Improving the campus experience at the University of Toronto through student-led design
Curiosity is a powerful tool for navigating how we interact with the world around us. In this blog, Manuela reflects on how she stays curious in her own life to broaden her own understanding of people and information, and the impact that acting with curiosity can have on ourselves, others, and the world.
Written by Manuela Mora Castillo, Blog Editor & Content Writer, Honours Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and History Double Major, Latin American Studies Minor
Design thinking isn’t just a process for solving problems, it’s also a mindset for creating. In this blog, Hayley discusses the unlikely connection between design thinking and music, drawing on the power of an iterative mindset coupled with a curious ear.
Written by Hayley Park, Senior Project Assistant & Communications Lead, Honours Bachelor of Arts, Communications, Culture, Information & Technology
In this blog, Manavi talks about how she uses mind maps as a creative learning tool to help break down complicated concepts and thoughts into simpler pieces of information in professional, academic, and personal settings.
Written by Manavi Goyal, Blog Editor & Content Writer, Honours Bachelor of Science, Psychology Specialist, Economics Major, and Sociology Minor
Amelia, Research Coordinator, reflects on her experience of getting herself and past teams to think creatively when getting stuck.
Written by Amelia Di Meo, Research Coordinator, Master of Health Science in Translational Research
Sticky notes are powerfully simple tools that help us ideate, iterate, and imagine. In this blog, Hayley discusses her experiences using sticky notes to facilitate brainstorming and collaboration at the Innovation Hub.
Written by Hayley Park, Senior Project Assistant & Communications Lead, Honours Bachelor of Arts, Communications, Culture, Information & Technology
In this blog, Manavi discusses extending the use of design principles into research and other types of reports in order to maximize student creativity in and inspiration from papers.
Written by Manavi Goyal, Blog Editor & Content Writer, Honours Bachelor of Science, Psychology Specialist, Economics Major, and Sociology Minor
Human-centered research often prioritizes results. In this blog, Manuela reflects on the impact of personas, reminding researchers and academics that it is necessary to highlight the humanity of their sources when presenting their results.
Written by Manuela Mora Castillo, Blog Editor & Content Writer, Honours Bachelor of Arts, Political Science and History Double Major, Latin American Studies Minor
Katrina, a former A&S UTQAP design researcher, reflects on her experience conducting human-centered interviews. She discusses the importance of balancing empathy in qualitative research from a personal and professional standpoint.
Written by Katrina Sze Ching Soong, Qualitative Data Archivist Team Lead, Honours Bachelor of Arts, English and Philosophy Double Major, History Minor
When physical spaces are intentionally designed with different layouts and types of furniture, this can foster collaborative environments that meet various needs. In this blog, Jennifer shares her experiences of looking for a study space after graduation and how this exploration helped create positive change in other areas of her life. Jennifer’s personal experiences align with the classroom redesign research conducted by the Innovation Hub through Transforming the Instructional Landscape (TIL).
Jennifer Ayow, Blog Writer, Honours Bachelor of Science, Neuroscience Major, Psychology and Digital Humanities minors
In February 2024, the Innovation Hub provided a series of workshops during Reading Week for students participating in the Alternative Reading Week program through Centre for Community Partnerships. The aim of the workshops were to apply design thinking methods to a “wicked problem”: How can workplaces be more inclusive? Our facilitators, Cheryl, Mike and Lidiia shared the importance of embedding inclusivity and constructive discussion in event organization.
Written by Mike He, Digital Communications Coordinator, Master of Information, User Experience Design