The first week of September brought food, music, and new opportunities to the Moose Jaw campus of Saskatchewan Polytechnic, as students gathered for Welcome Week festivities designed to ease the transition into post-secondary life.

New connections

For many, the Campus Kick-off on Sept. 3 was their first chance to connect with fellow students. Among them were three first-year computer engineering students — Brodie Crichton, Mathew Olson, and Kieran Johnson — who said the event was helping them settle in. “I’ve lived mostly in small towns — there’s a lot of stuff here at the campus and just in town in general,” Olson said, reflecting on the differences between his hometown of Kerrobert, Sask., and what is now his third visit to Moose Jaw. The trio was in agreement and said they are looking forward to building a solid foundation in their first semester. “I’m (hoping to get) just a good enough understanding (of the course fundamentals), but mostly I’m just waiting for the work terms,” Olson said. “(I hope to achieve) a further understanding of math,” Crichton added.

Canadian experience

For others, Welcome Week was a chance to reflect on the differences between studying in Canada and their experiences abroad. Second-semester student Akhil Sathikumar enrolled in supply chain management after previously completing a year of business management. Originally from India, he said the learning environment at Sask Polytech has been both eye-opening and supportive. “It’s really different from what I get in my country because the education system is really different here. People (here) focus more on practical examples. For example, we have to do more work on project assignments … but (back in India), the majority of the mark … is from exams,” he explained. Sathikumar’s experience highlights a key difference between the two systems.

In India, undergraduate education is typically exam-heavy and theory-focused, with final marks often based primarily on lengthy written tests. Formal referencing and citation practices, such as APA style, are usually expected only at the graduate or doctoral level. At Sask Polytech, by contrast, students are graded throughout the semester on applied projects, lab work, presentations, and shorter assignments, alongside exams. Academic integrity standards require all students — even at the diploma or certificate level — to use proper citation and referencing. The result is a more practical, hands-on approach that places emphasis on demonstrating knowledge through applied learning rather than memorization. Sathikumar said he appreciates how Canadian coursework emphasizes concepts rather than rote memorization and pushes students to engage with material more deeply. “I think this is more effective, because in long answer questions, people can easily (learn the sentence by heart) … but here, we tend to get more information because in studying for MCQs (multiple-choice questions), we have to prepare ourselves and know the entire content in order to answer,” he said. He said both the education and workplace cultures in Canada have impressed him.

“Here (in Canada), nobody will stress you, but in (India) it’s really hard,” he explained. “Even though we have to do an eight-hour shift, sometimes we also have to do extra work without payment. Here, people give more value to everyone. There is no difference between employer and employee — everyone is friendly, and nobody acts like a boss telling you that you have to do things a certain way. There is no micromanagement.” These experiences, he said, have given him an overall positive impression of Canada. “I think this is a very good place. I like the work culture here, and I like the studies here. Everything is good,” Sathikumar added. The Moose Jaw campus celebration was part of a province-wide series of Sask Polytech Welcome Week activities, which ran from Aug. 28 to Sept. 5. Students were greeted with coffee and refreshments, a Campus and Community Services Fair, and special events including Food Truck Friday. To learn more, visit SaskPolytech.ca.