History, Affiliations and Rankings
The Vancouver Island University, which is more commonly known as the VIU, is a government-funded University in Canada, which was established 1936 to provide educational facilities to the students of Vancouver as well as the British Columbia regions of Canada. The Vancouver Island University started functioning officially on the 1st of September in 2008. It was founded by the local garage owner and mechanic, Jack Macready to train automotive mechanics. The university has affiliations with Universities Canada, Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, the Canadian Bureau for International Education, Canadian University Press, and WUSC - FM. According to QS World University Rankings 2022, the Vancouver Island University ranks in the bracket #1001-1200.
Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses
The university has a prime campus spanning over 92 acres of land which is surrounded by a beautiful landscape. It is situated in Nanaimo and the other two campuses at Cowichan and Powell River. The endowment value of Vancouver Island University is around $80,000 every year. 5% of this value is spent every year by the university on the infrastructure and organization of various workshops, seminars, etc. The university runs 120 programs in total, which include undergraduate, postgraduate, degree diplomas as well as certificate courses. Some of the courses offered at the University are Business Administration, Community Planning, Educational Leadership, Information Systems, Language and Culture, International Trade and more.
Accomplishments and Alumni
Recently, Paper Excellence partnered with Vancouver Island University to create an Indigenous Success Fund, which will offer financial support to indigenous students to enroll at various programs at the University. Vancouver Island University has produced some notable personalities including Victor Blasco (Spanish Footballer), Paul Manly (Former Member of the House of Commons of Canada), Pat Steward (Canadian Drummer), Andrew Oye (Canadian Composer) among others.
Student Diversity and Visiting Companies
Vancouver Island University has a student population of 14,500+ students out of which 2000 are international students who come to attend the university from more than 93 countries. A majority of foreign students come from India, Japan, China, Vietnam, Mexico, Germany, United States, Iran and other countries. In the annual yearbook which was released by The Vancouver Island University, the total no. of students seeking admission comes to around 4000 to 5000 every year. In response to this, the university has stated that they have a student to teacher ratio of 16: 1 which implies, that for every 16 students of one teacher is present. Shaw Communications, Scotiabank, Government of British Columbia, BC Ferries, CIBC, and other corporations recruit graduates from Vancouver Island University.
