From helping seafood harvesters become more competitive, to the power of involving trades faculty in applied research, to Vancouver Island University's largest open house event of the year, find out what's happening at VIU this week. Reach out to us for experts for your stories!
VIU in the news
Calling all Island seafood harvesters!
Applications are now open for the new Seafood Business Accelerator program led by VIU’s Centre for Seafood Innovation (CSI), in partnership with the BC Commercial Fishing Caucus. It will help self-employed fishers and farmers become more sustainable, profitable seafood providers. Debra Hellbach, CSI Manager, is available to talk about the challenges facing local seafood harvesters, and how she can help. Learn more.
Skills Canada and Discovery Day
Hundreds of secondary and elemetary school students will be at VIU on February 22 for the Skills Canada BC regional competition. Students will compete in a range of categories, including welding, automotive technology, hairdressing, culinary arts and sumo robots. Email us for the full schedule. The same day, more than a thousand high school students, mature students and parents will also be on campus for Discovery Day and Night – the University’s largest information sessions of the year. One of our Student Ambassadors is happy to share more info about the events. A suggested photo op schedule is available here.
VIU researchers ask Cowichan residents about tourism
The World Leisure Centre of Excellence at VIU, in partnership with Tourism Cowichan, is asking residents to give feedback on tourism development in the Cowichan region. “As international visitors return to the Island and Canadians keep coming, some Island communities are reaching their hosting capacity,” said VIU researcher and former Lake Cowichan resident Dr. Aggie Weighill. “We need to ensure that tourism development is sustainable and adds to Islanders’ quality of life rather than making communities unlivable." Read more.
Featured expert
Getting trades programs involved in research
Good things happen when trades instructors and students get involved in interdisciplinary applied research – just ask Dr. Sally Vinden, Associate Dean of Trades and Applied Technology at VIU. She co-organized a conference at VIU last week that focused on the magic that happens when faculty, students and industry come together to create solutions to industry issues or real-world problems. Sally is hoping to effect a mindset shift and break down the myth that only academic programs can do research. One example of this is The Urchin Tank, a project where culinary arts students collaborated with microbiology students to come up with fermented seaweed products for market. This was to solve industry’s question: “What else can we do with seaweed?”
Sally is happy to speak about a few homegrown VIU projects where trades students have partnered with industry and students from other disciplines on applied research, what she hopes to achieve in this realm and the impact she envisions this interdisciplinary research having on community/industry.
Campus events
She Kills Monsters
VIU’s Theatre Department presents the hysterical dramatic comedy She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. The play starts on March 2 at VIU’s Malaspina Theatre (Building 310) on the Nanaimo campus. Learn more.
Taryn Walker exhibit
VIU’s View Gallery is honoured to host an exhibition by Indigenous artist Taryn Walker from February 16 to April 7. The opening reception is tonight (Thursday, February 16) from 5 to 7 pm, Building 330. Walker will deliver an artist talk on Friday, Feb. 17 at 12 pm, Building 356, Room 109. Learn more.
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