Mayor's Innovation Challenge: Info Session & Workshop
January is thought to be a slow and calm month. We are still in the grips of our wet, cold, Southern Ontario winter. We are reflecting on 2023, and setting new goals for 2024. However, Kingston takes its resolutions seriously. We hit the ground running in 2024 preparing our city and the bold innovators that live within it for the annual Mayor’s Innovation Challenge by hosting an information session and workshop.
Held in collaboration with the City of Kingston, the Dunin-Deshpande Queen’s Innovation Centre, and St. Lawrence College, the Innovation Hub was buzzing with creative energy as students from Kingston's post-secondary institutions gathered to tackle real-world challenges facing our city. The workshop aimed to inspire and empower students to develop innovative solutions that could shape the future of Kingston, kicked off by Mayor Bryan Paterson, whose opening remarks set the tone for an engaging and productive session.
Craig Desjardins, Director of Strategy, Innovation & Partnerships and Amber Bryant-Peller, Administrative Assistant for Special Projects, provided an overview of the challenge, shedding light on the specific areas where innovation was needed most in Kingston. These areas included:
We then heard from Virginia Sytsma, Program Coordinator Queen’s University DDQIC, who spoke about some amazing opportunities Queen’s has to support budding entrepreneurs, including the QYourVenture program.
The Q&A period provided an invaluable opportunity for students to seek clarification, share insights, and collaborate with their peers. The diverse range of perspectives and expertise in the room enriched the discussions, fostering a dynamic atmosphere of learning and discovery.
As the workshop drew to a close, participants gathered for the Ideas Bazaar, a lively brainstorming session where concepts were shared, refined, and expanded upon by each participant contributing their unique insights and expertise to the conversation. It was an extremely difficult night to end as the energy and excitement for new ideas, projects, and plans, flowed from the group. Suffice to say, we are looking forward to what our students contribute to this year’s challenge!
Learn more about the Mayor’s Innovation Challenge here. Submit your proposal by Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 to be considered for the student pitch competition.
Do you need to practice your presentation skills for the Mayor’s Innovation Challenge or any other pitch opportunity? Join us every Monday for Open Podium to hone your skills and receive valuable feedback and advice from experienced innovators to help shape your plans.
Register for a timeslot on our Calendly and let's make some magic happen.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”