York University's Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom (C4) program has earned national recognition with a 2025 CEWIL (Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning) Canada Member Impact Award for its innovative, interdisciplinary approach to community-engaged student learning.
CEWIL Canada is the national organization representing practitioners and stakeholders in work-integrated learning (WIL). Its mission is to advance WIL initiatives and strengthen connections between education and industry, ensuring students gain the experience and skills needed for success in their careers.
Danielle Robinson
York is the recipient of the Albert S. Barber Award (group category), which celebrates initiatives that advance the philosophy, pedagogy and practice of WIL within Canadian institutions. It highlights programs that effectively bridge theoretical foundations with practical implementation, demonstrating how WIL pedagogy can transform concepts into actionable frameworks, methodologies and strategies. The award also recognizes outstanding operationalization of WIL programs, including the administrative, collaborative and logistical efforts required to develop, implement and sustain meaningful learning opportunities.
Since 2019, C4 has exemplified those standards by bringing together more than 1,500 students from various Faculties to collaborate on projects that address real-world challenges aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The program emphasizes student-led design, collaboration and implementation, creating inclusive learning environments that amplify the voices of equity-deserving groups and dismantle barriers to access and participation in WIL.
Most recently, during the Winter 2024 term, C4 students partnered with organizations such as the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) and GHD, a global professional services firm specializing in engineering, architecture and environmental solutions, to develop projects with tangible social and community impact.
TRCA-focused teams explored how community outreach programs could support newcomers settling in the Greater Toronto Area, with initiatives including a newcomer biking program, a baking experience to foster connections and a nature-based mental health and well-being series.
Meanwhile, projects with GHD engaged Gen Z students in cultivating shared responsibility for future communities through initiatives such as a collaborative intercultural recipe book, a platform to track volunteer opportunities and programs supporting mental health and financial literacy.
The partnerships with TRCA and GHD resulted from C4's growing reputation and the program's track record of success. The recognition from this award underscores the value of what C4 seeks to achieve. "Our approach to experiential education keeps students in the driver's seat," Robinson said in a 2023 interview with YFile. "The more that we let them take the lead, the more it shows them that we believe in them, that we think they have valuable skills and knowledges, and that they can do things in the world that matter."
This story was originally featured in YFile, York University's community newsletter.
