News

Food insecurity is a major public health issue in Canada that impacts post-secondary students at a higher-than-average rate. Approximately 40% of post-secondary students have experienced some degree of food insecurity, with research showing that BIPOC students are especially at risk. Lack of financial access to nutritious, culturally-appropriate food adds an additional layer of worry and challenge for students experiencing food insecurity, particularly in light of the financial impacts of COVID-19. 

A key principle of community-engaged scholarship is that it addresses community-identified research priorities. This means that community members - rather than researchers - determine the goals of a research project to ensure its findings will be relevant to their needs. A recent partnership between the Community Engaged Scholarship Institute (CESI) and a group of developmental support service agencies demonstrates the strengths of this community-driven research approach.

CESI's Community Engaged Learning Course Support Fund is now open for Fall 2020!

We invite applications from faculty members/course instructors in the College of Social and Applied Human Sciences (CSAHS) who are integrating community engaged learning into their courses and have incurred additional costs as a result. Faculty members/course instructors may apply for up to $500 per academic year to cover eligible costs such as:

CESI is collaborating with the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance and the Research Innovation Office to bring Skills for Research Impact to the University of Guelph. This five-session workshop series is open to U of G faculty, staff, and graduate students who are interested in enhancing the impact of their research.

Aarabhi Rajendiran is a PhD Candidate in Public Health and is working on evaluating a population health intervention that aims to help bridge the gap in access to health and social services amongst children and families in Guelph, Ontario. At the Research Shop, Aarabhi is a Project Manager who has worked with community organizations in Guelph and the surrounding Wellington Region to conduct evaluations of programs and youth need assessments in rural communities.

We are looking to fill a student position for the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 semesters! Our Communications Assistant will support research communications, lead on our accessibility strategy, and work with CESI staff to review, edit and create content for our online platforms (including the CESI website) to help make our activities more visible and accessible.

This position will commence in September 2020. The successful student must commit to two full semesters (Fall 2020 and Winter 2021).

Although our physical office is closed due to COVID-19, CESI remains as active as ever! All staff are working remotely, and our program areas are continuing to operate virtually. During this stage of remote work, CESI continues to explore new and ongoing partnerships with community organizations to collaboratively tackle community research questions.

This year marks historic anniversaries and occasions for some of the community partners with whom CESI has longstanding collaborations through our Community Engaged Teaching and Learning (CETL) program.

This fall, a new partnership between Oak Tree Guelph and U of G’s ICON Course will offer students the opportunity to collaborate with a local charity, strengthen their teamwork and problem-solving skills, and respond to real-world challenges, all while earning course credit.

A recent opinion piece co-written by CESI in the magazine University Affairs is bringing awareness to the issue of student food insecurity, highlighting the need for long-term solutions that go beyond immediate programs created in response to the COVID-19 crisis.