From Stories to Change: Understanding Students Through Data, Community & Design

When the Innovation Hub launched in 2016, two important questions guided our work: who are our students? How is the world changing for them? We co-created the five domains of innovation to answer these fundamental questions. Nearly a decade later, the world has changed. Students have changed. That’s why we’re asking these questions again. 

This project brings together staff, faculty, and students from across campus to listen deeply to student experiences. Through interviews, observations and feedback sessions we’ll collect rich qualitative data that reveals the why behind the university’s quantitative data. We’ll look at the stories, barriers and needs behind the numbers. We’re partnering with our colleagues who are looking at quantitative data to bring together different types of data and insights. We want to create a fuller picture of student experiences at U of T. 

In the spring of 2027, during the university’s bicentennial year, we’ll come together for a student experience data day to share what we’ve learned across all five domains. These findings can inspire our community to move from stories to change: informing strategic planning, program design, and real decisions about how we support students.