Three York University students were among the top four winners of an inaugural contest inviting Ontario postsecondary students to share their creative solutions for occupational health and safety.
Public Services Health and Safety Association (PSHSA) launched the #StudentChallenge contest in 2016, asking students to submit innovative solutions, resources and services for increasing health and safety awareness and reducing workplace injuries and illness among young workers.
Winners were announced in 2017. Taking first place was Thibieya Arudpiragasam, a York University undergraduate student studying human resources management, who designed the Health & Safety Engagement mobile app. The third- and fourth-places winners were also students from York U: Roberto Lopez for his “Injury Prevention through Proximity Detection” and Brooke Lalonde for her “S.A.F.E.T.Y. Training Mobile Application & Compliance Process,” respectively.
The top four finalists have the opportunity to present their concepts to a panel of industry professionals and key stakeholders.
The top prize was a summer internship at PSHSA; the runners-up received a monetary prize worth between $250 and $750.
“Public Services Health and Safety Association is a great place to work at,” Arudpiragasam said. “They offered me many great opportunities to grow and succeed in the human resources field. At the end of the day, I felt I made a great difference and impact on young workers.”
Arudpiragasam said York University students had great ideas designed to make a lasting impact on the future workplace for upcoming generations.
She’s encouraging other students to look out for and enter the contest this year.