Fall/Winter 2022-2023
Operations
Julia Allworth - Manager, Innovation Projects
Julia is a leader, innovator and “intrapreneur” who specializes in design thinking, collaboration and related methodologies that strive to design programs with students. As the Leader of the Innovation Hub at the University of Toronto, she works with hundreds of students, faculty and staff on campus to improve the community’s campus experience. Julia holds an MBA in Global Leadership and a BA in Psychology. Julia has presented her work at various higher education conferences across North America. She is the co-author of a book, Design Thinking in Student Affairs, and delivered a TedX talk entitled Design yourself to change the world. Outside of her work, Julia is a single mom to neurodiverse school-aged twins Joshua and Victoria.
Paul Kaita – Senior Project Assistant
Paul Kaita (he/him) is currently a graduate student at OISE in the Master of Education, Higher Education program. He previously completed his Honours Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Visual Studies here at UofT. As Senior Project Assistant, Paul oversees communications, general administration, accessibility of design materials, and supports project teams. He is originally from British Columbia and really enjoyed making Toronto his new home. Paul is excited to translate his passions for art, design, and the student experience during his time at the Innovation Hub.
Shankeri Vijayakumar – Research Lead
Shankeri recently completed her undergraduate degree in a Health Studies and Sociology double major in spring 2022. With a passion for qualitative research and empathetic storytelling, Shankeri values connecting with people to centre their voices to build inclusive spaces. Shankeri is enthusiastic about using community and empathy-based research methodologies to understand diverse and complex human experiences. Shankeri joined the Innovation Hub as a data analysis researcher working on several design thinking research projects. Currently, as Research Lead, Shankeri supports research teams as they gather students’ stories and translate them into insights to understand and strengthen the student experience at U of T. Outside of school and work, Shankeri enjoys spending time in nature and exploring food places in Toronto.
Projects
Transforming the Instructional Landscape
Anchana Kuganesan – Design Research Team Lead: Transforming the Instructional Landscape
Anchana Kuganesan is currently a graduate student at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Clinical stream at the University of Toronto. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in the Honours Life Sciences program. Anchana was introduced to design thinking through a course in her final year of undergrad, and really enjoyed it! She will be working at the Innovation Hub as a Design Research Team Lead for the Transforming the Instructional Landscape project. Anchana enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and exploring nature, and art.
Jackie Betel - Design Project Team
Jackie Betel an undergraduate student at UofT studying a major in The History and Philosophy of Science and Technology and a double minor in Political Science and Buddhist Psychology and Mental Health Studies. She applied for the iHub program because she wanted the opportunity to help and create a more equitable experience at UofT. Jackie has credited her amazing professors, courses and classmates to her wonderful experience at the university and wants the same for other students and faculty members. She is working on the design team for Transforming the Instructional Landscape Project and she loves to play the guitar and kick-boxes in her spare time.
Rose Huang - Design Project Team
Chenyu is a second-year graduate student studying civil engineering. She is interested in gaining experience in student campus projects. Working as a design researcher for TIL, she aims to improve the UofT community's campus teaching and learning experience. Meanwhile, she hopes to develop her innovative thinking and teamwork skills and improve her ability to express opinions and cooperate. In addition, she enjoys working closely with other team members and exchanging ideas with them. During her free time, Chenyu loves to play video games, watch movies at home, and hang out with friends to explore exciting events happening in the city.
Cindy Ly - Design Project Team
Cindy is a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Information program at the Faculty of Information. Her concentration is in User-Experience Design and Human-Computer Interaction. She is looking forward to joining the Innovation Hub team and working on the TIL project. She enjoys spending her free time by exploring coffee shops, walking around the city, trying new foods, and making clothes.
Tiffany Tan - Design Project Team
Tiffany (she/her) is a second-year undergraduate student specializing in architecture and minoring in forest conservation. As an incoming design researcher, she is excited to apply her knowledge in human-centred design to improve the academic environments of professors and fellow students like herself! You can often find Tiffany exploring various study spaces around campus. Friends know they can count on her to know the best spots! During her free time, she enjoys reading, fashion, solving puzzles, and trying new food around the city.
SPORT & REC
Francesca Pabale – Design Research Team Lead: Sport & Rec
Francesca Pabale is a currently a graduate student at OISE in the Master of Education, Higher Education program. She previously completed her Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Francesca is excited to incorporate design thinking into practice to explore student and community needs in leading the Sport & Rec Equity Project. As an experiential learning enthusiast, she hopes to apply her knowledge of the post- secondary student experience to create learning spaces for equity and inclusion. Whenever she’s not in the classroom or at work, Francesca is always on the hunt to add books to read for her yearly reading challenge!
Kathy Du – Design Researcher
Kathy (she/her) is a psychology and cognitive science undergraduate student who is excited to join the Innovation Hub as a design researcher for the sports & rec project. Her passion for inclusive design stems from both her own personal experience and work experience. She particularly has experience working in accessibility and believes strongly in the principle that inclusive design is what drives innovative design, not hinders it. In her free time, she loves vintage/thrift shopping, going to used bookstores, trying foods from other cultures, and any makeup product with glitter. She has also once bumped into Jeff Goldblum in the line for the washroom at an Italian restaurant.
Tosha Henry-Adams – Design Researcher
Tosha is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying Cognitive Science and Psychology. She is passionate about using research and design as a problem solving tool. She has dedicated herself to research that helps improve experiences in healthcare, tech, and education, focusing on human-centric cybersecurity and user research. As a Design Researcher with the Sports and Rec team, she is super excited to use her research background to help understand the needs and perspectives of the U of T community and help find meaningful solutions that will improve campus life for everyone. Outside of work and academics, Tosha likes hanging out with her cats, going on (nearly) any outdoor adventure, and exploring new spots around the city.
Huayin Luo – Design Researcher
Huayin is a second year undergraduate student studying data science and molecular genetics, and she is excited to join the Innovation Hub as part of the Sports and Rec team this year. She is looking forward to learning more about design thinking and how we can help create a better campus experience for all students. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and trying to exercise.
Jenny Shen – Design Researcher
Jenny is currently a fourth year undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Information program. Jenny was introduced to design thinking through her summer internship and hopes to conduct empathy focused research to amplify student voice and enhance campus experience at UofT. As a Design Researcher for the Sport and Rec Equity project, she is specifically interested in exploring accessible and equitable design practices for all. Outside of school and work, she can be found watching tv shows, building legos, travelling, and exploring dessert places in Toronto!
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Lisa Hu – Design Research Team Lead: Health & Wellness
Lisa completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto in the Psychology Research Specialist program. Her research interests include marginalized populations, physical health, mental health, well-being, and intersectionality. As the Design Research Team Lead - Health & Wellness: Non-Clinical Mental Health Supports, she is looking forward to conducting research that improves mental health outcomes and student well-being at the university. She is particularly excited to be working together with student researchers to use empathy-based research approaches to contribute to the growth of mental health supports on campus. In her spare time, you can often find Lisa reading books, watching TV, and journaling.
Helen Chan – Design Researcher
Helen is a first year Master of Information student specializing in User Experience Design. As a design researcher in Health & Wellness, she is passionate about supporting students' mental health and improving campus life at UofT using human-centred design methods. Outside of school and work, Helen enjoys watching Kdramas, reading novels, and journaling.
Kendra Dizon – Design Researcher
Kendra Dizon (she/her) is a first-year Master of Information student at the U of T’s iSchool, specializing in User Experience Design. She has an undergraduate degree in Architecture, which sparked her passion for the intersection of aesthetics, emotion and usability. As a Design Researcher for the Health and Wellness: Non-Clinical Mental Health Supports project, Kendra will use qualitative research methods to explore student needs and uncover insights into how future program and service designs can be improved. Outside of school and work, she is trying new cafes, watching documentaries, and upcycling thrifted clothes.
Jenna Gu – Design Researcher
Jenna is a first-year student intending to pursue Psychology and Sociology. She is passionate about mental health and qualitative research. She participated in Innovation Hub's Design Thinking Experience Program and is currently doing research in anti-Asian racism through conducting interviews and focus groups. In her free time, Jenna loves to explore the causes behind all sorts of social phenomena.
Anna Hardie – Design Researcher
Anna Hardie is a Master of Public Policy candidate at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She graduated from Mount Allison University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and English Literature. Her policy interests include environmental, social, and health policy. Anna is working towards pursuing a career in research and consulting for the public sector.
University College Spaces: Redefining the Student Experience
Eli Rose – Design Research Team Lead: University College
Eli is a fourth-year undergraduate student specializing in Political Science. His research interests center on social mobility and design thinking and hopes to use his experiences and skills to design and advocate for programs and policies that address social and economic barriers for marginalized Canadians. Eli greatly values the benefits of building community and strives to be an authentic and empathetic community member, mentor, and leader. With a business background and seven years of leadership and project management experience, he enjoys challenging projects that allow him to empower and inspire fellow team members, youth, and all others. Eli proudly identifies as a Black mature student, and thoroughly enjoys spending time with his family, going on road trips, and watching basketball during his downtime.
Amar Krupalija - Design Researcher
Amar is heading into the fourth year of his bachelor of arts degree, majoring in international relations with minors in anthropology and political science. As a design researcher, he is excited to help share student perspectives regarding the redesign of University College spaces and contribute to improving the overall student experience at the University of Toronto. Outside of school Amar enjoys taking trips around the city on his bicycle and cheering on Manchester United.
Reese Halfyard - Design Researcher
Reese is a third year undergraduate student studying information technology and user experience design in the Bachelor of Information program at UofT’s iSchool. She is extremely excited to collaboratively develop University College’s student life and campus environment as a Design Researcher for the Innovation Hub. Through use of human centered design methods, Reese will uplift student voices and establish a safe community that prioritizes inclusivity, diversity, and accessibility. Outside of school and work, Reese is extremely passionate about graphic design, sewing, and sustainable fashion.
Shiqi Wang - Design Researcher
Shiqi is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto specializing in Psychology. She is interested in the field of user experience design and is willing to use her creativity to make positive social changes in the real world. As a Design Research Assistant for the UC Spaces: Redefining the Student Experience project, she is passionate about using empathy-based and human-centered approaches to facilitate the imagination of University College spaces that embrace equity, diversity, and inclusion to improve the student experience in the U of T community. Outside of school and work, she enjoys painting, cooking, and exploring new cafes with her friends.
Sidney Smith Redevelopment
Justin (YunLong) Feng – Design Research Team Lead: Sidney Smith
Justin is an incoming Master of Information, studying User Experience Design and Human-Centred Data Science at the iSchool. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the UofT. As a student and a UX researcher, he is passionate about the student experience and accessibility. Justin is very excited to work within a cross-functional team at the Innovation Hub. Outside of work, you will always find him on the tennis court during the summer, and snowboarding during the winter.
Ola Adach - Design Researcher
Ola (she/her) is a Design Researcher working on the Sidney Smith Redevelopment Project. She is a second-year student pursuing an MA in Language and Literacies Education at OISE. She also has an academic background in Applied Linguistics, Sociology, and Learning Sciences. Through her work, Ola strives to co-create an environment on campus that will foster the personal, professional, and academic growth of all students. Doing so using design thinking and translating qualitative data into tangible results is especially appealing to her. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, learning new things, and taking long walks to explore Toronto.
Emily Tchong - Design Researcher
Emily Ha Tchong is currently a first-year student in the Humanities stream. As a design researcher for the Sidney Smith Hall Redevelopment, she aspires to use her expertise for the project to ensure that every Arts & Science student will feel like part of a community. Emily is dedicated in using her skills to serve the student community the best she can. During her free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, and watching sitcoms!
Gauri Patki - Design Researcher
Gauri is an undergraduate student going into her fourth year at the University of Toronto, in a double major of History and English to obtain a Bachelor of Arts. She will be taking on the role of a Design Researcher for the Sidney Smith Hall Redevelopment Project and is excited to combine a design-thinking approach to improve student experiences and targeted spaces with her experience as a research assistant on other teams and analytical thinking due to a more reading and writing focused course load. Some things that Gauri enjoys doing in her free time are ice-skating, reading, trying out new foods, and facilitating dialogue.
Martha Khoshabeh - Design Researcher
Martha is a fifth-year undergraduate student majoring in Architecture and Visual Studies. As a design researcher, she believes in a university experience designed by and for students. She is excited to be part of an initiative where she can contribute to improving campus life by prioritizing student experiences and ‘empathy-based approach’ as a mode of redesign in university spaces. Outside of work, Martha enjoys building wood crafts and playing soccer and softball.
Food Services
Eli Rose - Design Research Team Lead: Food Services
Eli is a fourth-year undergraduate student specializing in Political Science. His research interests center on social mobility and design thinking and hopes to use his experiences and skills to design and advocate for programs and policies that address social and economic barriers for marginalized Canadians. Eli greatly values the benefits of building community and strives to be an authentic and empathetic community member, mentor, and leader. With a business background and seven years of leadership and project management experience, he enjoys challenging projects that allow him to empower and inspire fellow team members, youth, and all others. Eli proudly identifies as a Black mature student, and thoroughly enjoys spending time with his family, going on road trips, and watching basketball during his downtime.
Kimberly Mak - Design Researcher
Kimberly is a first-year master's student in the Department of Physiology under the Faculty of Medicine. Coming from a multicultural background, she values the creation of an inclusive framework and strives to approach a problem from different perspectives. While she was conducting her undergraduate studies at UofT, she was supported by amazing mentors and peers through the participation of various academic and professional development opportunities. She would like to pay it forward by getting involved in student-led initiatives and to ensure opportunities are accessible to all students regardless of their backgrounds. She takes advantage of her free time to explore TO, try out new restaurants, and stay active (mostly by playing volleyball!).
Yin Chen Wan - Design Researcher
Yin Chen is currently in her second year of PhD in the department of Molecular Genetics. Interested in generating creative ideas to improve student experience, she joined the Innovation Hub as a design researcher in food services. Outside of research and academics, she loves to travel and cook.
Larry Afun - Design Researcher
Larry is a second-year student at the University of Toronto studying Physiology and Immunology. He is passionate about research, science, philosophy, and the student experience. He is excited to start his new journey with the Innovation Hub.
Academic Integrity
Anchana Kuganesan – Design Research Team Lead: Academic Integrity
Anchana Kuganesan is currently a graduate student at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Clinical stream at the University of Toronto. She completed her undergraduate degree at McMaster University in the Honours Life Sciences program. Anchana was introduced to design thinking through a course in her final year of undergrad, and really enjoyed it! She will be working at the Innovation Hub as a Design Research Team Lead for the Transforming the Instructional Landscape project. Anchana enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and exploring nature, and art.
Ivy Cao – Videographer & Editor
Ivy is a current first-year Master of Information student, studying User Experience Design at the iSchool. She holds a Bachelor of Information Technology in Interactive Multimedia and Design from Carleton University. As a student and a user experience designer, she is passionate about the student experience and user-centred design. Ivy is very excited to work within a cross-functional team at the Innovation Hub, and contributes as a videographer and editor for the academic integrity project. In her free time, she likes to hang out with friends, walk in the city, and swim at the Athletic Centre.
William Wu – Videographer & Editor
William is a third-year undergraduate student specialize in Management focusing on innovation and strategy, minor in Economics. He joins Innovation hub as Videographer & Editor, he enjoys telling stories in videos. He is interested to learn more about human-centred design and apply this problem solving technique in consulting industry. He is excited whenever he work on creative project, creating videos is fun and relax for him. He likes working out, guitar, arts, and he uses an electric skateboard to go to school everyday.
Central
Delphine Ji – Design Research Team Lead: Central Projects
Delphine Ji (She/Her) is currently a graduate student in Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine. She previously completed a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Physiology at UofT. She is originally from British Columbia and loves the city of Toronto for its unique culture, activity, and amazing restaurants. As a research lead, Delphine is passionate about making the student experience as good as possible, as well as analyzing and strategizing from data. Delphine is passionate about exercise, wellness, and connecting with students.
Rayna Ghosh – Design Researcher
Rayna Ghosh (she/her) is currently completing her fourth year at UofT, majoring in human biology and cell/molecular biology with a minor in English. As a design researcher for the central projects at the iHub Rayna hopes to use her knowledge and skills to improve campus life for all students. In her free time she enjoys reading, watching movies and trying out new restaurants around Toronto.
Jenny Phung – Design Researcher
Jenny is a second-year student currently pursuing a major in Global Health, Book and Media Studies and a minor in English. As a design researcher, she aims to create a safe and inclusive space and improve campus life for students. Jenny is excited to apply an empathy-based research approach and work with the Innovation Hub. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, watching movies and shows, and spending time with her family and friends.
Community Animation
Delphine Ji – Community Animation Lead
Delphine Ji (She/Her) is currently a graduate student in Physiology at the Faculty of Medicine. She previously completed a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and Physiology at UofT. She is originally from British Columbia and loves the city of Toronto for its unique culture, activity, and amazing restaurants. As a research lead, Delphine is passionate about making the student experience as good as possible, as well as analyzing and strategizing from data. Delphine is passionate about exercise, wellness, and connecting with students.
Ramzy Bakr - Community Animator
Ahmed Ramzy is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in Economics and Political Science. As a Community Animator, he is ecstatic to help build the members of the team from individuals into a collective through the coordination and organization of numerous team-building and networking events, not only aiming to animate the Innovation Hub itself, but the greater community in order to make the University a safer environment for everyone. Ahmed spends his free time enjoying music, cooking and exploring the City of Toronto more every day.
Alan Sivabalan - Community Animator
Alan is a fourth year student who is ready to be done with university. However, he realized that something was missing about his campus life at UofT. He decided to venture on a journey and landed this job here at the IHub as a community animator. Here he hopes to see if he can find what he has been missing. He hopes to not only animate the community here at the IHub but, the Uoft community as a whole. Lads he is here to hand out some massive "W" so make sure to come to our events :).
Anunita Wazir - Community Animator
Anunita is a fourth-year student at the University of Toronto, double majoring in Economics and Psychology with a minor in Political Science. Her interest in improving student life experience led her to seek opportunities at the Innovation Hub. As a Community Animator, Anunita facilitates community engagement and interaction within the Innovation Hub through planning socials and supporting the creation of vibrant and inclusive spaces for all students. She is excited to enhance the student experience and create a fun and inviting space for all students at the Innovation Hub. Anunita also enjoys axe throwing, travelling and watching TV shows and movies. Her favourite TV show is Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Research Support
Gianluca Mandarino - Qualitative Data Archivist Team Lead
Gianluca is a fourth-year undergraduate student double majoring in Sociology and Philosophy. As the qualitative data archivist, Gianluca is responsible for managing the Innovation Hub's current database as well as coding new data and ensuring it is readily accessible to team members. As a research assistant in the Department of Sociology, he is thrilled to apply the skills he has gained in coding and transcription to projects at the Innovation Hub. He is also very excited to be building a stronger student experience and helping to create safer spaces for students. Outside of work, Gianluca loves to play sports, read, and enjoy nature.
Jialu Fu - Qualitative Data Archivist
Jialu is an second-year undergraduate student doing a double major in statistics and molecular genetics, and a minor in philosophy. As a qualitative data archivist, he is thrilled to be collaborating with an amazing team in handling and managing data for the various projects at the Innovation Hub. Jialu is eager about utilizing his skills in coding and data mining to improving the student community and campus experience with multifaceted and diverse methods. In his spare moments, you will find Jialu reading a book, cycling on his road bike, capturing deep sky astrophotography, or trying out all sorts of different Chinese teas.
Lauren Turner - Qualitative Data Archivist
Ruth Rodrigues - Qualitative Data Archivist
Ruth (she/her) is a graduate student completing a Masters of Education in Social Justice Education at OISE. She recently completed her undergraduate degree in Sociology and Critical Equity Studies at the University of Toronto. As a Qualitative Data Archivist, Ruth aims to further develop her qualitative research skills while working with the Innovation Hub in their mission to improve student accessibility and inclusion. Some of Ruth’s other interests include animal welfare and developmental policy.
UTQAP
Tiffany Cao – Research Lead & Program Coordinator
Tiffany (she/her/hers) recently received her Honours Bachelor of Science in environmental science and human geography. She has recently joined the team at the Innovation Hub as a Research Lead & Program Coordinator for the Faculty of Arts & Science (A&S) U of T Quality Assurance Program (UTQAP). Tiffany finds great value and importance in centering people’s experiences in research meant to directly support them and has enjoyed contributing to many qualitative research projects. She strives to create accessible and welcoming spaces for everyone. In her free time, Tiffany likes to read and do creative hobbies such as art and music. She also likes clouds and stuffed animals.
Art History
Ayra Hasany – UTQAP Design Researcher
Ayra is a second-year undergraduate student who is studying Kinesiology and Physical Education at UofT. As a current student, she is enthusiastic about finding bridges within the multitude of students to create a greater sense of community. She also has a passion for psychology and is looking for more ways to apply her knowledge into the real world to find practical solutions. Outside of school, Ayra can be found enjoying sports, photography, music, and walking around the city exploring!
Rebecca Hsiung – UTQAP Design Researcher
Rebecca (she/her) is a first year Masters of Information student, specializing in User Experience Design. She completed her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto, which is where she discovered her passion for using data to drive design solutions. She is very excited to be working at the Innovation Hub as a Design Researcher for the Quality Assurance Process (UTQAP) Projects. She is looking forward to using empathy based research and human-centric design principles to improve the learning environments for students and instructors. Outside of school, Rebecca enjoys trying new artistic hobbies, such as crochet, painting and video editing!
Cell Systems & Biology
Yolanda Liu – UTQAP Design Researcher
Yolanda is a third-year undergraduate student specializing in biochemistry. She is a design researcher working on the UTQAP team for the Department of Cell & Systems Biology. As a student, she believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to tell their story and give feedback to the university; she is excited to create empathy-based solutions in order to better improve the student learning experience. Previously, she was a UTQAP design researcher for the Department of Germanic Languages & Literatures, and she wishes to use her experience to further facilitate the UTQAP process. In her spare time, Yolanda enjoys finding new restaurants, watching anime, and painting.
Rachel Zuo – UTQAP Design Researcher
Rachel is a second-year graduate student in the Master of Information, studying User Experience Design. Coming from a computer science background, she is excited to apply multi-disciplinary skills to bridge the gap between technology and people. She loves to be presented with design challenges and strives to deliver an intuitive, seamless, and enjoyable experience for the U of T community. Outside of school and work, Rachel is a cat-lover who enjoys snowboarding, digital illustration, and playing adventure games.
Digital Humanities
Tiago Martins – UTQAP Design Researcher
Tiago is a fourth-year undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Information program. He enrolled in the University of Toronto in 2021 after studying for two years at the University of Guelph-Humber's Justice Studies program. He is excited to work at the Innovation Hub as part of their Robarts Library 5th Floor Redesign project, and further develop skills in the field of qualitative research. Outside of the University, Tiago teaches swimming and piano, and spends his time reading and writing poetry.
Katrina Soong – UTQAP Design Researcher
Katrina is a second-year undergraduate student pursuing a major in English, and a double minor in History and Philosophy. Passionate about the humanities, and giving a voice to student experiences through research and storytelling, she is excited to be working as a Design Researcher on the UTQAP team for Digital Humanities. She hopes to utilize her skills to create a tangible difference in the university. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing, reading, photography and spending time with her friends.
East Asian Studies
Doria Fu – UTQAP Design Researcher
Doria is a first-year Master of Information student majoring in User Experience Design. She has a passion for understanding how human’s thoughts and human’s minds work. As a design researcher for UTQAP team, Doria hopes to utilize her knowledge from UXD to build a more human-centred campus environment for everyone. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring the city she lives in, trying new restaurants, and playing video games.
Shijie Min – UTQAP Design Researcher
Shijie is now a graduate student in UofT studying Biostatistics. She is a Design Researcher in the Innovation Hub. As Shijie would like to have the opportunity to work in UofT and also enhance her skills, she choose the job. One fun thing about Shijie is that she is a cat person and there are five cats in her condo right now!
Ethics, Law, & Society
Pranav Kansal – UTQAP Design Researcher
Pranav Kansal is a second year undergrad student in UofT, pursuing a double major in Mathematics and Statistics. As a design researcher, he is looking forward to use data analytical skills acquired through his courses and past experience in community engagement for meaningful action to improve student life at UofT. This role pushes him to break his comfort zone, learn various paradigms of thinking, and work with a diverse team from all around the world. Outside of University, he likes to travel and read novels.
Emily Kim – UTQAP Design Researcher
Emily Kim (she/her) is a current Bachelor of Information student at UofT iSchool. She is passionate about using empathy-based user research to collaboratively design spaces that foster both creativity and accessibility. Outside of school and work, you can find Emily learning another language, listening to music, or cuddling with her two cats.
History
Andrea Gonzalez – UTQAP Design Researcher
Andrea is a first-year Master of Information student, specializing in User Experience Design. She has an undergraduate degree in Geography from the University of British Columbia, with a focus on Environment and Sustainability. Before starting her Master’s, Andrea worked as an Associate at a non-profit research organization, conducting social science research on public programs across a few policy domains, including workforce development, youth services, and education. She is passionate about leveraging qualitative research and design thinking to help meaningfully re-imagine programming for students. As a Design Researcher in the UTQAP team, she strives to learn how to better design programming for inclusion and belonging. Outside of work and school, Andrea enjoys doing spinning classes, crocheting, and spending time with family.
Suzie Zhang – UTQAP Design Researcher
Zhian Zhang is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in Economics and double minoring in Statistics and Environment and Energy. Her experience communicating with people from different backgrounds allows her to consider more comprehensive factors when analyzing data and making recommendations as she looks forward to helping students enhance and bring about a more diverse campus experience. She likes listening to music, cooking, and watching movies in her spare time.
International Relations
Joyce Ng – Design Researcher
Joyce is currently a first-year student at the iSchool in the Master of Information program (User Experience Design Concentration). With experience in the retail industry as an Account Manager, Joyce hopes to bring in her experience in commercial and integrate into her design research work at Innovation Hub. Coming from a background in Law and Literature, Joyce loves to read, watch movies and write poems during her free time.
Yannie Mork – Design Researcher
Yannie is a third-year student double majoring in Ethics, Society and Law and Sociology. She has participated in a few qualitative research projects before landing on the Innovation Hub's position and she is very excited to bring her research experience to the Hub and help make the student community better. Being a sociology student, Yannie has learnt a lot about different research approaches and she really likes how the Innovative Hub focuses on taking an ethnographic and empathy-based approach. Outside of class and work, Yannie likes playing basketball and working out at the gym.
Political Science
Maxine Ramos – UTQAP Design Researcher
Maxine is currently an undergraduate student working towards a Bachelor of Information at UofT's Faculty of Information. She is looking forward to being a Design Researcher on the University of Toronto Quality Assurance Process project. Maxine hopes to learn the fundamentals of both research and design, while bringing her own experience and energy to her role. Maxine is passionate about sharing the experience of the diverse student population at UofT and is excited to contribute to designing solutions that work towards a better student experience. Outside of school and work, Maxine loves to read books, go to concerts, discover new places to eat with friends, and thrift!
Amy Wang – Design Researcher
Amy is an incoming Master of Information student, completing double concentrations in User Experience Design and Information Systems & Design. She has an undergraduate degree in psychology and loves social and cognitive psychology research. Amy is interested in applying her search skills to improve students’ academic life. Outside of school and work, she plays badminton, goes to shoppings and fine dinings very often.
Quantitative Data Analyst
Tanvi Bhandari – UTQAP Quantitative Data Analyst
Tanvi (she/her) is a fourth year undergraduate studying Statistics, Computer Science and Mathematics. She recently completed her internship at a leading telematics company and is thrilled to work here at the Innovation Hub. She’s also a casual reader of genres like Adult Fantasy and Contemporary Fiction!
Spencer Ki – UTQAP Quantitative Data Analyst
Spencer recently completed majors in Physics and Statistics, as well as a minor in Mathematics, at UofT. As a Quantitative Data Analyst, he's proud to use statistics to supplement the Innovation Hub's qualitative research core, enhancing our ability to tell students' stories. Previously the Writer & Editor then the Team Lead for the Robarts Library Redesign, he is wholeheartedly dedicated to the iHub’s mission “to improve campus life through student-centric design.” When not working on QAP analysis, Spencer can be found typing up news articles, satire pieces, short stories, and code to cheat at math puzzles with.
Communication
Anushka Saini – Digital Communications Team Lead
Anushka (she/her) is a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Economics (focus in data analytics) and double-minoring in Computer Science and Statistics. She is pursuing user experience (UX) design, melding her passions in technology, design, research, and communication. Anushka values the forum that the Innovation Hub provides to bring together like-minded individuals inspired by making positive changes to campus life. As the Digital Communications Lead, Anushka is excited to integrate design, marketing, and strategy elements to advance the insightful student-centered projects at the Innovation hub. Apart from work and school, Anushka enjoys creating digital illustrations, travelling, cooking, and exploring cafes in Toronto
Leyla Memiguven - Digital Storyteller
Leyla is an international student from Turkey studying Digital Enterprise Management at the University of Toronto. She likes to help new students and especially international students like her adjust to the university and feel more at home. In her free time she enjoys drawing, writing and finding plot holes in every book, show or movie ever created.
Tehseen Sarwar - Digital Storyteller
Tehseen is a third year undergraduate student specializing in Architecture with a major in Environmental Studies. As an architecture student, Tehseen understands the importance of relaying important information visually, and wishes to use her skills to excel in her position as a digital storyteller. Tehseen is passionate about helping undergraduate students navigate and optimize their university experience as much as possible. This is especially as many undergraduate students including herself started university remotely during the pandemic. Outside of school and work, Tehseen enjoys watching tv shows and documentaries.
Isha Sharma - Digital Storyteller
Isha is a third-year undergraduate student pursuing a Technology of Architecture Specialist and a minor in energy and environmental science. Her aspirations to become a Data Visualiser and Ui/Ux designer led her to the Innovation Hub communications team. Isha is passionate about accessible design and anthropological research, which she aims to work on while making a difference in the student community at the University of Toronto. During her free time, Isha enjoys swimming, baking, painting, and spending time with her loved ones!
Sharon Yu - Digital Storyteller
Sharon is a second-year Master of Information student specializing in User Experience Design. Previously, she completed her Honours Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management degree at the University of Waterloo. As a Digital Storyteller, Sharon is excited to collaborate with the team and apply her UX/UI and graphic design skills together with an empathy-based, human-centred design thinking approach to tell the stories of U of T students through innovative visual content. Besides school and work, she enjoys travelling, cooking, and planting succulents. Sharon is also an animal lover; she has a cat, a hamster, and a leopard gecko at home.
Jeanne Polochansky - Digital Content Writer
Jeanne Polochansky is an undergraduate Psychology Specialist student at UTSG and the Digital Content Writer at iHub. She is also the editor and contributor of many journals in and beyond UofT and is currently awaiting publication of her debut novel. Jeanne’s passion for literature encourages her to work on making it an accessible form of communication for everyone. Apart from writing and conducting lab research, she enjoys creating choreography and reading books - preferably with a cat by her side.