VIU to award more than $800,000 in prestigious QE II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships

Students interested in studying coastal resilience issues in Belize and on Vancouver Island are invited to a program launch and information session Wednesday, September 30, 4:30 pm, at Vancouver Island University’s (VIU) Nanaimo campus to learn more about an exciting scholarship opportunity.

VIU will award more than $800,000 in scholarships through the prestigious Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship (QES) program to 31 undergraduate, graduate and international students. The first round of scholarship recipients will be announced in February.

Scholarship winners will pursue research, project work and internships in Belize under the theme of Building Resilience in Coastal Communities. Their research will focus on the areas of sustainable tourism, economic development, water management, parks and protected areas, climate change and sustainable aquaculture and agriculture.

The September 30 program launch is an opportunity for students interested in applying for the QES program to learn about the common challenges that face coastal communities in Belize and on Vancouver Island, potential research topics and internship placements, as well as meet project partners visiting from Belize.

The launch will feature a presentation by special guests Dr. Larry Wolfe and Dr. Victoria MacFarland, adjunct VIU faculty who live in Belize and work with the Belize Institute for Local Development, one of VIU’s partners in the QES program.

VIU’s QES program is generously supported by the Nanaimo Foundation, Parksville-Qualicum Community Foundation, K’omoks First Nation, World Leisure Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Leisure Management at VIU, University of Belize and Belize’s National Association of Village Councils.

Hosted in collaboration with VIU’s World Leisure Centre of Excellence’s Innovation Infusion Speakers Series, the September 30 program launch takes place at 4:30 pm at VIU’s Nanaimo campus, Building 200 (Student Affairs), Room 203. Interested members of the public are also welcome to attend.

Dr. Wolfe and Dr. Macfarlane will be available for interviews in advance of and following the event. For more information, please contact Jennifer Sills, Manager, Education Abroad at VIU at 250.740.6312 or Jennifer.sills@viu.ca

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BACKGROUNDER

Vancouver Island University (VIU is among 34 Canadian universities to receive funding through the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarships program (QES), a joint initiative of the Rideau Hall Foundation, Community Foundations of Canada and the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

The QES program will contribute $499,982 toward the scholarships while VIU and its partners will provide $306,254 cash and in kind, with participating scholars providing $11,625.

Research projects by VIU’s Queen Elizabeth Scholars will focus on specific themes of the new Building Resilience in Coastal Communities project including the capacity to foster sustainable economic activity, particularly tourism; management of water in coastal zones, including drinking water; developing and managing parks and protected areas in or near coastal communities; climate change issues; and sustainable aquatic foods and local agricultural production.

Internships, research and project work will be applied or embedded in the ongoing, real-world work of credible local organizations, and linked to ongoing, established national and pan-Commonwealth initiatives. Opportunities for Aboriginal students from both countries are an important element of the project.

VIU chose to partner with the Commonwealth country of Belize for the QES program because VIU’s region and Belize are facing similar challenges, circumstances and opportunities.

The University of Belize (UB), the government of Belize, municipalities and many non-governmental organizations are as focused on coastal resilience issues as VIU is on Vancouver Island. Belize is English-speaking and geographically and financially accessible to Canadian students, and VIU already has a broad and active network in Belize.

VIU and UB partnered to deliver a major fisheries project in 1999, and the relationship has broadened to include intercultural learning experiences, exchanges and collaboration. Over the past 15 years, VIU Geography, Forestry, Education, Biology, Tourism, Physical Education, Geology and Global Studies students have attended field schools or successfully completed valuable internships with local organizations in Belize. Dr. Wolfe and Dr. MacFarlane, as VIU adjunct faculty in Belize, fulfill a coordination and support role with students, faculty and interns.

Media Contact

Janina Stajic, Manager, Vancouver Island University

P: 250.740.6288 E: Communications@viu.ca

Twitter: @VIUNews