VIU student studying in the campus library

Graduate Students with Impact

VIU Graduate Students with Impact logo

impact: /ˈɪm.pækt/

a powerful effect or influence

VIU's graduate students make impacts through their research, internships and community service.

We want to recognize and highlight you.

Here's how.

Student work may be featured in:

  • Highlight blog written and produced by VIU Communications
  • Showcase in various newsletters produced at VIU including
    • Grad enews
    • Student Pulse
  • Bio included on a webpage dedicated to Graduate Students with Impact
  • Mention on the Office of Graduate Studies LinkedIn page
  • Shared on VIU's official social media accounts
  • Possibility to be highlighted on local media outlets and additional media training and support

There will be extra opportunities for those projects/internships/service activities that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). https://sdgs.un.org/goals. It is amazing how much of our students' work aligns! Want to know more? See tab below!

  • Extensive profiling via VIU’s social media outlets during SDG week (March 4-8)
  • Opportunity to present a Pecha Kucha style talk or poster during SDG week

Applications are accepted November 1-15 each year. 

1. Make sure to focus on your research project, your internship or something you do in service (volunteer) with either the VIU community or to the larger community.

2. Tell us about it using one of three ways (just pick one!)

  1. Short video (2 minutes max!)
  2. Short personal narrative (In first person, one page single spaced, 11pt Calibri or similar)
    1. You can include an image but keep it within your one-pager.
  3. Visual (like an infographic or short graphic story line – prepared for an 18X24 inch print – DO NOT CRAM info!)

3. Make sure to include the following information no matter how you tell us about your work.

  1. Name, student number, graduate program
  2. What your research/internship/service is all about
  3. Why you like engaging with your research/internship/service work
  4. How it makes an impact
  5. If you use AI in anyway with your submission, please include a transparency statement disclosing which program you used and how you used it. This is in addition to the above requirements and can be submitted on a separate piece of paper. You are responsible for all content submitted.

4. You only need to include these parts if you are wanting to participate in the SDG bonus

Describe which SDG your project most aligns with and why – make sure to read about your SDG a bit. Best place to find some more info is by going to this site (https://sdgs.un.org/goals) and clicking on the ‘More Info’ button found in each of the Goals’ description boxes.

Applications are accepted November 1-15 each year. We hope to include all submissions but will prioritize based on:

  • SDG intersection
  • Program representation equity
  • Quality of submission

Please send your submissions to ogs@viu.ca.

Overall there are 17 GOALS! Wow! We encourage you to check them all out, but here are a few that you may already be drawn to...