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. “... Read more
Culinary Arts and Baking Students Design Signature Chocolate for VIU
December 3, 2019
VIU is the fourth Canadian educational institution ̶ and the fifth one in the world ̶ to create an exclusive chocolate recipe. Dark, milk, white, fruits and nuts and even spice ̶ almost everyone has a favourite shade and type of chocolate, but not many get the opportunity to invent their own unique and exclusive taste sensation for the market. The creation of a distinctive Vancouver Island... 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
Hope, Inclusion and Access to Education: VIU President Shares Vision at Installation Event
November 26, 2019
Dr. Deb Saucier, VIU President and Vice-Chancellor since July 2019, was formally endowed with the powers and responsibilities of office in a ceremony at the Snuneymuxw First Nation Longhouse in Cedar on November 15. A regional institution such as Vancouver Island University (VIU) can change what it means to be a university, challenge longstanding perceptions on who goes and what can be taught... Read more
Teachers-in-Training Help Communities
November 19, 2019
VIU Education program students who are about to become certified teachers, spend their final weeks at University creating or participating in projects that fill a need in local communities. Preserving a child’s dignity by giving them a suitcase, collecting feminine hygiene products for women in need and creating the curriculum for a local nature centre all have substantial impacts on people,... Read more
The VIU People Plan: Getting Involved
November 6, 2019
The VIU People Plan is the plan for VIU’s people. It was created from the concerns, desires and ideas of VIU employees, which means it belongs to us all and its success depends on us. This means there is space for every employee who wants to participate in making it a reality. There are five Invitations For Action, all of which have comprehensive 12-month and 12-36 month action plans which are... Read more
Walking While Texting Can Break Bones and Phones
November 4, 2019
Did you know that distracted walking causes approximately 2,500 pedestrian injuries annually? It’s a fact! As a result of a mid-2016 WorkSafeBC investigation into an incident at our Nanaimo campus, VIU’s Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) was tasked with creating an anti-distraction campaign to address the issue of distracted walking at VIU. JOHSC Worker Co-Chair, Tiffany... Read more
Finding Hope in Higher Education
October 24, 2019
VIU Student Refugee Program gives young people life-changing opportunities to continue their education in Canada and build a better future for themselves. Khalid Dahir has spent his entire life in a refugee camp with more than 211,000 other people, hoping and dreaming of a better life. That chance came this year when Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) World University Service of Canada (WUSC)... Read more
VIU Chosen to Offer National Land Management Training for First Nations
October 22, 2019
University will begin offering the Professional Indigenous Lands Management Certificate program in summer 2020. Behind every sustainable, thriving community is the guiding hand of a land manager tasked with balancing the needs of the people who live there with what needs to be done to ensure resources are protected for future generations. Thanks to the expertise of Vancouver Island University’... Read more
Nursing Students Go On The Air To Promote Good Health
October 21, 2019
VIU’s nurses of tomorrow address community health-care issues on unique Nanaimo radio show. NANAIMO, BC: Five Vancouver Island University (VIU) Bachelor of Science Nursing (BSN) students are taking to the airwaves to provide reliable health information to the community. A Sound Constitution is a radio show that focuses on community well-being, hosted on CHLY 101.7 every Thursday between 10 and... Read more