Migrant Systems Change Leadership Certificate

Applications are open until Friday, July 28, 2025. 

Apply now

You will need to create an account to use the online application form, which requires your name, address, and phone number. The application form includes a few questions that will help us get to know more about you, your story, and why you are interested in joining this program. We will not ask about your status or need any other formal documents from you.

If you are undocumented or have concerns/challenges applying for any reason, please email us at mscl@sfu.ca.

In the meantime, we invite all interested applicants to register for an information session. 

For questions, email mscl@sfu.ca.

• The land we are on, and relationships between Indigenous and Migrant People
• The challenges we face in refugee and immigration systems (rules, relationships, power, and beliefs)
• How our identities shape our experiences in systems such as schools, health care, our work place, government institutions, and more 
• How to shift away from blaming individuals, and building collective power instead
• How we can work towards equity and justice
• The different tools we can use to address the issues refugee and migrant communities face

We welcome racialized refugees, newcomers and migrants of all backgrounds and experiences, regardless of status including (but not limited to): students, artists, activists, organizers, elders, disabled people, settlement workers, unemployed people, parents, and beyond. 

We invite you to apply if you:

• Are a racialized refugee, newcomer, or migrant 
• Are 19 years old or older
• Are based in British Columbia 
• Want to understand and address systemic issues like racism, power, inequity, credential recognition, language barriers, detention, or exclusion
• Want to build strong, inclusive communities and grow a support network
• Value working towards collective liberation and building solidarity in your communities
• Are able to attend all in-person  and online sessions from September 2025 to January 2026
• Can commit a minimum of two to four hours per month in addition to the sessions
• Can communicate in conversational English (at this time, we can only offer this program in English)

We will not ask about your status or need any other formal documents from you. If you are undocumented or have concerns/challenges applying for any reason, please email us at mscl@sfu.ca. 

Attend an information session in July 

The Refugee Livelihood Lab team is in solidarity with the elderly, newcomers, refugees, undocumented people, Indigenous people, Black people, people of all religious faiths, racialized people, English language learners, drug users, sex workers, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, young people, people with no to low income, parents, caretakers, disabled people including people who live with mental and physical illnesses.

We encourage you to share the identities you carry with us, and we also understand that there will be other identities you may not feel open to share at this time, or ever.

We hope to create a space that welcomes and celebrates all identities, while also acknowledging we are all learning how to be in better relations with each other. We will make unintentional mistakes, or be uninformed about certain identities, and we will work together to address those gaps in our collective conditioning.

The program begins on Friday, September 12, 2025 until Saturday, January 17, 2026.

Participants are required to attend all in-person and online sessions. In-person sessions will take place in the Lower Mainland. Support for transportation may be available.

In-person:

1. First gathering: Friday, September 12, 2025 and Saturday, September 13, 2025 from 9 am to 5 pm
2. Mid-point gathering: Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22, 2025 from 9 am to 5 pm
3. Final gathering: Friday, January 16, 2026 and Saturday, January 17, 2026 from 9 am to 5 pm

Online:

1. Every other Tuesday from 6 to 9 pm: September 23, October 7, October 21, November 4, November 18, December 2, December 16
2. Every other Friday from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm: September 26, October 10, October 24, November 7, December 5, December 19, January

Dates in order:

1. In-person: Friday, September 12, 2025 | | 9 am to 5 pm | Location in Lower Mainland to be confirmed
2. In-person: Saturday, September 13, 2025 | 9 am to 5 pm | Location in Lower Mainland to be confirmed
3. Online: Tuesday, September 23 | 6 to 9 pm
4. Online: Friday, September 26 | 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
5. Online: Tuesday, October 7 | 6 to 9 pm
6. Online: Friday, October 10 | 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
7. Online: Tuesday, October 21 | 6 to 9 pm
8. Online: Friday, October 24 | 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
9. Online: Tuesday, November 4 | 6 to 9 pm
10. Online: Friday, November 7 | 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
11. Online: Tuesday, November 18 | 6 to 9 pm
12. In-person: Friday, November 21 | 9 am to 5 pm | Location in Lower Mainland to be confirmed
13. In-person: Saturday, November 22 | 9 am to 5 pm | Location in Lower Mainland to be confirmed
14. Online: Tuesday, December 2 | 6 to 9 pm
15. Online: Friday, December 5 | 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
16. Online: Tuesday, December 16 | 6 to 9 pm
17. Online: Friday, December 19 | 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
18. Online: Friday, January 9 | 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
19. In-person: Friday, January 16 | 9 am to 5 pm | Location in Lower Mainland to be confirmed
20. In-person: Saturday, January 17 | 9 am to 5 pm | Location in Lower Mainland to be confirmed

Participants can expect to spend approximately two to three hours bi-weekly in addition to attending the sessions to complete optional tasks.

We invite all interested applicants to join us at an information session online: 

• Tuesday, July 8, 2025: 6 to 7 pm
• Tuesday, July 15, 2025: 6 to 7 pm
• Tuesday, July 22, 2025: 12 to 1 pm

Sign up to attend an information session

It is not mandatory to attend an information session to apply or to be considered for the Migrant Systems Change Leadership program, however, interested applicants are encouraged to attend to find out more if this program is the right fit for you. If you are unable to attend an information session, but have other questions, please email mscl@sfu.ca. 

With support from our funders, we are able to offer this program free of cost. 

We recognize that inequitable structures create barriers that might prevent you from accessing this certificate program. We are committed to removing access barriers to the best of our ability.

Stipends and transportation subsidies are available to all. Access needs such as language interpreters, computers, Wi-Fi, dependent care support (childcare and elders), and more are available by request. 

Note: If you have access to professional development funds from your workplace, we encourage you to let us know and use these funds as we are completely reliant on external fundraising to deliver this program and would like to further enhance participant experience. However, your access to funds will not determine if you are invited to be a part of this program.

Can I still apply if I do not live in British Columbia? 

As we require participants to attend all in-person and online sessions, we are currently not accepting applications outside of British Columbia.

Is this an academic program?

No, this is not a traditional academic program. It is a community-driven learning experience that is more informal but still provides a non-credit certificate from SFU upon completion. You do not need a study permit to take this certificate program.

Is this program graded or pass/fail? 

No. As an SFU non-credit program, there are no grades assigned. To receive a certificate, there will be a pass or fail assessment from the facilitators.

Will you give us assignments or exams? 

No. While we will ask you to complete some tasks outside of the sessions to help with our group discussions and activities, there will be no assignments or exams. You can expect to spend two to four hours per month completing tasks outside of sessions. 

Will I get a job placement if I do this program? 

You will meet a vast network of community members throughout this program who could potentially help accelerate your job search and connect you with a potential employer. Although many past participants gained employment indirectly, it is not the main purpose of the program, and we cannot guarantee or promise a job.

Some topics in the program can be triggering and create tension. What will you do to provide a safe space for everyone?

We will collaboratively establish community guidelines at the beginning of the program with the aim of creating an open and healthy space for sharing and challenging each other’s ideas. While we do not tolerate hateful, discriminatory, or disrespectful behaviour, we also understand that each person is on their own learning journey and we don’t expect everyone to be on the same page immediately.

We will have patience and extend grace and opportunities to learn and guide each other to deepen our understanding of each other’s humanity.

Our facilitation team is skilled with mediating difficult conversations and conflict, and implementing grounding techniques. We hope to simultaneously invite curiosity, openness and learning into the space, especially with the diversity of lived experiences racialized migrants carry.

There will be external support available that will be introduced to participants once the program starts.

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