News Stories
Alum of the Month: Hannah McSorley
January 14, 2020
It’s been a few years since Hannah McSorley graduated from Vancouver Island University, but her connections to the institution remain strong. Thanks to a research background in environmental analytical chemistry which she gained while still a student at VIU, as well as significant field experience in hydrology, McSorley is working for the university’s Coastal Hydrology Research Lab as an analyst... Read more
Building Resilience in Volunteer Firefighters
December 11, 2019
A VIU professor is helping volunteer firefighters cope with the physical and mental effects they may experience when they are involved in a traumatic incident.Firefighters are the real-life heroes. The people who put their lives on the line to save our homes and rescue us from motor vehicle accidents. They also have a higher than normal exposure to horrific events than the average person.“There... Read more
Removing Barriers to Online Learning for Trades Students
November 29, 2019
Examining Trades and Technical education learning and teaching in a digital age.Digital access to textbooks, lesson plans and research has been transforming the way people learn for the last two decades, but not across all disciplines equally. “Education changes lives,” says Sally Vinden Instructor in the Faculty of Trades and Applied Technology at Vancouver Island University (VIU). “As... Read more
Assessing Creative Tourism in Rural BC and Yukon
November 21, 2019
Two Vancouver Island University (VIU) researchers are heading north to analyze a relatively new economic driver ̶̶ creative tourism and its impact on rural communities.Two Vancouver Island University (VIU) researchers are leading a study into the role the cultural sector and creative tourism play in the sustainability of smaller, rural cities and towns in northern British Columbia and... Read more
Overcoming Barriers to Active Transportation With E-Bikes
October 8, 2019
A VIU student research project aims to help cities formulate cycling plans that include electric bicycles.Vancouver Island University (VIU) Masters of Community Planning student Eleni Gibson used to enjoy cycling. That was when she lived in Victoria, but after moving to Nanaimo to pursue her post-secondary education, it became a grueling activity.“I was trying to cycle but it's a 35-minute bike... Read more
Lunch Series Feeds Curious Minds Looking to Satisfy Appetites for Knowledge
September 19, 2019
VIU Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity Office’s fall lunch and learn series fosters supportive environment to present and discuss ideas.Lunch can be a time to nourish the mind as well as the body thanks to Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) annual Bring Your Lunch and Learn Series starting this fall.The series, presented by VIU’s Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity Office... Read more
Research @ VIU
September 18, 2019
Every year, faculty and students at VIU go out into communities to participate in research that is having a significant impact on the region as well as giving students important experiential learning opportunities. Here are a few projects they engaged in this year. For more stories, visit research.viu.ca. Gender Historians Bring International Research Journal to VIUThe world’s leading... Read more
Scholar Focuses on How Indigenous Issues are Covered in Media
September 3, 2019
Dr. Cynthia-Lou Coleman is curious about the similarities and differences between how Indigenous scientific and cultural issues are covered by the media in Canada and the United States. Coleman, Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) 2019 Fulbright Canada Jarislowsky Foundation Visiting Research Chair in Aboriginal Studies, will explore the issue over the next four months. Coleman is a professor... Read more
Deep Bay Marine Field Station Identified as Potential Regional Food Hub
August 6, 2019
Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Deep Bay Marine Field Station has been identified as a potential location for the establishment of a regional food innovation centre. Deep Bay is one of six sites in the province to receive funding from the provincial government to develop a feasibility study or business plan to determine the potential and capacity to offer a food processing centre in their... Read more
VIU Research Will Study Rising Stresses on Fragile Mountain Ecosystems
July 22, 2019
VIU researchers launch far-reaching study on Mount Arrowsmith in collaboration with The Canadian Mountain Network. A team of Vancouver Island University (VIU) researchers is ascending to new heights for an in-depth analysis that will project 100 years into the future to get a better understanding of what is happening in our mountain environments. One-quarter of Canada’s land mass is made... Read more