Brief description of the organization
The Steele Family Foundation, established in 2007, is a private charitable foundation run and operated by Michael (BASc’81) and Stacey Steele. Their work is rooted in a commitment to expanding access to educational and community impact opportunities for young people. Michael Steele’s own co-op experience at Waterloo inspired the foundation’s support of initiatives that reduce financial barriers and empower students to pursue meaningful work. Through a recent $1M gift in the Change Makers in Co-op program, the Steele Family Foundation helps eliminate financial constraints so students can take on meaningful co-op roles in the nonprofit sector, gaining valuable experience while contributing to communities at home and abroad. A capstone pilot project is an opportunity to support students in a different way while still supporting the mission of the foundation.
Problem area
Many communities in Africa face barriers to accessing reliable technology infrastructure due to limited connectivity, inadequate hardware availability, and challenges related to cost, maintenance, and technical support. These barriers can restrict opportunities for education, entrepreneurship, healthcare access, and economic development. Traditional approaches to deploying technology infrastructure can be costly, difficult to scale, and challenging to sustain in remote or resource-constrained environments.
This capstone project challenges students to explore the design of a self-contained IT shipping container solution that could serve as a flexible technology hub for communities in Africa. Students will consider the environmental, logistical, and operational realities of deploying and maintaining technology in remote locations, while exploring how hardware, software, connectivity solutions, renewable energy, and community needs can be integrated into a practical and sustainable solution.
Main objectives
Core objective: How might we design an affordable, sustainable, and scalable IT infrastructure solution that can be transported in a shipping container and adapted to meet the digital needs of underserved communities in Africa?
Potential project considerations:
- Reliable power generation and energy storage (e.g., solar integration)
- Internet connectivity in low-infrastructure environments
- Hardware selection, durability, and maintenance
- Cybersecurity and data protection
- Local training and knowledge transfer
- Sustainable operations after deployment
- Community-specific requirements and local context
Scope of work
- Environmental scan
- Feasibility study
- Physical container demo
Deliverables
- Shipping container in Lot B
Team meeting frequency
Bi-weekly
Skills and training required
Research and analytical skills (e.g. feasibility studies, SWOT analysis, etc.) and design
Resources required
The Steele Family Foundation will make a monetary project contribution so the team has access to materials, tools, and other resources needed to explore and prototype the concept. Longer term, the project may involve sourcing a physical shipping container for further prototyping.
NDA or a commercialization agreement for this project?
Yes