For York University students participating in the Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4), April 30 marks and important day in their University journey because it is Capstone Day, an annual showcase where they present their completed capstone projects and compete for awards. The event brings project partners and mentors together with the entire York community to celebrate the innovation, creativity, ambition, and impact of the students taking part in this innovative and meaningful learning experience.
“York Capstone Day is a virtual showcase for and celebration of our students’ creativity, innovation, tenacity, and ambition — and they really need to be celebrated this year of all years!” says School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design Professor Danielle Robinson, executive director of the York Capstone Network. “This exciting event serves as the culmination of their capstone projects, as well as their degree and university experience. It is also a pan-campus, community-building event, as it brings together hundreds of students, professors, and their on/off-campus partners into one virtual space, within which we can connect, share ideas, and imagine new ways to create impact on our world together.”
Friday’s proceedings are open to the University community. The students, their projects and the day’s events will be available in a virtual fair. To register to attend this free and inspirational event and see the wonderful array of projects by student changemakers, visit https://yuevents.easyvirtualfair.com/.
Capstone Day will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The following the Capstone Day schedule:
- Project booth visits for instructors and adjudicators: 9 to 10 a.m.
- Project presentations with Q-and-A sessions with the project teams: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Interactive lunch break: 12:20 to 1:20 p.m.
- Project booth visits for the public: 3 to 4 p.m.
- Pan-University awards ceremony: 4 to 5 p.m.
C4, which won the prestigious Airbus GEDC Diversity Award in 2020, brings students from different disciplines together to work in teams on solutions to real-life problems with a variety of partners and mentors. It’s an exciting learning experience that builds skills in teamwork, project design and implementation and it’s not just the students who benefit from the experience.
“As a member of the C4 Teaching Team this year I have had the honour and privilege of facilitating students on their project journeys. An eclectic group of students bravely came together in September in an unfamiliar interdisciplinary online space and worked to fulfill a shared mission,” says Andrea Kalmin, a C4 teaching team member. “Participation in the campus-wide Capstone Celebration Day is an important opportunity for students to showcase all of their hard work, for the York University community to recognize their accomplishments, and for like-minded people to come together to celebrate possibility: what can be achieved when students and community come together to and are supported in fulfilling their desire to have social impact and create legacy.”
Despite the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, Robinson says students have thrived and the results they have achieved in their projects are truly exceptional.
It’s a day not to be missed, so everyone is encouraged to drop by, pay a visit and watch the magic happen.
For more information, email capstoneday@yorku.ca.