by Selah Woelk
A culmination of several months of work and research for student teams, the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement hosted the University of Waterloo campus finals of the Map the System research competition on Wednesday, April 12th.
Out of 55 applicants, 5 finalists were chosen to present their research and systems maps to the judges on Wednesday afternoon for the chance to move onto the Canadian finals in May. With topics ranging from sustainability in the fashion industry to food insecurity among Syrian refugees, the student presentations were engaging and informative. Not only were student teams able to present their research, but there were also opportunities to network with campus and community innovation partners such as Velocity and GreenHouse.
The judges, John Abraham, Academic Dean at United College, Nada Basir, Assistant Professor in the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, and Sharon Kirkpatrick, Associate Professor in the School of Public Health Sciences, analyzed the team’s presentations, asked insightful questions, and finally chose the winning teams to receive prizes from generous sponsors.
The third-place prize of $500, sponsored by the Waterloo Institue for Complexity and Innovation, was presented to a team of master's students whose research focused on “Sustainable Consumption and Production in Canadian Fashion.” Studying at the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, Yvonne Anaekwe, Shweta Dhuliya, Noor Dhaliwal, Oksana Fedorenko, Camille Goldson, Carla Valerio Pena, and Victoria Van Hezewyk explored the fast fashion industry’s environmental impact and the culture shift needed for consumers to spur on more sustainable production methods.
The second-place prize of $1,000, sponsored by MEDA, was awarded to Eden Dale, Njoki Gacheru, Shamily Shanmuganathan, and Ming Yang who explored the topic of “Risks to Maternal and Young Child Health Posed by Climate Change in Coastal Bangladesh.” Coming from a master’s class in the School of Environment, Enterprise, and Development that focused on systems thinking in international development, the team presented important health insights on one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change.
The first-place prize of $2,000, sponsored by Kindred Credit Union, was awarded to Adriana Ceric, Jordan Li, and Sukhmani Sadiora for their presentation on “Wetland Management in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario.” This group of undergraduate students chose the topic of wetland management out of a passionate interest for the devastating wetland loss in Southern Ontario due to increased development. They described being “speechless” upon hearing they were chosen as the winners, feeling “honoured to simply be there, and even more honoured to be chosen as the winners.” The students’ co-op experience doing research into wetland health and composition as well as urban development informed both their research and passion for the topic. Team member Jordan noted that “the research process opened [her] eyes to how complex and interdisciplinary the issue of wetland management is.”
I was speechless. We were impressed by the great topics and presentations by the other teams. We were honoured to simply be there, and even more honoured to be chosen as the winners.
Jordan, Adriana, and Sukhmani will move onto the Map the System Canadian finals, which will be held virtually from May 10-12th. Jordan says that although it will be a challenge, it is one their team is up for; “we’re really excited to work with the support of the Centre’s Map the System mentors to improve our report and presentation for the Canadian finals.”
Congratulations to Jordan, Sukhmani, Adriana, and all of the teams who presented their research! Be sure to watch the Centre for Peace Advancement social media closely as their team progresses to the Map the System Canadian finals!
Interested in being a part of the Map the System competition in a future year? Learn more about what it entails and how to apply!