community Engagement (2023).
Temitope contributed in many other ways. He was the president of Lakehead's branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees and a member of the Graduate Student Association's executive.
He volunteered with the environmental non-profit EcoSuperior, served as a citizen representative and vice-chair of the City of Thunder Bay's Anti-Racism & Equity Advisory Committee, and joined the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society board, where he now serves as vice-president.
A New Champion for Northwestern Ontario Forestry
A few weeks before receiving his PhD in Forest Sciences in 2024, Temitope landed a position as the regional supervisor of the Ministry of Natural Resources' Northwest Region.
In this role, he leads the Regional Information and Analysis Unit, where he oversees natural resource assessment and geospatial analysis. He also develops complex Geographic Information System (GIS) products that support ecological sustainability and natural resource planning across northwestern Ontario.
Temitope served as the vice-chair of the Canadian Institute of Forestry (Northwestern Ontario) and was featured in an article in the September 2023 issue of the Professional Forester. Right, Temitope stands beside Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu after receiving a 2025 City of Thunder Bay Exceptional Achievement – Good Citizen Award.
"It's all thanks to the mentorship of Dr. Beaulieu," Temitope says. "When I was close to graduating, he reviewed my resume and gave me tips and pointers, which got me an interview with the Ministry of Natural Resources.
I'm so grateful to him and to Lakehead for helping me find my dream job."
Call the Midwife
Ensuring Equitable Maternity Care for All Northern Ontarians
OVERVIEW:
- Many Northern Ontario communities have limited access to maternity and newborn care
- Training more midwives can help solve the region's healthcare challenges
- Dr. Kirsty Bourret and Dr. Helle Møller's research team offers timely maternity care solutions
Bringing a child into the world should always be a joyful experience, but for many northern Ontario families, pregnancy also brings stress and anxiety.
Women across the region report difficulties in finding adequate perinatal and pregnancy care.
"If a woman living outside of a major centre needs her baby delivered, she often has to travel an average of four or five hours," says Health Sciences Professor Dr. Kirsty Bourret.
Dr. Kirsty Bourret (left) is a Francophone settler, midwife and researcher committed to advancing primary care, reproductive justice, anti-racism, and culturally safe care. She bridges clinical practice, policy, and implementation research to strengthen health systems that reflect the communities they serve.
Rural, Indigenous, and Francophone communities face the greatest challenges.
"Over the last five years, birth services in northern Ontario hospitals have been shutting down," says Health Sciences Professor Dr. Helle Møller. "Many of the remaining doctors don't have experience assisting with births, so they aren't offering maternity care."
"It was emotionally difficult to be separated from my two-year-old child for so long."
- Northern Ontario woman who had to leave her community to give birth
Dr. Helle Møller (right) studies the determinants of health, social justice, and equity in health, healthcare, and health education. In particular, she focuses on perinatal people, people on the female continuum, and Indigenous people in northern, rural, and remote regions.
For Dr. Bourret and Dr. Møller, the way to solve this concerning state-of-affairs is obvious. Train more midwives so that they can step into the gap.
Currently, midwives support approximately 40 per cent of all births in Thunder Bay, however, there aren't enough of them to meet demand in the region.
"Hundreds of northern Ontarians who want midwifery services are turned away because of a shortage of midwives," Dr. Bourret says.
What exactly does a midwife do?
Midwives are frontline healthcare providers whose services, which are free of charge, are comparable to those offered by doctors and nurse practitioners.
Prenatal, birth, and postpartum care is the focus of most midwives; however, they can also tend to every aspect of women's health and reproductive needs—from their teen years to menopause and beyond.
This care includes routine health screenings, contraception, early pregnancy loss and pregnancy care, care of mothers, and care of babies for the first two years of their lives.
They also allow women to choose where they will deliver their babies—at home, in a hospital, or at a birth centre.
During home births, midwives bring clinical equipment including blood pressure cuffs, IVs, portable ultrasounds, and instruments for suturing, as well as medications to stabilize newborns and mothers. Some midwives travel up to 400 km to treat patients in rural northern communities. Photo Credit: Association of Ontario Midwives
"There are a lot of misconceptions about midwives, including that they're untrained and unregulated," Dr. Møller says.
"We want the public to know that midwives must complete a four-year university degree and that they are a regulated health profession governed by the College of Midwives of Ontario. They collaborate closely with specialists and are recognized by the province of Ontario as essential to interprofessional primary care teams."
Dr. Bourret is a midwife herself. "I came to midwifery in 2000 because I believe that everyone deserves equitable, safe, and respectful care."
"Midwives have a unique philosophy of care and a huge positive effect on their clients' mental health," agrees Dr. Møller.
They provide continuity of care, informed choice, are on call 24 hours a day for urgent concerns, and travel to clients' homes for postpartum care.
Standing Up for Women and Children
Midwives help patients navigate a complex healthcare system by acting as advocates and by offering counselling and referrals. Currently, there are only about 1,000 midwives to serve Ontario's population of over 16 million. Photo Credit: Unsplash/Brian Wangenheim
Dr. Møller and Dr. Bourret are part of Northern Midwifery Care—an interdisciplinary research group committed to ensuring that every woman in northern Ontario receives culturally safe, equitable midwifery care.
The group is leading a large qualitative and quantitative midwifery research study called "Mapping Midwifery Care in Northern Ontario, an intersectional mixed methods study."
"Until now, there was no research showing where midwives are working in northern Ontario and how the midwife shortage is affecting access to primary healthcare," says Dr. Bourret, who is the study's lead investigator.
Dr. Møller is a co-investigator along with Laurentian University midwifery professor emeritus Dr. Susan James and Dr. Patrick Timony with the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research. Their diverse research team also includes graduate students and northern Ontario client partner researchers with lived experiences, including midwives and doulas.
Midwives Make All the Difference
Over 51 midwives, plus clients from every district in northern Ontario, were interviewed for the research study. "I come from Denmark where midwives provide 85 per cent of care to pregnant and birthing people," Dr. Møller says. Photo Credit: Association of Ontario Midwives
Preliminary results of the study have found that midwives provide timely and continuous primary care across rural, remote, and urban communities in the North and that they are one of the backbones of a good healthcare system.
They divert admissions to hospitals—including costly emergency department visits for women and newborns—and free up hospital resources for other patients.
That's why Dr. Bourret and Dr. Møller are organizing the Northern Ontario Midwifery Symposium this winter, to explore challenges, innovations, and collaborative solutions that will support sustainable midwifery care in northern Ontario.
"Midwives are change agents,"Dr. Møller says.
Make your voice heard by clicking here to register for the Northern Ontario Midwifery Symposium on February 5, 2026.
Dr. Bourret and Dr. Møller's research is funded by the Association of Ontario Midwives. You can learn more about the Northern Midwifery Care research group on Facebook and Instagram. You can also email them at northernmidwiferycare@gmail.com.
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