Engagement in action
At Concordia, community engagement is fundamental to our approach to teaching, learning and research. Take a look below to discover just a few examples of how we are actively making a difference through a wide range of impactful, community-driven initiatives.
Co-creating positive change
By responding to community priorities and fostering collaboration, we strive to create positive change that resonates far beyond our campus, co-creating meaningful impact with the communities around us.
Initiatives include community-led action research, community-based experiential learning, community-focused arts and cultural programming and opportunities for students to get engaged on campus and in the communities around us.
ageing + communication + technologies (ACT)
ACT is a multi-methodological research project that investigates the ways digital shifts have influenced the experience of ageing. Through their work, ACT is creating intergenerational connections, rethinking new media from the perspective of old age and confronting digital ageism.
Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS)
COHDS is a Concordia-based community of more than 150 individual and institutional affiliates from the University and other local, national, and international bodies. Researchers, students, artists, practitioners and others find a point of convergence in the Centre for collaborative historical research, teaching and publishing.
Experiential learning
Concordia offers students many community-based experiential learning opportunities: from semester-long internships with community organizations, to course-integrated volunteer opportunities, to place-based assignments that draw on local knowledge. Here are two examples of the many community-engaged experiential learning opportunities available at Concordia.
MBA Community Service Initiative
The Community Service Initiative at the John Molson School of Business at Concordia encourages and promotes community engagement and builds partnerships between the John Molson School and communities in order to learn from each other while working together for the benefit of society.
SHIFT internship program
The SHIFT internship program creates experiential learning opportunities for Concordia students to gain valuable learning experience while contributing to socially transformative community-led projects across Montreal.
ART HIVES
The Concordia Art Hive is a free studio space that welcomes everyone as an artist. The two locations on our campuses are open to the Concordia community as well as the general public for creativity, skill sharing and connection.
Cinema Politica Concordia
Cinema Politica is a media arts nonprofit that was founded at Concordia and now spans multiple continents. Campus and community “locals” screen independent political film and video by Canadian and international artists. Each term, programming is focused on social justice, environmental and cultural identity issues and strives to bridge political independent filmmaking and civic engagement.
Student opportunities
Concordia students are often at the forefront of community engagement through their student groups and fee levy organizations which give them rich and diverse opportunities to apply their talents in the service of community priorities. Here are two student-led initiatives which exemplify the engagement of Concordia students in the communities around us.
CJLO Radio
CJLO 1690 AM is Concordia’s campus-community radio station. Almost entirely volunteer-run, its wide variety of programming includes an emphasis on independent and underground music, unique among English-language stations in Montreal. CJLO also promotes and supports musicians by hosting events throughout the city.
Quebec Public Interest Research Group Concordia
The Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at Concordia is a student-funded, non-profit resource centre for student and community research and organizing. Students and community members are able to make use of its space and resources and participate in projects, while volunteers drive its work supporting grassroots activism and diverse social and environmental issues through a wide variety of working groups and campus-community links.
