Humber Polytechnic students built their skills and had fun during a hackathon with a focus on designing innovative learning spaces of the future.
The Designing Learning Spaces of the Future Hackathon had students (drawn from four faculties and 18 different programs) working in teams to create an innovative learning space that redefined how students interact, learn and grow in the polytechnic environment. The ideas had to incorporate technology, sustainability, and accessibility to create a next-generation educational space.
Before diving into the challenge, the students were given the opportunity to develop their skills through several different sessions including pitch presentation, innovation and human centered design, and interior design workshops.
Web Development student Idayat Sanni was on a team that included Game Programming student Viraj Vijay Baxi. Nathaniel Lazare, who's enrolled in the User Experience Design program, also took part in the hackathon on a different team.
Sanni, who lives with accessibility issues, wanted to take part to share her lived experience at the hackathon. Sanni felt she offered a perspective that others didn't and that her viewpoint could help shape these spaces for others who lived with a disability.
For example, Sanni and Baxi's team put forth ideas such as adding retractable desk lamps in the library and classrooms to help people's ability to see.
Baxi said the hackathon was an interesting experience because she worked with students from different programs than Game Programming and heard diverse ideas and perspectives.
"Many of them had very different experiences using the library and learning spaces and I learned quite a lot by listening to them," said Baxi. "It was good to hear what they had to say."
Lazare's team had suggestions on the physical space of the classrooms with ideas on how the desks should be configured around where the professor instructs. The group found that, in larger classrooms, it can be difficult to see and hear at times and felt a change of layout could help. As well, they suggested plug-in headphone jacks so students could better hear what was being said.
Lazare said his group, which ultimately won the hackathon, developed their leadership and teamwork skills throughout and he felt he left with an experience that he could put on his resume to help stand out from the crowd.
For Sanni, time management was a critical skill her group developed. She said as it was easy to lose track of time as they brainstormed ideas and worked on their concept. Listening was also important as was learning to compromise when not all of the ideas could be included.
"I'm really passionate about taking part in the hackathons. If you want to gain experience, try one so you can get a taste of how it is to collaborate in the real world," said Sanni. "I'd recommend this experience to anyone."
Each team finished the hackathon by creating a 10-minute video presentation that included PowerPoint slides and a PDF document with supporting materials. They were judged on innovation and creativity; impact and feasibility; user experience and accessibility; and technical execution.
The judging, development and delivery of the hackathon was led by several stakeholders within Humber, such as IGNITE, the Centres of Innovation Network, the Faculty of Media, Creative Arts, and Design, Longo Centre for Entrepreneurship, the Office of Research and Innovation, and others. All were impressed with the effort each student put into their pitch.
It was clear the students put a lot of thought, research, and creativity into their proposals. Ideas such as algae lamps, to help purify the air in classrooms and act as a sustainable light source along with corkboard dividers, beanbags, and smart whiteboards were all mentioned.
