Photo: 2019-2020 IDSSA Team and GDS BoD, Eesha, at the 2020 IDS Gala
IDS Students are continually encourage to get involved in the community through volunteer opportunities. Students should actively search out clubs and activities that suit their interests.
Stay Connected with the IDS Community!
Follow IDS Co-op on Twitter and Instagram!
Join the LinkedIn group, UTSC International Development Studies Network for IDS students and alumni, and follow along with all things IDS at UTSC. Connect with new and not-so-new members of the IDS community, and learn about upcoming events.
For alumni, to join the alumni listserv, email ids-alum-request@utsc.utoronto.ca with the subject line "subscribe".
To receive the monthly GDS newsletter, e-mail leah.polonenko@utoronto.ca to express interest.
Clubs and Opportunities:
One of the unique features of the University of Toronto Scarborough is the smaller student population, and thus the opportunity to get involved in a number of clubs, activities, or movements which suit a wide range of student interests.
For a complete list of the over 100 different clubs at the University of Toronto Scarborough – Check out the website! Or, for a list of some popular IDS clubs, please see the list below.
International Development Studies Students Association (IDSSA)
The IDSSA is the Departmental Student Association representing all International Development Studies Students at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus. IDSSA provides the following to students: Acts as the liaison between the IDS student body and the Centre for Critical Development Studies. This includes, but is not limited to advocating for student needs, sitting on the CCDS Executive Meetings and holding a bi-annual IDS Forum with student and faculty participants; career and professional development opportunities, including volunteer positions, networking events, graduate fairs, etc; academic assistance and IDS-specific services such as essay peer-editing, study groups, book exchanges, etc; foster an engaging and close-knit IDS community through social events such as their annual Ugly Holiday Sweater Party and the Reading Week Retreat. To stay up to date on IDSSA events and services please visit their Instagram and Facebook pages.
Oxfam UTSC
Oxfam Canada at UTSC acts as a chapter of the feminist International Development organization Oxfam Canada on our campus. Along with several Oxfam Campus groups across Canada, Oxfam Canada at UTSC works to mobilize and act on issues pertaining to women's rights and overarching inequality both in Canada and abroad. We truly believe that by centering the rights and empowerment of women at the heart of our work we can achieve our vision of a just world without poverty. On our campus we have played a key role in advocating for more fair trade food options, challenging myths about the persisting wage gap, building networks of solidarity and fundraising for various humanitarian relief efforts. Check out the Oxfam Facebook page for more information on how you can be involved!
WUSC Local Committee
For WUSC, education changes the world, and our ability to link Canada’s universities and colleges to our work in international development and cooperation is our hallmark. Through Local Committees, WUSC programming is active on more than 70 campuses across the country by engaging students, faculty & Staff, and institutions to promote volunteerism, welcome students from abroad through the Student Refugee Program, and foster global citizenship through advocacy and awareness initiatives on campuses across Canada. Follow WUSC UTSC on Instagram.
International Development Conference (IDC)
For several years, the International Development Conference has represented a vibrant and engaged student community at UTSC and left a legacy of promoting our rigorous and highly successful program, by bringing together a diversity of students, academics, faculty, and development practitioners from various backgrounds in a student-led conference. This conference is held annually in the winter semester to encourage critical thinking in international development issues. Whether you are on the executive team, a volunteer or simply an attendee, we encourage you to get involved with the IDC! Visit their website and find them on Instagram and Facebook.
Frontier College
Frontier College at the University of Toronto Scarborough (FC@UTSC) is a Frontier College program that operates out of the U of T Scarborough campus. FC@UTSC works in association with several community partners to provide literacy programs that assist youth and children at shelters in Scarborough. FC@UTSC is committed to working in communities that are marginalized and isolated by poverty and injustice. The vision of FC@UTSC is to create a just and equitable society by challenging all forms of oppression.