Friday, 17 February 2017

City of Waterloo and Laurier to launch Innovative CityStudio project

       Found on the Laurier website, it provided an article in 2016 stating the launch of a City of Waterloo/Laurier partnership for a CityStudio project. For those in the dark, the CityStudio project first began in Vancouver 2011, and now in Waterloo will be an innovative hub where city staff, students, and community stakeholders co-create new ideas and resolutions confronting city-wide challenges. This will allow students the opportunity to engage in the actual field and offer goals and objectives to current strategic plans. The collaboration of students, academics, and business will improve the quality of life for the City of Waterloo and harness the creative potential of our student demographic.
      In relevance to course materials, a report prepared by Richard Florida and Roger Martin titled "Ontario in the creative age" provided an agenda for Ontario if they want to progress in this new aged economy. They stated that the role of education must be reformed and provide individuals with analytical thinking skills - such as problem solving and finding new methods. I believe the CityStudio initiative provides students with those exact tools to help them progress in this creative driven economy. This is an immersive, team learning/building environment that combines interdisciplinary skills with the complications of collaborating within a group setting. Requiring students to engage with communities, research existing urban interventions and design activities to improve the city around them. In my opinion, this is a fantastic way to cultivate the needs and tools necessary to develop a generation of creative thinkers.



https://www.wlu.ca/media/news-releases/november-2016/city-of-waterloo-and-laurier-to-launch-innovative-citystudio-project.html

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6920182-waterloo-laurier-partner-for-citystudio-project/    
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2 comments:

  1. Ayomide Otieno1 March 2017 at 08:42

    I never knew about this and I believe this is a good means to build a better workforce in the City of Waterloo. And having this, will make more start ups and companies to be more willingly to make a branch here in waterloo.
    What I feel Laurier and the city of waterloo need to do is push this out for more students to know. Because most likely, I'm not the only one that does not know about this. Creating awareness about this opportunity will greatly aid the tech industry in waterloo.

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  2. Will Sutter8 March 2017 at 20:41

    I agree with Ayomide that this program is a great example of experiential learning opportunities for students which help develop a 'highly skilled workforce'. Developing a highly skilled workforce is a priority issue identified by the Government of Ontario in preparation for our future economy.

    It's great to see a social/community benefit a part of the intentions of the program. It's a win-win-win for both students, communities/governments, and the schools who desire to attract prospective students with their unique pedagogical approaches. Great job Laurier!

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