Co-Creating Identity at University College
University College (UC) is reimaging several of its spaces. Through a series of student and staff feedback sessions, the Innovation Hub will explore the needs and desires of the UC community when it comes to these spaces. The insights generated from this feedback will be used during the reimagine of these spaces, grounding the transformation in the College’s foundational principles of equity, diversity, inclusion and sustainability.
Fall/Winter 2022-2023
What is the identity of University College?
Through this project, we tried to understand students' different perceptions of University College. We interviewed 20 students and 18 faculty, staff, and alumni, using grounded analytical techniques to uncover core needs and develop personas and design principles. In the project's second phase, we hosted co-creation sessions with 29 students to share findings and generate ideas for reimagining University College. These insights are detailed in the Co-Creation at University College and Design Principles section of the report.
KEY FINDINGS
The future of University College is built on an evolving identity co-created by its community.
We found that students, faculty, staff, and alumni have somewhat different understandings of what UC’s identity is. Our vision for the project is the future of University College is built on an evolving identity co-created by its community.
Our findings play out in four themes:
- History: An Asset or a Liability?
- Inclusion Creates Belonging
- Co-creating the Future
- Finding Our Way
From our co-creation events, we learned that students are keen to see space embody a dynamic experience that brings people together and meets the needs of the community. The college is well positioned to reconcile this disconnect because its students, alumni, staff, and faculty are eager to be part of UC’s evolution into the future.
History: An Asset or a Liability? Community members expressed the need to decolonize and re-contextualize this history to be more inclusive.
Inclusion Creates Belonging: Staff and students expressed that they lack a strong sense of belonging within the UC community due to a sense of disconnection in social environments and barriers in physical spaces.
Co-creating the Future: Students expressed a need for more compassion from UC staff in understanding their frustrations about the college, and emphasized the importance of meaningful interactions between both staff and students for reigniting this community.
Finding Our Way: Students expressed frustration navigating University College spaces due to a lack of signage accompanied with the building’s confusing layout.