Generosity of donors supports student success
April 24, 2024
The 2023 Giving in Action report shares stories of students who received awards. Last year, the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Foundation gave out more than 3,000 awards to students who needed a financial boost to continue their studies. The total value raised came out at more than $3.7 million and students across all programs benefitted. “It put me in a comfortable place, allowing me to focus... Read more
Indigenous Guardians protecting coastal lands and waters
April 15, 2024
The partnership between Nanwakolas Council and Vancouver Island University has resulted in 16 more Indigenous Guardians graduating with formal stewardship technician qualifications. *story reprinted with permission from the Nanwakolas Council website On April 12, after a gruelling six months of intensive classroom and field studies, 16 students of the Nanwakolas Council and Vancouver Island... Read more
VIU celebrates local and global community during WorldVIU Days
October 30, 2023
The theme of the week-long event, which runs November 6 to 10, is Community Through Movement. An annual, week-long event that celebrates cultural diversity on campus is returning to Vancouver Island University (VIU). Taking place from November 6 to 10, WorldVIU Days brings people together to find common ground and build community. “This year’s theme is Community through Movement and we’re playing... Read more
RockVIU 2023 Welcome to Campus: A message of appreciation
September 24, 2023
Dear VIU community, We wanted to share an update about RockVIU 2023 on behalf of the planning teams and Student Affairs. RockVIU Fall 2023 was a mixture of in-person and hybrid events and activities that supported VIU students from our three campuses (Nanaimo, Cowichan and tiwšɛmawtxʷ). It focused on the goal of connecting students to campus, engaging with their new community, and discovering ... Read more
Taking a risk, making a friend
December 15, 2022
By Aly Winks We’re standing the foyer of my somewhat glorified BC box of a home. The topic of conversation is the end of the semester and the last paper required for completion, which is due today and caps off a few weeks of hard work following almost four months of fun, learning, exploring, and more hard work. Neither of us wanting to think too hard about the goodbye that has started peeking its... Read more
RockVIU 2022 Welcome to Campus: A message of appreciation
October 31, 2022
Dear VIU community, I hope you all are keeping well. We are emailing you with an update about RockVIU 2022, facilitated by the Centre for Experiential Learning and Student Engagement on behalf of Student Affairs. RockVIU continued the momentum from the innovative experiences captured through COVID in engaging students through an inclusive, hybrid orientation experience at all campuses. The week... Read more
Co-creating Student Support with Good Relations
December 20, 2021
by Heather Burke, MCF Learning Facilitator It has been four years since Vancouver Island University first partnered with the Mastercard Foundation on an innovative program called the EleV Learning Partnership. Through the EleV Learning Partnership at VIU, many teachings have come forward from Indigenous learners, families, communities, and other learning partners related to healthy and balanced... Read more
VIU Welcomes New Students with Two Weeks of Events and Activities
August 27, 2021
RockVIU: New Student Orientation takes place August 23 to September 3 and includes a mix of virtual and in-person events and activities. After a year and a half of online learning for many, Vancouver Island University (VIU) is gearing up to welcome more students back to campus this fall. With two cohorts of students who have never set foot on VIU campuses before – both first-year and many second-... Read more
Queen Elizabeth Scholars from Tanzania Learn Lessons in Resilience
July 7, 2021
VIU Master of Sustainable Leisure Management graduates conducted their research remotely this year due to the pandemic. The three final international participants of Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Queen Elizabeth Scholarship (QES) program will graduate this summer – marking the beginning of the final year of the program. After graduating from the College of African Wildlife Management in... Read more
VIU Grad Discovers Two-Million-Year-Old Skull while Attending Field School in South Africa
June 14, 2021
VIU Anthropology graduate Samantha Good unearthed skull at the Drimolen Palaeocave System in 2018. Samantha Good is graduating from Vancouver Island University (VIU) with an accomplishment few anthropologists achieve in their lifetime – unearthing a two-million-year-old skull belonging to an early human ancestor. Good, who graduates with a Bachelor of Arts, Major in Anthropology this June,... Read more