Tag: Our Design Research

Personas are powerful storytelling modes that can inspire us to learn and empathize. In May, the Innovation Hub has launched a new Personas section on our website. We honour the launch of Personas with this blog post, where Ajeetha and Amelia reflect on why human-centered storytelling is so impactful. 

Written by Ajeetha Vithiyananthan, Blog Editor & Digital Content Writer, Bachelor of Science, Psychology and Sociology and Amelia Di Meo, Research Coordinator, Master of Health Science, Translational Research 

This year, a design research team at the Innovation Hub worked with the School of the Environment to explore how equity, diversity, inclusion, and access (EDIA) is embedded in curriculum, programming, communications, hiring, events, spaces, processes, and culture, and to understand where gaps exist. In this blog, the team reflects on this work and how design thinking helped them to identify tangible steps for how the School can champion EDIA and enhance student experiences.

Written by the EDIA at the School of the Environment Team

Over the past year, the Graphic Design team at the Innovation Hub has brought student stories to life through visual design. In this blog, the team discusses collaborative strategies they used to enhance their creativity, reflecting on their shared achievements and growth.

Written by the Graphic Design Team

In this blog post, the Qualitative Data Archivist (QDA) Team reflects on how they experienced human moments in their work, despite not interacting directly with study participants. The team discusses how relating to their work kept them motivated, the importance of making participants feel safe to be vulnerable, and how being a part of the team has helped them develop skills needed for their future careers.

Written by the Qualitative Data Archivist Team

The Innovation Hub is pleased to share its 2023-2024 Annual Report. In this post, Innovation Hub Manager Julia shares some highlights from the past year, what the Innovation Hub has been up to and how to get involved in the work.  

Written by Julia Allworth, Manager, Innovation Projects

This past year, an Innovation Hub Design Research team worked on a project focused on the experiences of students who are also parents. In this blog, team members reflect on the importance of empathy in listening deeply to student parent stories and understanding their needs. The team shares some of their reflections from the work, what they learned, and their hopes for how the university can continue to become family friendly.  

Written by the Innovation Hub’s Experiences of Students Who Are Also Parents Design Research Team

Over the past year, the Innovation Hub worked in partnership with Spaces & Experiences to understand the needs of commuter students to support the design of future spaces intended to support them. In this blog, the Innovation Hub’s design research team reflects upon learnings from working on the year-long commuter spaces project, emphasizing that many students’ needs can be met in relatively simple ways.   

Written by the Commuter Student Spaces team

The Qualitative Data Archivist Team supports Innovation Hub projects using qualitative research skills, with each team member taking away something different from their experience. The 2023-2024 team reflects on how their dynamic workload fosters collaboration and how this can also lead to personal growth. 

Written by the Innovation Hub Qualitative Data Archivist Team

Our Design Research Team for the International Students: First 48 Hours in Canada project reflect on their experience working with eight international students as they travel to Canada to study at U of T to create an impactful documentary and report of findings. The team shares how much empathy they felt for the students hearing their stories throughout the process, and expresses appreciation for Cal Campos, an incredible filmmaker who worked with us over the last year to produce the documentary.   

Written by the Innovation Hub International Students First 48 Hours in Canada Design Research Team

Through co-creation sessions, interviews, and a journal activity, the Innovation Hub team working with Sport & Rec strived to understand what makes or breaks a student’s experience when they engage in movement. The Design Research team reflects on valuable lessons they learned and how they honed their ability to collaborate as a team.  

Written by the Innovation Hub Sport & Rec Team