Awards and funding

two students talk on the stairs in the Environment 3 building

Teaching awards

Sustainability topics are an effective way to engage students in the classroom and create teaching that provides lasting, positive effects on student learning (Leal Filho et al., 2015) (Wood et al., 2016). This learning prepares students to thrive in an age of rapid change. The University of Waterloo has several awards available to recognize this excellence in teaching.

University of Waterloo teaching awards

There are several awards available to celebrate teaching that has these lasting, positive effects on students and deepens their learning. The Centre for Teaching Excellence has more information about University of Waterloo teaching awards.

Grants

Grants may be available to support projects looking to integrate sustainability into curriculum by creating capacity and opportunities. If this is a resource you may need, consider applying. You can also connect with the Sustainability Office to learn about other potential opportunities to meet capacity and resource needs.

Sustainability Integration in Curriculum grants

Recognizing the major sustainability challenges and opportunities that students will face throughout their future careers, the University of Waterloo is pleased to pilot the Sustainability Integration in Curriculum (SIC) grants to support departments in their efforts to integrate sustainability across academic programs. 

For the pilot, three SIC grants of up to $7,500 each are available for academic departments. The grants are intended to provide seed support for efforts that catalyze action within academic programs, regardless of where a program is on its integration journey.

LITE grants

The University of Waterloo Learning Innovation and Teaching Enhancement (LITE) grants fund projects investigating innovative approaches to enhancing teaching and fostering deep student learning at Waterloo. Seed Grants up to $7,500 are available to investigate small-scale teaching and learning research projects and attend activities to develop your instructional skills. The Centre for Teaching Excellence has more information about LITE Grants.

Student awards and competitions

Student competitions are a great opportunity to engage students in sustainability content. These also provide students with opportunities to engage with sustainability content in their co-curricular experiences.

Jack Rosen Memorial Award for Environmental Innovation

Each year the Jack Rosen Memorial Award Pitch Competition invites Faculty of Environment students to submit an idea (device, process, or method) that could solve, mitigate, or avoid an environmental problem. Entrants are asked to identify an environmental problem and succinctly explain their proposed solution. Finalists will create a PowerPoint presentation and present their pitch to a panel of esteemed judges.

Prize: 1st place - $3,000, Honourable mention - $1,000

Team: Individually or up to 5

Time: Typically early winter team

Learn more about the Jack Rosen Memorial Award Pitch Competition.

Map the System

Map the System is a global competition run by the Skoll Centre for Entrepreneurship in partnership with Oxford University and other post-secondary institutions around the world. In this competition, participants use systems thinking as a guiding approach to explore some of the most complex issues facing the world today.

Prize: 1st place - $2,000 and advancement to Canadian competition, 2nd place - $1,000, 3rd place - $500

Team: Individual or team

Time: Applications are open every November to January

Learn more about Map the System.

Faculty of Engineering Sustainable Development Capstone Design Award

Capstone project groups in the Faculty of Engineering whose projects address one of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals are eligible for this award. The winning group from each participating program is selected at the program’s Capstone poster symposium and program award winners are invited to present their posters in the faculty contest.

Prize: Program awards - $500, Faculty of Engineering award - $1000

Team: Capstone teams

Time: Contact your department’s Capstone coordinators

Learn More about the Faculty of Engineering Sustainable Development Capstone Award. 

Social Innovators in Training and Social Impact Fund

Work with other like-minded innovators interested in creating social or environmental change through their own projects, ventures, or initiatives. Social Innovators in Training runs students through a series of milestones over a 10-week training program. Joining the program gives you access to innovation training, mentors and professional networks, and unique funding opportunities.

Prize: Varied, Winter 2024 over $14,000 to 5 different ventures

Team: Flexible, single or small group

Time: Termly involvement, apply for Fall and Winter in early Spring

Learn More about Social Innovators in Training and the Social Impact Fund.

SDG Impact Challenge

SDG Impact Challenge is a sustainability hackathon hosted by SDG Impact Alliance in collaboration with UW Entrepreneurship Society. The aim is to educate about the global goals, promote problem solving and create a space where students from different faculties, skill sets, and perspectives work in teams to find solutions to pressing global issues such as sustainability in transportation, housing, energy, finance, social well-being, and climate change etc.

Team: Flexible, single or small group

Time: Annually in March

Sources

Leal Filho, Walter., Azeiteiro, U. M., Caeiro, Sandra., & Alves, Fátima. (Eds.). (2015). Integrating Sustainability Thinking in Science and Engineering Curricula Innovative Approaches, Methods and Tools (1st ed. 2015.). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09474-8

Wood, B. E., Cornforth, S., Beals, F., Taylor, M., & Tallon, R. (2016). Sustainability champions?: Academic identities and sustainability curricula in higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 17(3), 342–360. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-12-2014-0171