Innovation and support flow through Seneca Polytechnic

Natasha Binns has worked at Seneca Polytechnic for 16 years, but she’s also a proud alumna with a degree in international business administration. Binns loved her program so much that, utilizing Seneca’s pathway to university credit program, she went on to graduate from the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. Then, she circled back to Seneca where she joined as a part-time recruitment officer in 2008.

Now director, events & special projects, Binns, says her career journey has been amazing. “My bosses were always advocating for me to grow, for my fellow team members to grow, with opportunities to be on all kinds of projects,” says Binns. “The trust, belief, respect and confidence that the leaders have in employees is one of the things that has kept me here for so long.

“At Seneca, there actually is no ceiling – whatever you want to do, wherever you want to go, whatever you want to work on, as long as you can advocate for yourself, they will support you.”

Like Binns’, Michael Rotondo's journey began as a student, when he enrolled in Seneca's honours bachelor’s program in aviation technology in 2013, and has now come full circle to his current role as co-chair, School of Aviation.

During his time as a student, Rotondo did a co-op placement in research at Seneca, which inspired him on a more academic path. After completing a bachelor of interdisciplinary studies at Seneca, he went on to do a master’s degree in human factors at Embry- Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, followed by a master of education at the University of Toronto.

A phone call brought him back to Seneca, initially as a teaching assistant, then as a full-time professor, and later as a program manager. Seneca also allowed Rotondo time away to follow his other passion, which is military training, and promoted him to manager, aviation partnerships & innovation when he returned.

“I was at the forefront of bringing in that industry vibe, looking after our industry partners with our School of Aviation, so with the airlines, the airports, and then eventually taking on innovative projects like simulation and virtual reality training for pilots and operations controllers,” says Rotondo. “Seneca’s culture is founded not only on innovation, which gets people motivated, but also on collaboration and respect throughout the organization.”

That kind of collaborative and supportive environment is crucial for fostering innovation, Rotondo explains, as well as respect for diversity.

“It’s always in collaboration; everybody understands the goal,” says Rotondo. “We’re in it for the students, we want to see our students succeed. It’s a collective unit and a united front.”

“When we’re working on projects or a new initiative, we’re always encouraged to be collaborative, to get other opinions,” says Binns. “Everyone brings something unique to the table, or has a completely different perspective. You also want to contribute your best work, knowing that the institution is behind you and allowing you to bring those ideas forward.”

Seneca’s leadership also plays a vital role in shaping an innovative culture for its 1,864 full-time employees and 2,504 part-time employees.

“A supportive, innovative culture starts from the top,” says Rotondo. “The president, David Agnew, is an amazing leader, and that leadership is reflected in his VPs, the deans and to the chair level where I’m at – and I try to do the same thing for my program managers, and to my professors.

“It's embedded through our classrooms, our students, our faculty and our support staff.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's Greater Toronto’s Top Employers winners, published December 3, 2024 in The Globe and Mail. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.