VIU hosting international sturgeon conferences
August 21, 2009
Vancouver Island University is preparing to host two prestigious international events: the World Sturgeon Conservation Society’s North American conference in 2011, and the 7th International Sturgeon Symposium in 2013. A delegation from VIU and the City of Nanaimo will travel to Wuhan, China this fall to accept the winning bid to host the international symposium. The five-day conference will... Read more
Grad pursues passion for community journalism
August 19, 2009
Sometimes it pays to take risks. Wawmeesh George Hamilton discovered that life lesson when he quit a dead-end, unsatisfying job. “It was like an epiphany,” he said. “I needed a change.” After he quit, Hamilton went back to school to earn a degree from Vancouver Island University. Today, he’s an award-winning community newspaper journalist following his passion. Black Press named the 44-year-... Read more
VIU and community partners boost innovation
August 14, 2009
Small businesses in science, technology and innovation on Vancouver Island will benefit from a new training project called InnovatES. Vancouver Island University, through the Centre for Continuing Studies, is working with its community partners, The Career Centre in Parksville and The Mid Island Science Technology and Innovation Council (MISTIC), to offer free, customized training for... Read more
VIU launches new environmental program Sept. 8
August 14, 2009
Are you looking to acquire high-quality, hands on skills in demand in today's environmental sector? Vancouver Island University (VIU) is launching a new six-month professional level Environmental Professional Certificate Program (EPCP) in September. "It's offered by the Natural Resources Extension Program (NREP) at VIU," said program assistant Krista Convey. The training will provide... Read more
VIU President’s Scholarships give students head start
August 13, 2009
Meagan Stewart will start the academic year at Vancouver Island University (VIU) with few financial worries. That’s because the 18-year-old Grade 12 graduate is receiving one of VIU’s first ever tuition free entrance scholarships for top high school scholars. Stewart, a First Nations student from Port Alberni, received a President’s Entrance Scholarship valued at approximately $3,500. The award... Read more
Malaspina High School Brings Cultures Together
August 13, 2009
According to two graduating Nanaimo students, Malaspina High School (MHS) creates not just a love of learning in the classroom, but a cross cultural learning experience resulting in tight friendships. Ryan Porteous and Odai Khalaileh are new roommates and new graduates of the high school located on VIU’s campus. Formerly known as Malaspina International High School, MHS is an independent school... Read more
New trades training facility approved for Powell River campus
August 7, 2009
A major overhaul of a trades training facility at Vancouver Island University’s Powell River campus is good news for students and the community. The $976,000 investment, announced Friday by the federal and provincial governments under phase two of the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, will replace the current out-of-date and aging trades building with a new, efficient facility that will greatly... Read more
VIU grad named national Aboriginal Ambassador
August 7, 2009
Vancouver Island University graduate Carol Bob is on a roll. She is one of two recipients of a $5,000 Aboriginal Ambassador award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Earlier this year, NSERC awarded Bob with her third prestigious Undergraduate Student Research Award in chemistry, valued at $4,500 and handed out to Canada’s most promising student... Read more
New beginning through education
August 6, 2009
Not long ago, Dan McNeill was heading down a wrong path, in a dying industry with no future. He realized his only hope was a new beginning through education. McNeill always loved the ocean – he grew up in a fishing family and that’s where he hoped to make his career. He gillnetted salmon and herring, long-lined halibut and black cod and dove for sea urchins. He developed a keen interest in... Read more
VIU offers mentorship workshop for Aboriginal students
July 31, 2009
A new mentorship program for Aboriginal students at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo will get off the ground in September thanks to the efforts of student Ian Caplette. Caplette, of First Nations descent himself, was once a high school drop-out living on the streets to survive. Today, he’s turned his life around and is completing a Bachelor of Arts, major in First Nations Studies at VIU... Read more