Student Success

Three women smile at camera

VIU celebrates local and global community during WorldVIU Days

October 30, 2023

The theme of the week-long event, which runs November 6 to 10, is Community Through Movement. An annual, week-long event that celebrates cultural diversity on campus is returning to Vancouver Island University (VIU). Taking place from November 6 to 10, WorldVIU Days brings people together to find common ground and build community. “This year’s theme is Community through Movement and we’re playing... Read more


A DJ on a stage plays music while people dance in the background

RockVIU 2023 Welcome to Campus: A message of appreciation

September 24, 2023

Dear VIU community, We wanted to share an update about RockVIU 2023 on behalf of the planning teams and Student Affairs. RockVIU Fall 2023 was a mixture of in-person and hybrid events and activities that supported VIU students from our three campuses (Nanaimo, Cowichan and tiwšɛmawtxʷ). It focused on the goal of connecting students to campus, engaging with their new community, and discovering ... Read more


A breakfast table with two children and a female adult

Taking a risk, making a friend

December 15, 2022

By Aly Winks We’re standing the foyer of my somewhat glorified BC box of a home. The topic of conversation is the end of the semester and the last paper required for completion, which is due today and caps off a few weeks of hard work following almost four months of fun, learning, exploring, and more hard work. Neither of us wanting to think too hard about the goodbye that has started peeking its... Read more


VIU Mariners dance team jumps into the air

RockVIU 2022 Welcome to Campus: A message of appreciation

October 31, 2022

Dear VIU community, I hope you all are keeping well. We are emailing you with an update about RockVIU 2022, facilitated by the Centre for Experiential Learning and Student Engagement on behalf of Student Affairs. RockVIU continued the momentum from the innovative experiences captured through COVID in engaging students through an inclusive, hybrid orientation experience at all campuses. The week... Read more


Co-creating Student Support with Good Relations

December 20, 2021

by Heather Burke, MCF Learning Facilitator  It has been four years since Vancouver Island University first partnered with the Mastercard Foundation on an innovative program called the EleV Learning Partnership. Through the EleV Learning Partnership at VIU, many teachings have come forward from Indigenous learners, families, communities, and other learning partners related to healthy and balanced... Read more


Rock VIU logo with girl walking with backpack

VIU Welcomes New Students with Two Weeks of Events and Activities

August 27, 2021

RockVIU: New Student Orientation takes place August 23 to September 3 and includes a mix of virtual and in-person events and activities. After a year and a half of online learning for many, Vancouver Island University (VIU) is gearing up to welcome more students back to campus this fall. With two cohorts of students who have never set foot on VIU campuses before – both first-year and many second-... Read more


Brighton sitting on a wooden walkway

Queen Elizabeth Scholars from Tanzania Learn Lessons in Resilience

July 7, 2021

VIU Master of Sustainable Leisure Management graduates conducted their research remotely this year due to the pandemic.  The three final international participants of Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) Queen Elizabeth Scholarship (QES) program will graduate this summer – marking the beginning of the final year of the program. After graduating from the College of African Wildlife Management in... Read more


Samantha Good sits in her excavation square during the dig she attended in the Drimolen Palaeocave system.

VIU Grad Discovers Two-Million-Year-Old Skull while Attending Field School in South Africa

June 14, 2021

VIU Anthropology graduate Samantha Good unearthed skull at the Drimolen Palaeocave System in 2018.  Samantha Good is graduating from Vancouver Island University (VIU) with an accomplishment few anthropologists achieve in their lifetime – unearthing a two-million-year-old skull belonging to an early human ancestor. Good, who graduates with a Bachelor of Arts, Major in Anthropology this June,... Read more


Genevieve van der Voort examines insect samples with a microscope.

VIU Undergraduate Student Publishes Research Paper in Peer-Reviewed Journal

June 9, 2021

Genevieve van der Voort was the lead author of the published research – a rare accomplishment for an undergraduate student. Genevieve van der Voort is graduating from Vancouver Island University (VIU) with a significant accomplishment under her belt – she is lead author on a research paper published in The Canadian Entomologist. “I still haven’t quite got my head wrapped around it,” says the ... Read more


Felicia Fischer sitting on stairs

VIU Graduate Student Joins National Advisory Committee

January 28, 2021

Master of Community Planning student Felicia Fischer will advise on initiatives that aim to advance sustainability and access at institutions across the country. ­­ A Vancouver Island University (VIU) student will have the chance to weigh in on collaborative sustainable development initiatives taking place at institutions across Canada and make sure students are involved in them. Felicia Fischer... Read more