By Selah Woelk

The Map the System competition season is underway at the University of Waterloo! Map the System is a global competition developed by the Skoll Centre for Entrepreneurship and Oxford University. Participants use systems thinking as a guide while exploring some of the most complex issues facing the world today. 55 teams from the University of Waterloo will be competing for a spot in the campus finals on April 12th with the hopes of continuing onto the Canadian finals and later the global finals in Oxford. 

Registration for the competition closed in late January and we have one of the highest registration rates in the 5 years that the University of Waterloo has participated in the competition. Almost 200 students ranging from undergraduate to PhD in all 6 University of Waterloo faculties have signed up to participate. 

While some students are participating as part of a course, others simply wanted an opportunity to explore the complex issues facing our world today. From exploring food insecurity to rising ocean levels, war in Ukraine to homelessness in our region, the issues teams have chosen to focus on varies, but the multi-year and cross-faculty collaboration will be sure to make teams’ presentations interesting, creative, and expansive. 

The research competition is hosted by the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement. Teams can get support from the campus lead, Elham Mohammadi, a PhD student at UW whose Map the System team came in second in the campus finals of last year’s competition. Her experience mapping the lack of food and nutrition security in Dominica means that she can advise teams from lived experience in the competition. Director of the Centre, Paul Heidebrecht, has also helped coach teams using his passion for systems-thinking and specialization in peace and technology. The Centre for Peace Advancement staff is hard at work preparing for the campus finals, organizing workshops, and providing resources with a concerted effort to ensure students do well.  

Watch the Centre’s social media closely to follow as the competition progresses!