York University Markham campus plans orientation, marks first anniversary

By David Yin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

York University’s Markham campus will welcome a new cohort of students through orientation, marking one year since it opened.

According to Dan Palermo, deputy provost at the Markham campus, the school will admit around 600 students this fall, bringing the total number of students to around 1,000.

York University’s orientation will be split up into multiple events. For Markham campus students, this will include a social orientation, an academic orientation, and a residence orientation – exclusive to those staying in residence.

Markham Student Council will lead social orientation from Aug. 25 to 29. The theme is “Den Zero,” in which students can participate in various spy-related activities.

In contrast, staff members will lead academic orientation on Sept. 2, in which students get to meet their professors and learn more about their programs.

York University offers additional orientation events for specific groups, such as international students, Black students, Indigenous students, part-time students, mature students, transfer students, students with disabilities, and graduate students.

The Markham campus opened with over 400 incoming students on Aug. 31, 2024. As the first public university campus in York Region, it features 10 storeys, 14 academic programs, and enough space to accept up to 4,200 students.

Palermo said that he was proud of the campus starting its Digital Technologies program. This program allows students to spend 80 per cent of their schedule working full-time for various Markham-based companies.

“When they [employers] hear about our programs — where we focus in on entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology — they want to be part of it,” he said. “They see that there’s a close connection between what we’re doing in the campus with our programs and the needs and demands of what’s outside of the campus.”

Palermo said that another achievement for the campus was giving back to its local community. According to him, the campus has already benefited the community by just being in Markham, in addition to its workplace-learning programs.

“Not everyone wants to go away to university,” he said. “Some students want to stay closer to home.”

Palermo said that the Markham campus is planning to further develop its technological education and expand its workplace-learning opportunities.

“The whole AI space is something that we need to look at a little bit more closely — which we will — that could become part of our campus,” he said.

To learn more about orientation at York University’s Markham campus, visit yorku.ca/markham/orientation.

Photo: Around 600 new students will enter York University’s Markham campus this upcoming orientation.