VIU’s CREATE Conference Showcases Student Research and Creative Activity

WHAT: VIU CREATE Conference – a celebration of student scholarship, research and creative activity

WHEN: April 4-8, 2022, various times

WHERE: VIU’s Nanaimo campus, virtual sessions via Zoom and online exhibits

Nanaimo, BC: Vancouver Island University (VIU) students are presenting during CREATE 2022, a conference that aims to celebrate student accomplishments and give them the opportunity to share their scholarship, research and creative activities with peers and the public.

“We are thrilled to be showcasing more than 175 student projects at CREATE 2022,” says Kendra Stiwich, VIU’s Student Research Engagement Coordinator. “The three most popular themes this year are social justice, climate action and sustainability, and health and wellness. We look forward to furthering our students’ communication skill sets and sharing their research and creative activities with the wider community. See you at CREATE.”

The Anti-Racism Arts Festival, co-sponsored by CREATE and the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association’s Human Rights and International Solidarity Committee, returns this year and runs April 4-7. It features the Look Up Look Out Art Exhibit. The Look Up exhibit will be on display in the rafters of the Upper Cafeteria. The Look Out exhibit is being displayed outside the Upper Cafeteria along the perimeters of the outside patio areas. Many students are also participating in the festival by presenting their work in other portions of the conference such as the infographic poster presentations and short films. 

This year’s conference has a mix of in-person and virtual events, which are free to attend and open to everyone. Attendees of in-person events must provide proof of vaccination. Check out the schedule on VIU’s Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity website.

Highlights from the conference include:

• Students are presenting their research and infographic posters in the Upper Cafeteria each day from Monday, April 4 to Wednesday, April 6, 9 am to 5 pm.

• On April 4 at 1 pm the virtual Opening Ceremony and keynote address will feature Indigenous educator Dr. John Chenoweth. Contact Kendra.Stiwich@viu.ca for Zoom info. 

• Also on April 4, from 4-7:30 pm, The Long and Shorts of It Film Festival is being held at Malaspina Theatre, building 310. It includes nine short films in Act 1 and Act 2 is the premiere of You Never Have to Use Again, by Matthew Hoffmann, a VIU Media Studies student. The film is about overcoming drug addiction and living a life in recovery. It tells the stories of six individuals and also touches on the overdose crisis in BC. The screening is followed by a Q-and-A with the filmmaker.

• On Tuesday, April 5 the Document This! Poetry Reading runs from 2:30-5:30 pm in the Royal Arbutus Room, Building 300. At 6 pm, graduate students will present during Three-Minute Thesis, which is a competition that challenges students to present their research in an accessible and compelling way. People wishing to attend can email Kendra.Stiwich@viu.ca for Zoom info.

• On Thursday, April 7, the Student Leadership Circle is hosting a Getting Involved with Research at VIU: A Student-Perspective Workshop, which is free to attend and runs from 4-6:30 pm. Contact Natasha.Ladouceur@viu.ca for more details. People can also attend via Zoom and can register on Eventbrite. 

• CREATE is also promoting a virtual Cooperative Entrepreneurship Training Show being held on April 7 at 5:45 pm via Zoom. The virtual event showcases the newest entrepreneurial ventures from the program. Register on Eventbrite. Also, on Friday, April 8, undergraduates will present their research posters during the Biology 491 Symposium from 2:30-5 pm in the Royal Arbutus Room.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Rachel Stern, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University

 C: 250.618.0373 l E: Rachel.Stern@viu.ca | T: @VIUNews