International

Annual VIU event goes virtual with community conversations on building a more just society at home and abroad. 

In the midst of a pandemic and a year of reckoning with racial injustice, Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Global Citizens Week is tackling the theme of Equity in Action.

VIU collaborates with Kenyan partner college to establish new electrical trades training program.

Vancouver Island University (VIU) has joined the Mastercard Foundation’s five-year Young Africa Works in Kenya-TVET initiative, which is focused on increasing the participation of young Kenyans, and women in particular, in workforce-relevant skills training programs that will result in dignified and fulfilling work opportunities. 

WHAT: 11th annual WorldVIU Days 

WHEN: Monday, November 2 – Friday, November 6, 2020 

WHERE: Various virtual online events including Facebook live and Zoom sessions

VIU expands its international presence with the opening of a new recruitment office in Quito, Ecuador.

Vancouver Island University (VIU) is enriching its international student population with the opening of a recruitment office in Quito, Ecuador. 

VIU partners with Belize to strengthen technical and vocational education programs aimed at building capacity and resilience in the face of climate change. 

NANAIMO, BC: Vancouver Island University (VIU) is helping Belizean institutions develop programs that teach students how to adapt to environmental threats such as climate change, and create new programs in forestry. 

Do you have the travel bug? A field school, exchange or internship abroad experience is your passport to becoming a global citizen.

by Rae-Anne Guenther

The best things in life are not things — they are the lasting memories created by interacting with people and the world around us.

“The experiences I have gained from travelling are worth any material item I could ever own,” says Elissa Doerksen, a VIU Bachelor of Arts in Digital Media Studies alumna. 

Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) institutional partnership with Kisii National Polytechnic (KNP) in Kenya is taking the next step this fall with the roll out of KNP’s new foundations program in Building Technology.

Six KNP instructors are at VIU this month being trained on project-based learning and technical skills to deliver the new program, which includes elements of plumbing, carpentry and masonry – skills needed for the growing demand of trades workers in Kenya. 

Five Vancouver Island University (VIU) students will have the opportunity to make a difference internationally this spring thanks to the Canadian Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Scholarship (QES) program. 

“The QES gives our students the opportunity to collaborate with international partners on pressing issues facing coastal communities around the world,” says Jennifer Sills, VIU’s Education Abroad Manager.

VIU English Language Instructor Belinda Williams is passionate about sharing her love of language with her students. Whenever she’s able, she also works as an Education Assistant in the public-school system for Port Alberni, where she supports learners with special needs. Outside of the classroom, she’s an avid wilderness hiker, active member of the Portal Players Dramatic Society and amateur photographer. 

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