Current Students

June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada and we begin by remembering and honouring the 215 children who were stolen from their families and killed by the Government of Canada while at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Flags at VIU remain lowered until further notice in recognition of the Indigenous children who were killed while at the school, as well as the families and communities impacted.

Top five questions about university majors

New university students are often asked, “What are you studying?” 

But what exactly does this mean, and how is your university “major” different from the degree you ultimately hope to earn? One of the challenges university students face is that there are so many new terms to learn and keep straight. Things can quickly get confusing. 

Meet Annie Lehky, a second-year Culinary Arts student at Vancouver Island University (VIU) who has a passion for all things creative. She loves music, reading and writing short stories and poetry, and has recently started dabbling in painting as well. Annie has spent the last two years at VIU learning about what it takes to make it in the restaurant industry. She aspires to be an executive chef and plans to pursue a Red Seal in baking as well.

In this issue of the Pulse, we share resources to help those struggling to choose courses, an important update from Island Health on the vaccination program and a fun, free event to help you build leadership skills and meet other students, as well as the information we know some of you have been looking for about student housing. Read on to learn more! 👇

Are you wondering if a career in trades or applied technology is right for you? Careers in these fields can pay off in a big way – with as little as nine months of education. The labour outlook for these jobs remains strong, with more than 106,000 jobs expected to open up in just the trades, transport and equipment operators sector alone.

May is Asian Heritage Month in Canada. This year’s theme is recognition, resilience and resolve and “honours the contributions and the diverse stories of peoples of Asian descent in Canada, which are rooted in resilience and perseverance.

Vancouver Island University’s ‘su’luqw’a’ Community Cousins Aboriginal student mentorship program is celebrating its 10^th anniversary in September 2021. In honour of this important milestone, we are sharing stories of people closely connected with the program every month leading up to the anniversary. Stay tuned for a celebration of this important milestone in February 2022 – when we hope to be able to gather in-person.

Welcome back to the start of the new semester and for those of you joining us for the first time, welcome to VIU! We’ve got some start-of-the-semester reminders like how to buy textbooks, get your student card and get help with all your technology questions. We have included those who are taking the summer off classes so you can stay informed about what’s happening at VIU and grab the link to important documents like our Q&A event recording and frequently asked questions page. Read on for more info! 👇

When people think about undergraduate research, they might imagine people in a science lab wearing white coats peering through microscopes, but undergraduate research opportunities go beyond the science and health disciplines. There are countless opportunities for research in every discipline. 

Participating in undergraduate research allows you to gain hands-on experience, to develop a variety of employable skills and to network and connect with professionals and peers in your field.