VIU's First Annual Research Week- April 2018

Meridian is a multimedia exploration of technology, humanity, and their offspring. Digital technologies, computer-based animation, and live performance combine in events that feature projected-video, ambient- electronic soundscapes, acoustic and electric instruments, looped and processed vocals, and spoken word poetry.



Meridian is Robin Davies, Kevin Mazutinec, Justin McGrail, and Marian van der Zon, four Vancouver Island artists and VIU Faculty who share their passions and performance skills to create an experimental, immersive experience.  Q&A with the artists will follow after the performance.

Join Faculty of Education faculty members as they share scholarly activity they are involved in. Presenters will give a short (3 min) summary of scholarly activities such as research projects, community collaborations and learnings from conferences and professional development opportunities. After short presentations, participants choose one or two presenters that they would like to hear more from and will participate in round table conversations. Master's of Educational Leadership students will also be present with posters of proposed and/or completed research. Come hear more about scholarly activity in the Faculty of Education. 

The True Crime Case Study Slam presents the research of students in INTR 104, an interdisciplinary course that integrates CRIM 103 and THEA 115 to explain criminal behavior using participatory theatre techniques that inspire deep thought on the lived experience of people in conflict with the law. This semester-end event will showcase research projects about real criminal cases, describing psychosocial theories and recommendations for decreasing recidivism. These rich investigations shared in slam format offer facts, define underlying issues related to deviant acts, and identify alternative ways the cases might have been handled to resolve criminogenic tendencies. VIU students and general audiences are welcome to come celebrate our learning!

Come see what the future planners of the world will be working on for the next year! The MCP graduating class of 2019 will be presenting their research proposals on April 10-11. Join us to encourage and support the students as they embark on this year-long adventure of data collection and analysis. Hear what they have planned and what they hope to accomplish. This year's cohort is working on a variety of topics ranging from disaster preparedness to bee keeping and freight trikes, to name but a few. Please contact Sylvie Lafreniere (sylvie.lafreniere@viu.ca) for the schedule of presentations.

CBAIR is the community based applied interdisciplinary research course. This year, 13 students in 3 teams worked on some very exciting projects for three different clients: Ocean Legacy Foundation (plastics in the ocean); Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society (support for new comers to Canada); VIU's Office of Aboriginal Education (indigenization of the curriculum). Come hear about the ups and downs, the good, the bad and the ugly, the challenges and the successes of conducting community based research with an interdisciplinary group of students. 

Student projects will be on display in the main Cafeteria and in the Malaspina Theatre throughout the conference days. Come and check out some amazing research posters, infographics, movie posters, creative displays, artwork, and so much more!

Students will be presenting their projects to an audience and a panel of judges to compete for cash prizes. Come out and support your fellow students as they share their creative and innovative ideas in this exciting and fast-paced event!

VIU has committed to participating in a large international research network supported by UNESCO entitled "Re-orienting Education and Training Systems to Improve the Lives of Indigenous Youth" which will take place between 2018-2020. The project aims to engage education for sustainable development (i.e., addressing local social, economic and environmental issues and designing appropriate pedagogical approaches) and will employ a community-based participatory action research approach.

Join co-chairs Rachel Moll, Faculty of Education and Danielle Alphonse, BC Regional Innovation Chair in Aboriginal Early Childhood Development for an information and brainstorming session.  We are looking for collaborators at VIU and in the community who are currently running successful programs for Indigenous students.  In collaboration we hope to design research projects and apply for internal and external funding in order to contribute to goals of this global research initiative.   The executive summary for the initiative is attached.  Please stop by to hear more about the opportunity and to share information about the Indigenous education program you are involved with.

Over its fifteen-year history Wikipedia has evolved from a popular tool, dismissed by many academics, into a ubiquitous online presence based on an open contribution model that challenges received notions of authority in relation to information. In higher education, we increasingly see intentional and sophisticated engagement with Wikipedia as a site of learning and assessment (e.g. non-disposable assignments) and of knowledge mobilization through promotion of scholarly and creative work that is often Open Access.

The emerging Wikipedia Community of Practice at VIU intends to foster discussion and promote best practice among VIU faculty, staff, and students who are interested in contributing to or improving Wikipedia, and in its use for teaching and learning, and in scholarly and creative work.

Please bring your lunch, and join an informal gathering to share experiences and questions, current or hopeful projects, with interested colleagues and potential collaborators. Resources for beginners and help setting up accounts will be available. Beverages will be provided.

Students will be presenting their projects to an audience and a panel of judges to compete for cash prizes. Come out and support your fellow students as they share their creative and innovative ideas in this exciting and fast-paced event!

Welcome to Day 2!! Come see what the future planners of the world will be working on for the next year! The MCP graduating class of 2019 will be presenting their research proposals on April 10-11. Join us in encouraging and supporting the students as they embark on this year-long adventure of data collection and analysis. Hear what they have planned and what they hope to accomplish. This year's cohort is working on a variety of topics ranging from disaster preparedness to bee keeping and freight trikes, to name but a few. Please contact Sylvie Lafreniere (sylvie.lafreniere@viu.ca) for the schedule of presentations.  

Students enrolled in Planning for Upper Level Internship (INTP 300) course will present their "Do Something" project during the 3 minute scholarship slam April 11th, 2018. The Do Something Project was a unique opportunity for students to identify and be involved and contribute to an organization, person or initiative.

Students will present how they added value, gave back, contributed to something or someone they felt they could have a positive impact on, based on their values or interests. Students will showcase how they were able to contribute, connect to their community, be civically engaged, and be of service in an intentional manner. Students will highlight how their values and beliefs played a part in identifying their choice of community engagement; the impact on self & community; and identify development of graduate attributes as a result of the project.

The purpose of this event is to recognize and celebrate the deep learning that results from student engagement in research at Vancouver Island University.

3:00pm Welcome and opening prayer
VIU Elder Stella Johnson
Dr. Ralph Nilson, President and Vice-Chancellor
Dr. David Witty. Provost and Vice-President Academic
3:20pm Unveiling of "Deep Learning through Undergraduate Research" video
Thank you to John Gardiner in Marketing and Communications
2:25pm Announcement of VIU REACH Award Winners
Dr. Caroline Burnley, Chair of the Student Travel and Research Awards (STAR committee)
3:40pm Closing comments
Expanding access to opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in 2018 and beyond
Photos and networking

Student projects will be on display in the main Cafeteria and in the Malaspina Theatre throughout the conference days. Come and check out some amazing research posters, infographics, movie posters, creative displays, artwork, and so much more!

Come and see our team at the Deep Bay Marine Field Station tent. You will learn about the activities of the center and how you can participate. We look forward to seeing you there!

Did you know there was a designated World Leisure Centre of Excellence on campus?  It is housed in the Department of Recreation and Tourism and offers a Master of Arts Sustainable Leisure Management.  Find out more about this Masters degree, research being done in the areas of Innovation and Sustainability and service components impacting our community.  This is an open house, so come anytime between 1-3pm on Thursday, April 12th.  Enjoy refreshments, snacks, stimulating conversation and learn something new about your campus.  Hope to see you there.

Are you pursuing a graduate degree (Master’s or Doctoral level) while you work at VIU? Come and meet others who are on the same journey and exchange resources, tips and best practices that will enable your success. At this first kick-off event, we will meet one another, learn from some people who have recently completed their studies and brainstorm ideas for some spring professional development sessions.

Dr. Brian Dick’s Engineering Design II class have been creating model bridges and their designs will be on display in the upper cafeteria (Building 300) at VIU’s Nanaimo campus from 9 am to 2 pm. The public is invited to stop by and celebrate the achievements of these engineering students and provide feedback on how well they met their design objectives.

A local structure is nearing the end of its life, and the first-year engineering class at VIU has been working to design a replacement. The projects they have considered include moveable
bridges as well as a moveable canal. All structures were required to detect any traffic, and move the structure deck autonomously. Additionally, the surrounding community wishes to
take this opportunity to modernize the structure, as well as integrate it within a broader development plan to improve tourism in the area and expand the urban bikeway.
 
Local engineers, public, students, staff and faculty will be asked to rank each structure in terms of what design best displays innovation, addresses stakeholder needs, and is most aesthetically pleasing. This event is sponsored by Herold Engineering Inc, Helijet International, Vancouver Island University, and Engineers and Geoscientists of BC.

The Scholarship, Research and Creative Activity Office is sponsoring a one-day Faculty Research and Creative Activity Symposium on Friday, April 13th during VIU’s first annual Research Week.

The symposium is inclusive of scholarship, research and creative activity across all disciplines and contexts and provides an opportunity to share and gain insight into current and developing research taking place by VIU faculty and staff, in a supportive academic environment. Presenters will be provided with 15 minutes to deliver their message followed by an additional 5 minutes for discussion.

Join us for an informative day of meeting, listening, learning &  discussing!

Presentation Schedule
Location:  B305 Room 507 ‘BoardRoom’ & https://zoom.us/j/100668517

9:00am Welcome
9:10am Lindsay McCunn: Environmental Psychology Research at VIU
9:30am Robert Depriest: Examining the Importance of Transitional Supports that Foster Cultural (Re-)Connectedness Among Indigenous Youth Leaving Care
9:50am Marti Harder & Piera Jung: What matters - views of older adults residing in central Vancouver Island
10:10am Ross Desprez: The Continuing Tradition of Folk Music as a Tool of Historical Archive and Community Builder
10:30am Break
10:50am  Eliza GardinerPrison Theatre: Antigone at William Head Institution
11:10am Kenneth Chooi:The Green Point Project: A Sustainable Journey
11:30am Jean Blackburn & Dana McFarland: Getting your article into the right journal: "Think, Check, Submit"
11:50am Raymond Penner: The motion of a curling rock
12:10pm Break
12:40pm Alison Taplay & Susanne Green: Engaging New Voices in Research for Social Change
1:00pm  John Predyk: The impact of the 'BC Artisans at Work' model in BC on visitor experience, business performance, & economic activity.
1:20pm Richard Lane: (Machine) Reading One Million Texts: Technological Innovation through Topic Modelling in the Digital Humanities
1:40pm Frank LoPinto: Broadcasting Digital Content to Remote Communities
2:00pm John Predyk & Nicole Vaugeois,Canada’s food artisans: Understanding an emerging economic sector
2:20pm  Eric DemersThe VIU Bird Banding Project
2:40pm Jerome Lesemann: Water beneath our feet: mapping groundwater for improved management of an essential resource.
3:00pmWrap-Up

This yearly event allows our biology students to present to interested members of VIU and the community at large the final results  of their year-long research projects.  Student research projects generally address topics of interest to people in the community, and cover a broad range of scientific interest, including molecular biology, cell biology, ecology, parasitology, microbiology and botany.

Inform, Inspire, Ignite.

On behalf of Vancouver Island University's Child and Youth Care Program's Centre for Community Outreach and Care, we invite you to take part in our community forum. We will be presenting on local social justice issues and community calls to action.