Improving the campus experience at the University of Toronto through student-led design
By Charis Lam, Design Research Events Lead
Do you participate in programs and services at First Nations House?
Are you interesting in learning what your fellow participants have to say about their experience at First Nations House (FNH)? Do you want to give your opinion on the future of FNH programming?
By Joey Youssef (Team Lead) & the Multi-Faith Centre Research Team
Do you value faith, spirituality, and making meaning in your everyday life?
The Innovation Hub is recruiting volunteers to aid in a project aimed at exploring these topics, and how students can be better supported in their religious, spiritual, or self-reflective practices. The Multi-Faith Centre (MFC) and the Innovation Hub at U of T will be working together this 2018-2019 academic year to explore how students currently make use of the MFC’s existing facilities and services, and how the MFC can cater to the needs of U of T’s diverse student body — including those who do not necessarily prescribe to a particular religious group or faith.
By Shirin Gerami, Design Research Team Lead (Family Care Office)
The Family Care research project is born out of a partnership between the Innovation Hub and the Family Care Office at the University of Toronto. The overall aim of this project is to answer the question “what are the experiences of students with family responsibilities, and particularly student parents, at the University of Toronto?”
By Suzie Kim, Communications Team
Join us this week to shape your future classroom! As part of Academic and Campus Event’s Transforming the Instructional Landscape project, the Innovation Hub is bringing the design process into the U of T community. Join us in the Bahen Atrium and Med-Sci Lobby so we can ask you: what makes a classroom great?
By Joey Youssef (Team Lead) & the Multi-Faith Centre Research Team
In this blog post series, we introduce you to each of the Innovation Hub’s research teams this year, as well as provide some project details. To learn more about the research questions, see here. Below, you will find a brief statement from the Multi-Faith Centre’s research team, regarding why they decided to join the I-Hub and this particular project.
By Nick Feinig, Senior Research Assistant (for the ACE-Transforming the Instructional Landscape project)
What do instructors and students have to say about instructional space at UofT? Quite a lot, it seems! Beginning in the fall of 2017, the Innovation Hub undertook an initial ethnographic study combining long form empathy interviews, participant observation in classrooms around campus, and data lifted from a social media campaign as part of ACE’s Transforming the Instructional Landscape (TIL) project. Instructor feedback was also solicited through a dedicated portion of the TIL website. Analysing this data, our research team determined that both students and instructors recognize the importance of thoughtfully managed space to the learning process, while the former in particular have powerful memories associated with certain campus spaces.
By Suzie Kim, Communications Team
Shape your future classroom! As part of Academic and Campus Event’s Transforming the Instructional Landscape project, the Innovation Hub is bringing the design process into the U of T community. Join us in the Bahen Atrium and Med-Sci Lobby so we can ask you: what makes a classroom great?
By Mia Sanders, Training Facilitator
Hello! My name is Mia Sanders and I’m a training facilitator for the Innovation Hub this year, along with my co-facilitator, Margaryta Ignatenko. Both Margaryta and I have been with the Hub for almost two years, during which we’ve had the privilege of engaging with hundreds of students and staff who are invested in improving the student experience at UofT. From our vantage point, what sets the Innovation Hub apart is the array of methodologies that team members are exposed to throughout their time here, including Design Thinking, Ethnography, Integrative Thinking, and Anti-Oppressive Practices.
By Julia Smeed, Innovation Projects Officer
A world-class institution deserves world-class spaces for learning and instruction. That’s why we think that Academic and Campus Events (ACE) landmark renovation project – Transforming the Instructional Landscape (TIL) – will be such an exciting and impactful project at U of T. The instructional space on campus plays an essential role in fulfilling the university’s mandate to provide an unparalleled learning experience and impacts every student here. As the steward of these important facilities, ACE is committed to developing accessible, innovative, and purpose-built classrooms that address the needs of instructors and students. We can’t help but be inspired by their ambitious new vision for U of T.
By Shirin Gerami, Design Research Team Lead (Family Care Office)
Are you a student with family responsibilities?
In partnership with the University of Toronto’s Family Care Office, the Innovation Hub would love to hear about your experience as a U of T student and parent or caregiver. We are interested in the opportunities, challenges, and needs that parents and caregivers have as they navigate their multiple roles and responsibilities while studying.