The Quiet Power of Silence

Written by Betelehem Gulilat, Content Writer 

Illustrated by Nikhil Parwar, Digital Storyteller 

Why do we as humans feel uncomfortable being in a space of silence? Whether it’s in the middle of a conversation, a work meeting, a stroll outdoors, or staying indoors in solitude, most of us feel unsettled by the absence of sound in almost every aspect of our lives. When silence is used with the right intentions, it can bring a world of meaning to our lives. It leaves us no other choice but to express empathy towards ourselves and others around us.

Reflecting on Future Impact: Trans Awareness week & The Innovation Hub

Written By Sofia Callaghan, Izzy Friesen, Serena Singh – Design Research Assistants for the Trans and Nonbinary Student Experiences Project 

Sofia Callaghan

Izzy Friesen

Serena, Singh

Trans Awareness Week (November 13th-19th), and Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20th) is approaching, and so we’d like to share some research that the Innovation Hub is working on with the Sexual and Gender Diversity Office (SGDO) 

Students are often queried by the University for their name and gender, which they can change using the change of name and gender request form; we wanted to learn more about the experiences of trans, nonbinary and/or otherwise gender nonconforming students navigating this form and other gender queries made by the University.  

Using Design Thinking Mindsets For Rapid Change

Two hands putting puzzle pieces together into a circle.

With restrictions in place in many of our communities being flexible and responsive to new ideas has become essential. By finding creative ways to work around limitations, design thinking has come to the forefront. Organizations (like the Innovation Hub) are using design thinking to solve their own unique set of challenges, and nurture mindsets that inspire change. Since the lockdown, our Leadership Team has been navigating and responding to internal challenges in new ways and are continuing to do so – many of which are explored in this post.  

The Outlier in All of Us

Charis Lam, Writer

In many fields, outliers are seen as a nuisance. We run tests to justify ignoring them; we explain them away; we resent their intrusion on our neat results. Design thinking, however, asks us to do the opposite—to forgo the blinkers that constrain us to staring at the centre of the bell curve, and to take a good hard look at the outliers.

Innovation Hub Launch – May 16th, 2016

We launched the Innovation Hub on May 16th at Chestnut.  This was a great day where we over 260 students, staff and faculty gathered to explore the mindset of innovation and discuss how we can bring innovation to the student experience at University of Toronto.  our AVP of Student Life, Lucy Fromowitz, reminded us that our role is to “hold the door open” for students.  She shared about the incredible innovation that is already happening across the University and encouraged us to explore ways to deepen our collaborations to explore how “when we work together the sum is much greater than the individual parts”.