Improving the campus experience at the University of Toronto through student-led design
By Margaryta Ignatenko, Innovation Hub Big Ideas Team Leader
Chill Spots was one of the ideas that emerged from last years Whole Student Development domain’s research. What if we could transform existing, underused spaces at a minimal cost to better meet student needs?
Guest Post By Albert Huynh, Engineering Leadership Education Specialist at ILead (Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering)
Over the past few years, I’ve felt the need for us as a society to step up to bigger challenges (e.g. waste, energy usage, access to education, etc.). Having studied engineering myself, at first, I thought that the answer lay purely in improving our technical problem solving skills. However, the more I’ve learned, the more I’m convinced that solutions in the absence of self-aware leadership and deep humanity are destined to fall flat. With that in mind, I’ve tried to figure out how to bridge the technical knowledge of engineering with the human capacity needed to create positive change, particularly, not simply using one as an add-on to the other, but looking for ways in which the two amplify each other. This exploration has led me to direct, manage, and facilitate the ILead (Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering) social innovation program, The Game.
By Igor Samardzic, Innovation Hub Events Leader
Come one, come all!!
Last year I had the pleasure of participating in the Innovation Hub as a volunteer and this year I am leading the events team! This is an incredible opportunity to get involved and see change happen in real time!! I hope to see some of you folks join us on this journey.
The Innovation Hub at U of T is currently assembling teams of students and staff to explore the viability of 5 ideas that came out of an extensive consultation, ideation and prototyping process last year to discover ideas that will improve the student experience. This is a great opportunity to join a cross-disciplinary team of students and staff working together towards a common purpose, of creating a sense of community and connectedness among our students, staff and faculty. The following ideas emerged and gained traction:
By Apefa Adjivon, Innovation Hub Connector
Hello! My Name is Apefa Adjivon, and I am the current connector for the Innovation Hub. I have the great privilege of introducing myself and the I-hub team to you! Since August, we’ve all been spending time getting to know each other and working with one another to improve the student experience. Everyone on the team is extremely dedicated to their work, and excited to serve their peers and the greater UofT community.
So, starting with myself…
By Shonakshi Chaubal, University of Toronto’s Hult Prize Campus Director
The Hult Prize is the world’s largest student case competition for social entrepreneurs. In partnership with the United Nations, the Hult Prize Foundation hosts college and university events around the world in search of the next game-changing start-up. Each year, the Hult Prize awards one million dollars in start-up funding to the team of students that develops the most radical and breakthrough idea to solve one of our world’s toughest social challenges. The goal of the competition is to foster social entrepreneurship among the brightest, youngest minds across the world, and each year, wonderful solutions are developed and presented.
By Clara Luca, Innovation Leader, Innovation Hub
This summer, I was hired to join the 2017 summer student team at the Innovation Hub. I worked with the UofT community to workshop and research the UofT Neighborhood Communities and UofT Concierge prototype ideas. I also had the opportunity to attend workshops and events around campus as well as several great training sessions to advance my knowledge of design thinking and develop my leadership skills. I also worked with the team as we created an amazingly colourful #DisplayYourPride piece. I’m so pleased to be continuing with the Innovation Hub into the Fall/Winter. Our team is growing and the Innovation Hub is now accepting applications for the 2017-18 team!
By the Innovation Hub’s Knowledge Management Leader Michelle Johnstone, and our Implementation Leader Clara Luca
On June 5th and 9th, the Innovation Hub invited students, faculty, and staff across U of T to offer feedback on our six prototyped project ideas. Toencourage participants to provide direct, meaningful feedback, they were arranged into focus group-like arrangements to ideate and co-create the prototypes which interested them most.
By Margaryta Ignatenko, Innovation Hub Team
At the core of the Innovation Hub is the desire to make the University of Toronto a place where all students experience a sense of community and connectedness. In our work, we use a design methodology that takes inclusivity into consideration. We are thrilled about events such as #DisplayYourPride which celebrate the diversity of our University of Toronto community!
By the Innovation Hub Implementation Leaders: Gabriele Simmons, Vincent Tu and Clara Luca as well as Max Tojicic a second year student participant at the retreat.
As Innovation Hub Implementation Team Leaders, Clara, Vincent and I (Gabriele), had the chance to attend Student Life’s Re-Imagining Leadership Retreat in Peterborough – it was a fantastic opportunity! We got to meet other student leaders like ourselves at the retreat and develop skills in collaboration, innovation and thinking “outside of the box”. We met a fantastic collection of people from across the tri-campuses and gained both new friends and new perspectives! Here are some of the highlights…
By: William Pullen, Innovation Hub Summer Team Member, second year political science and history student.
Last Friday, the Innovation Hub’s Summer Team had the pleasure of attending Rotman I-Think’s Celebration of Learning. The event was centered around the incredible work that has been occurring in K-12 classrooms that have embraced Integrative Thinking. The event also celebrated the teachers that helped bring integrative thinking into their classrooms.