HEALTH & WELLNESS
The journey to better health care begins in the classroom. Sheridan's campuses foster our students' mental, physical and social well-being.
The Pardesi Project
In March 2021, Sheridan, SOCH and the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health (CICMH), premiered five short focused on the mental health of international students from the South Asian community. The first-of-its-kind collaboration debuted at a time when isolation, disruption and change were bringing to the fore increased concerns around mental health.
Pardesi Project collaborators included:
- SOCH Mental Health
- Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health (CICMH)
- Sheridan's Wellness & Counselling teams
Janet Morrison, President and Vice-Chancellor
“Bringing community together to talk about an often stigmatized topic like mental health is crucial to motivate change. I’m so proud of the partnership that inspired The Pardesi Project to ensure the needs of our South Asian community are being addressed.”
Leah State, Manager of Wellness and Counselling
"Mental health challenges are of heightened concern for international students as they may face isolation living away from family and friends, language barriers, culture shock and uncertainty navigating new health systems. The Pardesi Project tackles these challenging topics through storytelling.”
Helping others feel less alone
The Sheridan community extends beyond our three campuses. Over the past year, two of our Social Service Worker- Gerontology students have been sending love to long-term care residents in the form of hand-written letters and encouraging notes.
Building physical strength and mental fortitude
Whether you're just getting started at the gym, or training for the Olympics, Sheridan students and alumni have the enthusiasm and skill to help build healthy lifestyles.
For more health care success stories involving the Sheridan community, visit Sheridan's Newsroom.
What is the Innovation Accelerator?
Sheridan’s Innovation Accelerator is designed to engage teams of students in researching and developing solutions for industry and community challenges and meet work-term and internship requirements.
Degree students form interdisciplinary teams from business, technology, the arts, and health programs to build proposals over the course of 10 weeks. Innovation teams are backed by a Portfolio Lead and a Project Manager, who will provide students ongoing training and support for their work.
If you have any questions about Sheridan's Innovation Accelerator, please email SheridanWorksCoop@sheridancollege.ca.
We look forward to connecting.
The Innovation Accelerator in action
The Innovation Accelerator was first launched in the summer of 2020. Participants and engaged collaborators helped address challenges faced by older adults, young learners, postsecondary educators and people facing food insecurity. Those involved felt resounding satisfaction in working on something meaningful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020 collaborators
- Food for Life (see below)
- Sheridan's Centre for Elder Research (see below)
- Apple Education
- Sheridan's Galvanizing Education Hub
Graham Hill, Executive Director, Food for Life
“What really amazed me was the depth of caring that led to the students going one step beyond. Kudos to the faculty at Sheridan for inspiring that love of learning and the desire to ask questions and not be afraid to push the envelope, because that is what will make our society better.”
Ina Varghese, Information Systems Security degree student
“This challenge really helped me take a step back, to gain insights into other experiences and how people navigate the world. That helps you become more inclusive in your thinking.”
