TeachingCity introduces innovative curriculum-based City Idea Lab

The City of Oshawa and TeachingCity partners the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Durham College (DC) are partnering on City Idea Lab, an innovative learning experience for post-secondary students.

A new initiative within TeachingCity, City Idea Lab is a curriculum-based program designed for creatively minded college and university students who will work directly with faculty and City staff to co-design potential solutions to specific City-identified projects. Each course focuses on a particular City-identified problem statement embedded into the teaching of the academic curriculum.

“City Idea Lab is another remarkable example of how the City of Oshawa is collaborating with our TeachingCity partners to actively engage, learn from and work with young minds in our community,” says Oshawa Mayor John Henry.

Upper-year undergraduate and graduate students from the university, as well as DC students, are taking part in the following Fall and Winter City Idea Lab courses:

• University of Ontario Institute of Technology - Faculty of Social Science and Humanities: In Fall-term courses (one graduate and one undergraduate), students will apply their research skills and knowledge about municipal government to generate ideas that will support the City’s initiatives on youth engagement in priority neighbourhoods. Ideas that emerge from the Fall term will provide the basis for Winter-term courses.
• DC School of Media, Art and Design: one Fall/Winter course through DC’s Community Collaborations will challenge students to explore critical social and community issues such as sustainability, marginalization, poverty and gender politics.

“The University of Ontario Institute of Technology is proud to be a partner in the City Idea Lab,” said Dr. Steven Murphy, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology. “This initiative will provide opportunities for our students to apply the theories and skills they have acquired in the classroom toward promoting quality of life for the residents of their communities and region. We are excited to see this city-university ‘learning from living’ in action.”

“The City Idea Lab is an exciting opportunity for our students to use the skills they are learning in class and apply them to solving real-world local challenges,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “It’s these types of experiential learning, collaborative, immersive experiences that make the TeachingCity initiative so valuable. We are thrilled to be part of this partnership.”

Additionally, Trent University Durham Greater Toronto Area is exploring participation in City Idea Lab for the Winter term.

The TeachingCity Hub, located in downtown Oshawa, serves as a key location for the City Idea Lab courses. The open-concept space is a dedicated place to facilitate TeachingCity projects with the City’s education and research partners, including students, faculty and staff. The Hub provides opportunities for TeachingCity partners to share access to facilities, resources and equipment, and includes office, classroom and open lab space.

About TeachingCity

TeachingCity brings together the City of Oshawa and its education and research partners: Canadian Urban Institute, Durham College, Trent University Durham Greater Toronto Area, the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

The partners address Oshawa’s urban issues through innovation, collaboration, applied research and shared experiential learning opportunities with the aim to position Oshawa as a local, national and global community of urban research and learning.

Learn more about TeachingCity at oshawa.ca/TeachingCity and follow #OshTeachingCity on Twitter and Instagram.