by Davandra Earle, Communications Officer
Adam Livshits, a Master’s of Economic Development and Innovation student at the University of Waterloo, has always been passionate about the intersection of education and social impact.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Economics with a concentration in Managing for Sustainability from McGill University and has worked with several social impact, innovation, and finance organizations in areas like market research, impact investment, and project coordination.
Since 2021, Adam has held multiple roles with Propel Impact, a national nonprofit focused on building the next generation of impact-first professionals in Canada. He now steps into a role of developing case studies at United College for the Social Innovation Minor program.
“This opportunity at United College was a perfect chance to continue to work at this intersection of education and social impact,” Adam said.
His work focuses on developing six case studies for the new INNOV 300: Case Studies in Social Innovation and Impact course, launched in Fall 2025. Each case features a Waterloo Region entrepreneur or innovator who has integrated the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their venture.
“We wanted to focus on entrepreneurs and innovators in the Waterloo Region… it would be an important learning opportunity for students to see the impact these leaders were having in the community,” Adam explained. “A big part of the selection criteria was having a variety of decision points, organizational missions and characteristics, and methods of SDG integration in the final sample.”
Throughout his interviews, Adam discovered just how differently organizations approach the SDGs.
“Some organizations have positioned the SDGs as a central core of their business model or even within their name, while others view them more as tools for pre-established goals. Several of the participants spoke to the importance of bridging global goals with local priorities… the SDGs are one of the strongest ways to establish this link across scales for local social innovators and entrepreneurs.”
The course is designed to be interactive, allowing students to step into the role of a social entrepreneur. “The cases are designed to be a ‘choose your own adventure’ style. Students will discuss key decision points, what they would do in that situation, and then compare their choices to what the entrepreneur actually did,” he explained.
Adam hopes this hands-on approach will give students a deeper appreciation of the complexity of social entrepreneurship. “I hope that after engaging with them, the students will have a better understanding of just how complex and unpredictable the entrepreneurship journey really is,” he said. “I hope that this course will provide students with the understanding of the decisions they’ll make and the challenges they’ll face when they begin or continue work on their own ventures.”
One of the most memorable stories Adam encountered was that of Richard Yim, founder of Demine Robotics. “Richard and his team stuck to their principles, even when that eventually meant shutting down the organization. I have so much respect for him for making that difficult decision,” Adam shared.
Working on this project has shaped Adam’s own perspective on social innovation. “This work has really challenged my understanding of where social innovation and sustainability initiatives come from and how much those initial ideas can evolve,” he reflected. “Fast forward five, 10, 20 years, and their initial business ideas have transformed social and environmental issues in not only their communities but in some cases Canada or other countries across the world.”
When offering advice to students, Adam emphasized the importance of starting with the problem.
“All of the entrepreneurs I spoke to stressed that the SDGs were not a starting point for their ventures, but a tool to communicate the pre-established and often long-existing challenges that they were working on.”
“Beginning with gaining a solid grasp of the challenge through speaking to communities and extensive research is the critical foundation which all truly impactful organizations are built upon,” he added.
With the course now recently launched, Adam said he is eager to see students engage with the material.
“Above all else, I’m very excited to see how the students interact with the cases,” he said. “I can’t wait to see the finished products in use in the classroom.”