Five monetary awards were presented to teams of upper-year students at York University's 2024 Spring Capstone Day, a public event hosted by the Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4) in celebration of innovation, creativity, ambition and impact.
Held on April 26, this year’s Spring Capstone Day drew more than 350 members of the York community and external visitors to York's Scott Library Collaboratory. There, attendees learned about the work of the 225 presenting students, whose capstone projects – finishing-year projects where student teams work with external clients to solve real-world problems – focused on innovative and sustainable design solutions, aiming to address societal issues, advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and create positive change. This biannual project showcase is an invaluable opportunity for students to share their experience and develop professional skills to enhance their career-readiness.
“For three hours, the entire Collaboratory was sparkling with conversations between project partners; York staff, professors and librarians; and students from every Faculty at York," said Danielle Robinson, co-founder and co-lead of C4, a high-impact experiential education course intended to uniquely prepare students for the next phase of their career. "Our collective focus was on launching these students out into the world as the powerful changemakers they are ready to be.”
An important day for all participating students, Robinson described it as similar to a graduation or a professional debut, where students get dressed up and present their work to attendees and judges.
According to Mahogany Lopez, a Faculty of Science student whose team won the Sustainability Award, the day was bittersweet. "It marked the end of my journey with the C4 class, where I made new friends and had an amazing time," she said. "However, I was happy to see our project well-received and to witness the impressive work of different groups. This experience emphasized the value of interdisciplinary learning and collaboration in solving real-world problems."
Donna Nguyen, a student in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, whose team won the Community Impact Award, appreciated the event for shining a spotlight on student work: "This event and this win was important to me as a student because our hard work was acknowledged and it signified that our ideas genuinely made an impact on the community," she said.
Faculty of Health Professor Asal Moghaddaszadeh, who acted as a project shepherd, guiding students through their project journey in the C4 class, believes the Capstone Day event is pivotal for the University.
"It's about instilling teamwork, fostering community partnerships and preparing students to tackle workforce challenges boldly," she said. "Additionally, by working in interdisciplinary teams, students learn the importance of collaboration across diverse Faculties, enriching their problem-solving skills."
Lassonde School of Engineering student Mehrshad Farahbakhsh agreed, calling Capstone Day a "transformative experience."
"It taught me the value of collaboration and how diverse perspectives can lead to innovative solutions," said the international student, whose team won the Innovation Award for their project focused on making the automotive industry more sustainable. "Each member of our group brought a unique background and approach to the table, which allowed us to brainstorm innovative solutions."
The awards students were competing for included the YSpace-sponsored Innovation Award, with a prize of $100 for the winning student team; and the GHD-sponsored Community Impact Award and Honda Canada Foundation-sponsored Sustainability Award, both offering prizes of $1,500 to the winning teams and $500 to the runners-up.
The day's award winners were determined by a committee of 16 York University judges – from YSpace, Alumni Engagement and the Office of Sustainability. The full list of award winners and project titles are as follows:
- Innovation Award winner: "Finding Our Way through Sustainable Choices (Weins Auto Group)" by Team BF;
- Community Impact Award winner: "Fostering Food Sovereignty (HiGarden)" by Team BE;
- Community Impact Award runner-up: "Policy Pal (Engage)" by Team AC;
- Sustainability Award winner: "Reconstructing Education (Sensorium)" by Team AA; and
- Sustainability Award runner-up: "Saving the Planet (Independent)" by Team BD.
For more information about these projects, the winners and the Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom, visit the C4 website or email c4class@yorku.ca.