Warrior Within – Innovating Mental Health Curriculum

Smiling woman with long blonde hair in olive green top and denim jeans

Guest Post by: Catherine Wachter, Guidance Counselor at University of Toronto Schools

The Innovation Hub envisions a seamless student experience, one where students feel well prepared for their future academically and personally. Unfortunately, poor mental health is an overwhelming barrier to student success. Students report feeling stressed and anxious about school work, and often struggle to find a healthy balance between academics and their personal life. 

Warrior Within (www.warriorwithin.ca) is a project that centres around the creation of a fictional short film (shot in July, 2016) that uses metaphor and imagery to help engage students in their understanding of stress, anxiety and resilience. This film has inspired a student-created curriculum that will be an open source resource for educators. 

Work Opportunities at the Innovation Hub This Summer!

Headshot of smiling young woman with light brown hair in blue and white blouseBy: Margaryta Ignatenko, Student Co-Leader, Communications and Events Team

Working at the Innovation Hub has been one of the highlights of my academic school year! I am pleased to share that the opportunity to be part of the Innovation Hub’s next phase is here. There are 7 new work study positions for the summer term. These positions fill 4 roles that will be essential for supporting the work of the Hub moving forward. The jobs are briefly described here and full descriptions can be found in the Career Learning Network by searching for the following job numbers:

Innovation Hub Insights & Ideas

Headshot of smiling woman with short red hair in dark grey topBy Julia Smeed, Innovation Hub Project Lead

The Innovation Hub has engaged in over one hundred honest conversations with U of T students. From these conversations we have gained a number of insights that can help us to design innovative programs, services and resources to better support students.  Twenty five ideas were also imagined by the students and staff in the Innovation Hub.  We have prepared a comprehensive report of our findings which can be obtained by contacting us.

Innovation at the Impact Centre

Headshot of smiling man with short red hair, moustache, and stubble in grey blazer and light blue shirtGuest Post by: Scott McAuley, Communications Coordinator at UofT’s Impact Centre 

The desire to enable innovation is all around us. From university campuses to corporate headquarters to government chambers, new programs are springing up that are designed to help bring ideas into reality, and reality into practice. The University of Toronto is no different. The University has always been an innovator, from the isolation of insulin to creating the pacemaker, but today’s technologies and markets provide new opportunities that require a new way of thinking.

The Impact Centre is a research institute at the University of Toronto that is dedicated to bringing science to society. We create and deliver events, programs and courses that are all designed to introduce students to innovation and entrepreneurship as well as give them the support they need to make those dreams a reality.

Some recent and upcoming programs: