The International Peer Community (IPC) is a peer-support program aimed at helping international students settle in and feel at home at the University of Waterloo. Through community based activities, the program helps students to build a support network, develop a sense of community and intercultural competencies, enhance interactional skills, and learn about Canada and other cultures.
Registrations for the winter term are now closed. Please check back later for updates.
When you join the IPC, you'll get invited to monthly community events where you can meet other international students and upper-year volunteers . You’ll build meaningful connections with students from different countries, cultures and faculties that you might not usually meet on campus through monthly events. Upper-year volunteers can help you navigate challenges and answer questions about life in Canada, the University of Waterloo and so much more.
When you submit your registeration form, you can choose to opt in to get matched with other students in a smaller group where small gatherings are held by volunteers twice a month. During the term, you can stay connected by attending various social events designed for both small and large groups. Here are some examples of the monthly community events we hosted in the past are the Meet and Greet, Team Slam Down , Bonfire Night and Outdoor Games.
Embrace the diversity around you, challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone while finding community in those around you.
Pallavi is a student from New Delhi, India, who came to Canada to study in UWaterloo’s Honours Arts and Business program. During her first days at Waterloo, she noticed many events that invited students to connect with others. Here, she discovered many groups like the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) and IPC (part of the Student Success Office). She urges everyone to embrace diversity around them, and especially cherish moments connecting with others as a member of the student community. "Embrace the diversity around you, challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone while finding community in those around you."
"I joined IPC in fall 2021. It is easy to connect with others having the same interests as you and IPC hosts events like paint night, karaoke night and bonfire. IPC will be a great start of your university life to meet more people on campus, improve your personal skills with volunteers and gain networking opportunities. And most importantly, it makes your university life so much better.” - Karen (she/her), 2022 volunteer and Community Leader, Health Sciences undergrad student from Vietnam.
"IPC has an important distinction factor where I can meet and interact with students, who are ethnically diverse and multicultural. It is also a common platform for every student who comes out of their social circles and gets together with other students with different lifestyles and traditions. Activities such as Halloween Cookie Decorations and Therapy Dogs for destressing are completely new and interesting for me. These kinds of occasions were unheard of in our country of origin. I recommend IPC because of its exciting events and because it gives every international student a great opportunity to develop strong networks with other students from other programs that are happening around the campus.” - Keerthi (he/him), 2022 member and 2023 volunteer, Electrical and Computer Engineering master student from India.
“My motivation to join IPC was the opportunity to connect with individuals from various cultural backgrounds and interact with them to share each other's way of life. I liked the fun gathering that took place whenever there was an event on campus. If you want to widen your international network and if you are a people person, then IPC is the best platform you can possibly get.” -Manthan (he/him), 2022 and 2023 volunteer, Electrical and Computer Engineering master student from India.
Please email ise@uwaterloo.ca with any questions or concerns.
