Introducing SeneCan Connect: A Canadian experience for international students | Academic Newsletter | Seneca Polytechnic

by Kelly Mathews, Athletics & Recreation

in the September 2020 issue

SeneCan Connect is a unique, virtual space that offers Seneca students, at home and abroad, a behind-the-scenes, peer perspective on living, learning, working, and celebrating in Canada.

Launched September 14, 2020, the platform was designed to respond to concerns from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) about the lack of a Canadian experience for international students as a result of restrictions brought about by the current global pandemic. The goal of the platform is to create an authentic, virtual Canadian space for Seneca students to come together who are otherwise not able to enjoy a shared, Canadian, student experience on campus.

Each week, the program will unlock a different, seasonally-appropriate ‘theme of the week.’ A team of Seneca students will support the program as ‘Canadian Ambassadors’ and will not only source and create content for the platform but also host socials, events, and activities, and act as Canadian pen pals to those students outside of Canada who wish to make a peer connection with a Seneca student in the country. First Peoples@Seneca will be participating each week, adding an indigenous perspective to support each theme, making the experience altogether more fulsome and reflective.

What can students expect each and every week? Exciting and engaging content that helps unlock the Canadian theme of the week. On the site, they’ll find film and book recommendations, recipes of the week, playlists, activities (e.g., trivia, Pictionary, scavenger hunts, and more), DIY and craft projects, outdoor activities, polls, fast facts, interviews with students and staff, virtual tours, photos shared by students, and social events.

The platform hosting this site is the new student intranet space which is currently under development. This means that the SeneCan Connect site is a work in progress and enhancements will be made as the site develops. In the new year, when the student intranet officially launches, the site will become a private site and the level of engagement between students on the platform will increase exponentially.

Here is the schedule of themes for the fall semester:

To learn more about SeneCan Connect, visit www.senecacollege.ca/senecanconnect. If you have questions, email SeneCan.Connect@senecacollege.ca.

View the September 2020 issue of the Academic Newsletter.