Tag: News and Events (page 9)

In January 2020, the Innovation Hub and the Centre for Learning, Leadership & Culture will launch a Design Thinking Experience Program for students and staff. Building on the success of the Innovation Hub’s student-exclusive design thinking bootcamps, this program will continue to address challenges in the student experience at UofT while providing participants with hands-on training in design thinking; moreover, it will bring staff and students together to encourage dialogue and broaden perspectives on what is possible at UofT.

By Sujaya Devi, Design Research Team Lead (Student Life), and Cynthia Zheng, Writer

Each student’s journey through the university is unique. Yet most students spend a significant amount of time on campus—going to classes, studying at the library, hanging out with friends—and the services, resources, and student services at the university play a crucial role in their experiences. Among other services, the Division of Student Life handles Health and Wellness, the Centre for International Experience, the Career Centre, Academic Success, and Housing, and thus it provides a space for students to get support and strengthen skills, including mentorship, leadership, and time management.

Among Latin American and Latinx students, there is a concerning trend of attrition at the secondary and post-secondary levels. For me, this trend is personally—and particularly—alarming, as I’m both a member of the Latin American diaspora and a UofT student. 

This academic year brings new and returning faces to the Innovation Hub. As always, we have assembled a team with diverse disciplines and interests but a shared excitement for the work we’ll do, including:

• Working with the Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health,
• Improving the experience of student parents with the Family Care Office,
• Creating ideas for space redesigns with the Transforming the Instructional Landscape Project & our Kinesiology and Physical Education partnership,
• Gathering student feedback for the Division of Student Life,
• And partnering with Rotman I-Think.

“What simple things could U of T do to be more family-friendly?” We asked this question at our participatory action event last month, in which we sought the voices of student parents and their solutions to the challenges they face at U of T.

At the Innovation Hub, we were excited to participate in #DisplayYourPride at the University of Toronto, so we could show our support for the LGBTQ+ community. Pride Month at U of T, with its vision of making every student at this university feel safe, accepted, and heard, aligns with our own goal at the Innovation Hub of improving student experiences through empathy-based research that inspires social justice and social change. Thus, #DisplayYourPride was the perfect opportunity to create an installation that celebrates individuality and connectedness, and that rededicates us to our own efforts to create an environment that includes all students.

We centred our installation around the question, “What does Pride mean to you?”

How can we make Convocation more accessible? What makes a classroom great? What support do student parents need? How can staff and students work together to create effective programs?

These are some of the questions driving this summer’s Innovation Hub team. We’ll answer them by listening to the stories of students and staff, shining a searchlight on how they interact with the university—in lecture, at Convocation, at work—and how the university can reach out in response.

By Margaryta Ignatenko, Innovation Hub Training Team

As a third-year undergraduate student at UTSC I think at the core to a fulfilling undergraduate experience is connecting to a community on campus, applying my disciplinary knowledge to work that is rewarding, and discovering my untapped passions and interests. But what surrounds this core looks different for each of us and evolves as we do throughout our time in university; we need to be able to carve out unique experiences to meet our diverse needs in a flexible environment that adapts and changes with its students.

What does the future undergraduate experience look like?   Will UofT be a place that fosters distinct and fulfilling experiences for each student, while creating a deep sense of unity?

By Julia Smeed, Innovation Projects Officer

The Transforming the Instructional Landscape team is pleased to invite students, staff and faculty to participate in our upcoming What Makes a Classroom Great? event.  Join us to explore different learning environments, imagine classroom possibilities and play with classroom furniture options.  Come and tell us what you think and we’ll have free pizza as our way of thanking you for your participation.

We are thrilled to be launching our brand new Design Thinking Experience Program this semester!