By Dianne Jayne Lumines
Toronto, Ontario
The Seneca Student Federation (SSF) re-launched the Student Development Grant (SDG) to increase awareness and understanding of its coverage which mainly aims to release financial burden for program-related learning activities held at the Seneca Newnham Campus on November 28, 2023.
Students listening to the speaker during the re-launching of the project Photo by Sara Noviski
The Student Development Grant was implemented since it has seen the necessity for students to attend activities outside of their program and sometimes students are missing out on opportunities due to the registration fees. With this, students are missing out on their participation and were not able to join activities that could eventually improve their skills and career.
Sara Noviski, Vice President of the SSF and Chair of the SDG, said that the grant is a project that was created by the SSF to help students to attend career development activities beyond college and help them reduce their financial burden.
“So if they were missing out on participating in like conferences, competitions, because they were suffering like some type of financial hardship and then they were not attending those activities. So we saw like an opportunity to help them by supporting the like some in some type of way with the registration fee, accommodation, transportation or anything related to the conference to ensure that they are taking advantage of like learning activities outside of college,” she explained.
The re-launching organized by the SSF members was started with a keynote speech of a representative from the Rural Bank of Canada, and professors from Seneca who discussed the learning opportunities outside of your program, details that you can include on your resume and the advantage of having a certification of participation from any of your program-related events or activities.
Who are eligible of the project
An applicant must meet the following requirements:
• Must be a Seneca College full-time;
• Must be in good standing at the college and able to represent Seneca in the larger community;
• The activity must achieve learning objectives as identified in the Student Development Grant Student Application form;
• The student, SDG committee and the staff/faculty reference must agree that the event benefits the student, is study and career-related and provides value for the cost;
• A student participant, under the age of 18 years may require parental consent;
• Proof of attendance as well as a post-event testimonial/report must be submitted within 30 days of the event; and
• Priority will be given to those students who are first time applicants.
The grant may cover up to $500 worth of reimbursement that could cover the registration fee, transportation, accommodation, etc. But the amount may vary depending on the application and the type of event that you are attending.
Furthermore, the SSF members also brought up a list of events they can attend and register for afterwards. Additionally, there is a mini game with prizes that Indigo gift cards of as much as $50 worth to encourage people to read books on their own time.
With over 80 participants of the re-launching, they also conducted a networking session where people got to talk to the speakers and then ask questions and everything. And the marketing team have set up a corner for a spin in the wheel to give prizes to the students as well.
On the other hand, Ameera Rahaman, Seneca Business Marketing student, have seen the grant to be helpful especially to those who wanted to improve and develop their skills related to the program they are studying.
“As a student, it would help because sometimes I don’t know what’s going on even though I’m there every day, and I feel like having this would be good so you can go catch up on stuff that you think you missed, or you didn’t really understand. And being able to get that reimbursement also helps because sometimes people get in really tight financial spots, especially when you’re in college or university. So, it’s just an overall good idea to have,” she related.
Interested students may apply through the link https://ssfinc.jotform.com/222004952892052.
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