On April 5, TeachingCity partners the City of Oshawa, Durham College (DC), Ontario Tech University and Trent University Greater Toronto Area gathered together for the spring City Idea Lab student showcase. The City Idea Lab is a collaborative, course-based initiative that offers experiential learning opportunities via credit courses at the TeachingCity Hub in downtown Oshawa.

Highlighting the results of City Idea Lab courses across the three post-secondary institutions, the showcase focused on a variety of City-focused challenge questions, with students representing a variety of fields of study, including child and youth studies, information technology, media, art and design, and social science and humanities.

Second-year DC students from the Fine Arts – Advanced program translated stories shared by Child, Youth and Family Program patients at Lakeridge Health Oshawa into art, whereas Journalism-Mass Media students explored how the City could include intangible cultural assets on their Cultural Map, leading to a project aimed at elevating Oshawa’s cultural reputation locally, provincially and nationally.

Other questions addressed through the program included how the City might engage youth in priority neighbourhoods, engage residents to help build community pride, design a Wi-Fi network in the downtown core, and more. Over 200 students from seven courses across the three post-secondary institutions, worked together to develop posters to display their innovative solutions.  

Posters presented at the student showcase will be on display at Oshawa City Hall from Monday, April 8 to Friday, April 12.

City Idea Lab has been generously supported by RBC Futures Launch.