Entrepreneurial thinkers are everywhere

On Day 1 of the event, held in UMSU’s Multi-Purpose Room, the nine Better Together teams were introduced to the concepts they would use during the design sprint.

Janine Carmichael, Faculty Specialist in Entrepreneurship at The Centre, helped attendees understand how very broad the idea of entrepreneurial thinking can be. “It is a willingness, and an ability, to make an impact,” she said. Today’s entrepreneurial thinkers develop solutions to a wide range of problems – in scenarios that may not involve starting a business. She explained that some innovative thinkers are “intrapreneurs,” working proactively within a company or organization to develop new products and services.

Carmichael noted that our global challenges increasingly require an entrepreneurial approach, whether by entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs. “Think mitigating climate change, bolstering human health, and advancing Reconciliation,” she said.

Participants reviewed the five steps of design thinking before jumping into the sprint, in which each team created a three-minute video pitch tackling one of these challenges:

• How might we build resilience within the UM community to reduce climate anxiety? (Submitted by the Office of Sustainability)
• How might we address the underlying causes of retail theft on campus? (Submitted by the University of Manitoba Students’ Union)
• How might we help newcomers navigate their successful transition into the UM community? (Submitted by the UM Graduate Students’ Association)

Teams were supported by three UM mentors during the event. Rajeev Koyal, Program Manager of UM’s IDEA START, Daniel Heschuk, Program Development Specialist at the Science Innovation Hub, and Ben Isakov, Startup Coach at the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, all lent an ear and helped teams develop their ideas.

Three-minute videos showcase creativity

By the time the teams submitted their video pitches after lunch on Day 2, a sense of community was evident, thanks to a feeling of shared purpose and a healthy dose of adrenalin.

Teams applauded each others’ ideas during the video watch party, which demonstrated how much can be accomplished in a short time when creativity and experimentation are encouraged.

Several participants from the 2023 event returned this year because they’d enjoyed themselves so much the first time around. International student Maryann Mozaffari, a Master of Supply Chain Management and Logistics student in the Asper School of Business, participated last year on a team that addressed food security on campus.

“The environment, the way they had us think outside the box – it was an amazing experience for me last year,” she said. “It’s a hands-on experience, it’s using a lot of our abilities. It’s also really refreshing, after being in classes all the time.”

Computer engineering student Kanwar Lubana also attended both years. “I came to connect with like-minded people,” he said. This year his team generated five pages of ideas before developing an app to help international students find housing and roommates. “I’m excited about entrepreneurship,” Lubana said. “Given the limited time given, I think it’s cool how we came up with a good chunk of ideas and a prototype.”

Leveraging new skills

To wrap things up, Connie Korchak from UM’s Career, Community, and Experiential Learning Centre addressed participants, encouraging them to reflect on how many valuable competencies they had developed during the event. She demonstrated how the experience could provide valuable information for resumés, LinkedIn profiles and more, such as job interviews where employers ask situational questions like, “Tell me about a time that you had to solve a complex problem.”  

The Better Together event will be added to the participants’ Experience Record, an official record of university-approved and facilitated activities that support student development in venues that are not for academic credit. Participants also received a $50 gift card to UMSU businesses.

Experiential Learning Community of Practice Monthly Meeting – The Gathering

Date and time: Tuesday, November 5, 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM

The Experiential Learning Community of Practice is a growing network of UM faculty, instructors, and staff passionate about experiential education.

Monthly meetings

Join our monthly meetings to build relationships with other CoP members, explore best practices and innovations, and participate in engaging conversations.

The Experiential Learning Gathering

Our CoP meets in person twice each academic year. Join The Gathering to spend “real” quality time with other members of our community. Everyone is welcome at this casual networking event. Grab a coffee, enjoy good conversation, and hear the latest experiential learning happenings at UM!

Register for this Experiential Learning Community of Practice monthly meeting

Better Together 2024

Dates and times: Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 1:00 – 4:00 pm and Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Better Together is not a conference, symposium or lecture. It is an experiential learning environment, and everyone is welcome! Together we’ll learn, practice and be inspired about how to apply an entrepreneurial mindset to real campus challenges at UM.

Please visit the Better Together website for more event information.

Register for Better Together

Teaching and Learning Research Colloquium Series: Session 1

Date and time: Wednesday, November 13, 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

The 2024/25 Teaching and Learning Research Colloquium Series shares the important work of University of Manitoba scholars and educators, whose research sheds light on student support needs, barriers to support seeking, and strategies for supporting students’ learning. Over a series of three research talks, faculty, instructors, and support staff will learn from and with each other about supporting diverse learners. Each talk will be followed by a discussion period and refreshments.

Session 1:

Not Left to Write: Reflections on Integrating Writing Tutors in the Undergraduate Classroom

For the past ten years, Dr. Kenneth MacKendrick (Religion Dept) and Kathy Block (Academic Learning Centre, ALC) have integrated ALC peer writing tutors in his undergraduate Religion classes. The goal has been to lower student anxiety about writing, increase student engagement, and build skills for clear communication in writing. Accessing grants such as the TLIF and TLEF, they have integrated peer tutors into the writing process for specific course assignments in classes with large enrolments, creating opportunities for students to talk about their ideas and drafts with experienced UofM students who are not evaluating their work. Each initiative has included an assessment in which students provide their feedback on the experience. In this colloquium, Ken and Kathy will share what they have learned about the impact of integrating writing tutors in the classroom, both for students and professors. Their observations will be based on their joint projects as well as other similar ALC course-specific initiatives.

Register for Session 1 of the Teaching and Learning Research Colloquium

Manitoba Academic Integrity Network (MAIN) Speaker Series

Date and time: November 20, 2024, 9:00 AM to 9:55 AM

The Centre is excited to host the 2024-2025 Manitoba Academic Integrity Network (MAIN) Speaker Series, a collection of six professional development opportunities related to academic integrity. A Certificate of Completion will be awarded to individuals who register and attend all six sessions in this series. Visit the Manitoba Academic Integrity Network Speaker Series website for more details.

Session 2: The New Frontier of Academic Integrity: Postplagiarism and Its Implications  

As generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) increasingly permeates post-secondary education, traditional notions of plagiarism, authorship, and creativity are being profoundly challenged. This session explores the concept of postplagiarism, a paradigm shift that acknowledges the hybridization of human and AI-generated content. Based on a quantitative study involving students from multiple countries, the session will share students’ perceptions of postplagiarism, focusing on their acceptance of hybrid writing, the evolving role of creativity, and the necessity of redefining academic integrity in this new context. Attendees will gain insights into the implications of these shifts for educational policy and practice and the need for institutions to rethink their academic integrity frameworks in the face of rapid technological advancements.

Register for Session 2

Peer-peer Learning

Date and time: Thursday, November 21, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Peer-peer interaction, whether it be through case studies, group projects, discussions, or collaborative reports, is purported to result in engaging and effective learning. What characteristics make it so? Characterize your current peer-peer learning activities and explore two instructor-tested activities that might apply to your context.  Strategies to address challenges of your peer-peer learning experiences, whether they be online or face-to-face, will be shared.

Register for the Peer-peer Learning workshop

Experiential Learning Community of Practice Monthly Meeting – The Flipped Classroom as Experiential Learning

Date and time: Wednesday, November 27, 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM

The Experiential Learning Community of Practice is a growing network of UM faculty, instructors, and staff passionate about experiential education.

Monthly meetings

Join our monthly meetings to build relationships with other CoP members, explore best practices and innovations, and participate in engaging conversations.

The Flipped Classroom

At this session, we’ll explore The Flipped Classroom as a model for bringing experiential learning to courses.

Register for this Experiential Learning Community of Practice monthly meeting

Hosted by The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and funded through the UM Strategic Initiative Support Fund, the event saw more than 100 participants learning to apply entrepreneurial thinking to scenarios normally not associated with the word “entrepreneurship,” which is often reserved for business creation and start-ups. The event was highly interdisciplinary, with participants representing 15 UM faculties and units.

“At the heart of entrepreneurial thinking is a willingness to embrace empathy, see problems as possibilities, and persist in the face of obstacles to make an impact,” said Janine Carmichael, Faculty Specialist in Entrepreneurship at The Centre. “It was incredibly exciting to see participants develop these skills together in an experiential learning environment.

A morning of inspiration

Participants received valuable insights from guest speaker Dr. Wenlong Yuan, Stu Clark Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Asper School of Business. Yuan described how entrepreneurial thinking can be developed through deliberate practice.

Yuan also dismissed the assumption that everyone has a passion waiting to be discovered. “Only a small number of people have a passion,” he said. “You don’t find your passion, you grow it. Passion is the side effect of mastery.” He described how big ideas can start from small actions, such as keeping a journal to identify problems in one’s life that need solving.

The morning’s second speaker, Dr. Paul Labossiere, Associate Dean in the Price Faculty of Engineering, assured participants that “Today’s challenge is not about winning, not about beating the other teams. Any change that we’re able to make to help improve the experience for us and others on campus is a success.”

Labossiere demonstrated the benefits of following proven “design thinking” steps – beginning with an empathetic approach and progressing through defining the problem, then ideating, prototyping and testing. “Go at something like you are child,” he said. “Don’t let your biases shut you down from the possibilities. Only by being open minded will you be able to see the best solutions.”

The design sprint

Inspired by the morning’s speakers, participants worked in teams to apply the principles of design thinking to develop solutions to challenges facing the university. They then pitched their ideas in three-minute videos. The challenges, which aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, covered a range of topics including the circular economy, transportation, health and food security.

Students Nitin Dhanapal and Randika Chandracal were on a team with Architecture’s FABLab coordinator Jason Hare. They conducted online and in-person research to tackle the challenge, “How might the University of Manitoba community support those who are food insecure?” Their pitch suggested introducing a cap on campus food prices for students, better promotion of UM’s existing food bank, enhancing the production of the campus community gardens, increasing understanding of Indigenous ways of food, and offering a seasonal farmer’s market.

Both students valued the participation of staff and faculty in the event. “A highlight was being able to work with Jason because of his expertise and knowledge,” said Dhanapal. “He was very encouraging, and he made us feel like equals.”

Wrap up

Following the challenge, participants engaged wholeheartedly with a panel of entrepreneurial thinkers, who helped them understand how to explore their entrepreneurial ideas, deal with adversity and failure, and where to go on campus for support.

Student participants received a $100 honorarium for attending the two-day event, as part of the funding from the UM Strategic Initiatives Support Fund. The event will also be added to students’ Experience Record, an official record of university-approved and facilitated activities that support student development in venues that are not for academic credit.

Learn more

Be sure to check out the Better Together design sprint videos for the inspired solutions from event participants.

How might the University of Manitoba community participate in the circular economy?

Group 18: T. Nguyen, L. Lambert, T. Bernabe, and K.S. Bhalala

Group 10: M. Ahmed, R. Xasir, T. Plohman, J. Conner, C. Korchak, A. Sidhu

How might the University of Manitoba community support those who are food insecure? 

Group 6: E. Jry, M. Ewharekuko, T. Adesodun, K. Oguledo, C.S. Musonda, A. Adelanjo, V. Ezeald

Group 16: T. Ohakim, A. Roberts, M.Y. Tan, H. Al Hammadi

Group 25: A. Kaur, Z. Nasresfahani, T. REgor, D. Heschuk, M. Kapoor, M. Mozaffari, H.Xu

Group 17: E. Adejo-Ogiri, D.I. Ibhawgebade, L. Andronak, C.S.K. Lau, N.Y. Osibo, A. Verma

Group 14: T. Matshoga, P. Lesperance, K. Owda, L. Rotich, P. Ukpaka, AM. Akinpelu

Group 7: A. Gill, M. Khajoee, R. Villain, S. Hosseinpour, N. Ghobadi

Group 22: J. Hare, R. Chandracal, N. Dhanapal

Group 8: F. Labar, B. Adelani, A.A. Elgugh, O. Oyewusi, T. Oyelaja

How might the University of Manitoba community offer more non-traditional fitness and leisure opportunities?  

Group 15: B. Bahniuk, D.S. Araujo, O. Simonov, R. Roy

Group 19: J. Panchal, P. Mehta, V. Thalies, T. Lo, A. Ojenilce, T.B. George

Group 24: S. Fevda, R. Singh, G. Kim, J.X. Ong, L. Wong, L.DA. Do

Group 12: J. Klassen, T. Aditya, S.S. Wasti, N. Sanghai, A.B. Berk, M. Shanarya

Group 20: O. Kuznetsora, K. Gergoire, C. Selin, J. Lautenschlager, A. Buchock

Group 29: M. Hosl, R. Bhuyan, V. Protudjer

How might the University of Manitoba improve transportation options between the Bannatyne and Fort Garry campuses?

Group 21: S. Operna, S.R. Bodawla, D. Sharma, J. Brar, O. Uchetuna

How might the University of Manitoba community help first year students who commute make meaningful connections with others between classes?

Group 13: B. Jain, G. Funk, H. Luong, A. Jamil, H. Huynh

Group 30: B. Sanago, L.J. Phanguerh, V. Khubiryants, V. Nolkha

Group 9: C. Geddert, R. James, R. Lang, N. Masood, G. Kaur

GET ENTREPRENEURIAL AT UM

To learn more about entrepreneurship and innovative thinking at UM, visit our webpage.

For more information about how to bring an entrepreneurial mindset into your learning environment, get in touch with Janine Carmichael, Faculty Specialist: Entrepreneurship.

To spark your entrepreneurial spirit, visit the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship.

To move your invention or research into a practical application, visit Partnerships and Innovation.

Advanced Knowledge Transfer in the Health Sciences

Date: Thursday, November 2, 2023

Successful knowledge transfer and application ensures that students apply knowledge acquired in the classroom to their clinical practice both in their academic years and after graduation when they enter their respective fields. This workshop will provide techniques to support this crucial part of learning, including best practices for improving knowledge transfer and tools for measuring knowledge application for clinical reasoning and clinical decision-making in ways that are efficient, effective, and flexible.  

Register for advanced knowledge transfer

Faculty Attitudes, Motivation, and Strategies for Teaching Writing

Date: Thursday, November 2, 2023

Dr. Kim Mitchell from the College of Nursing and Dr. Christine Stewart from Women’s & Gender Studies will discuss the findings from a recent Canada-wide survey assessing individual and collective self-efficacy for teaching writing. The survey included many University of Manitoba faculty and gives a sense of the struggles and triumphs faculty face when teaching writing to undergraduate students.

This presentation will also discuss strategies for reaching students and inspiring their thinking as they tackle writing at the university level. Time for discussion will be scheduled which will allow attendees to ask questions and share their successful writing instructional moments as we learn together from our collective experience.

Register for the teaching writing presentation

This presentation is a hybrid event. Registrants can choose to attend in person or online.

Enhance participation and collaboration in the classroom with Peerceptiv peer assessment tool Workshop

Date: Tuesday, November 7, 2023

In this workshop, participants will learn how to set up and manage Peerceptiv assignments in a UM Learn course. A Peerceptiv assignment allows students to provide anonymous peer assessments of other students’ submitted work, while also allowing students who received feedback to evaluate the inputs that were given. By implementing Peerceptiv, the instructor can enhance engagement, participation and critical thinking among students who work on their assignments.

Register for the Peerceptiv peer assessment tool workshop

Accessible Design for Assessment

Date: Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Assessment is the key to evaluating the success of teaching strategies. If we do not utilize diverse assessment methods that account for the abilities of the learner population in courses, we will not be able to effectively assess the efficacy of teaching strategies being employed. This course will aid Faculty and Instructors in developing diverse assessment tools that remove barriers to the expression of learning, facilitate dynamic and engaging learning environments, and develop accessible spaces for all learners.

Register for Accessible Design for Assessment

Open Educational Resources – What, How, Why (Part 2)

Date: Wednesday, November 8, 2023

The term open educational resources (OER) describes a wide range of materials in teaching and learning that are available for public use with an open license or in the public domain. Examples of OER include full courses, course modules, syllabi, textbooks, lectures, assessments, and datasets.
In this workshop, participants will learn why OER are valuable, how to locate them, how to evaluate them using a rubric, and how to adapt and create them. The workshop does not assume prior experience with these topics.

Register for OER Part 2

Creating Connections in SoTL: Conducting Ethical SoTL Research

Date: Thursday, November 9, 2023

This workshop will focus on conducting ethical SoTL research, including how and when to consult with the research ethics office and planning for and justifying primary or secondary use of data in an ethics submission. Together we will explore ethical considerations in SoTL research and how to address these concerns when planning projects. Going beyond considerations of informed consent and confidentiality, we will examine how SoTL research can be conducted in a way that educates and treats students with respect and acknowledges their contributions.

Register for Conducting Ethical SoTL Research

Better Together

Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2023 and Wednesday, November 15,2023

Better Together is a new approach to building entrepreneurial thinking skills. Over two incredible days, you’ll have the opportunity to learn with other students, faculty, and staff about an entrepreneurial mindset. And expect it to get hands on! Together, we’ll apply our new skills to develop solutions to challenges we face here at UM. All challenges will be linked to one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. There’s more! Meet those who are using entrepreneurial thinking skills to make an impact in our community. And finally, participate in a supportive networking event to celebrate our developing skills 

What’s in it for students?

• Learn, practice and be inspired about how to apply an entrepreneurial mindset
• Develop solutions to challenges at UM
• Receive a $100 giftcard to UMSU businesses (GPA’s, Degrees, IQ’s, etc.)
• Update Experience Record
• Meet new people
• Enjoy free food!

What’s in it for faculty and staff?

• Learn, practice and be inspired about how to apply an entrepreneurial mindset
• Develop solutions to challenges at UM
• Meaningfully connect with students
• Receive a gift valued at approximately $10 from a Manitoba entrepreneur
• Meet new people
• Enjoy free food!

Register for Better Together

Visit www.umanitoba.ca/better-together for more details.

The Experiential Learning Gathering – Mapping Experiential Learning at the UM

Date: Thursday, November 16, 2023

Experiential Learning is a strategic priority for the UM. But what exactly does experiential learning look like at our institution? Who are the people involved and what motivates them? What are the places where EL happens and doesn’t happen? What supports and resources have been set up for EL, and which ones are still lacking?

Mapping EL at the UM will help us identify strengths and gaps in our EL environment as we think collectively about the future we want for EL at our institution.

At this upcoming Gathering, participants will engage in a collaborative, hands-on activity to map out the UM’s EL landscape. Join us for a morning of great conversation and creativity. Registration is required. Coffee, tea and light refreshments will be served.

Register for the Experiential Learning Gathering

What’s Working, What’s Not? Examining Classroom Teaching and Learning

Date: Tuesday, November 21, 2023

All instructors identify problems in their courses. Whether it’s students’ struggles to master a key concept or a teaching practice that may not be meeting its purpose, how do we explore “what’s working and what’s not” in our courses?

In this workshop we will explore “juicy” problems that are ripe for investigation, consider possible solutions, and develop a plan to evaluate the impact of intervention strategies. To participate fully, please bring a smartphone, tablet, or laptop.

Register for what’s working

Decolonizing Classrooms: Unpacking and Overcoming Barriers to Decolonizing Processes – Part 2

Date: Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Over the past several years, an important discussion of how we can Indigenize and decolonize the academy has been occurring. This new Decolonizing Classrooms workshop series aims to give participants the context and tools necessary to meaningfully engage with decolonizing processes as they relate to education. 

Unpacking and Overcoming Barriers to Engagement and Decolonizing Processes explores the barriers that exist for instructors and students, which prevent them from enacting decolonizing processes in educational contexts. This workshop also discusses the colonial barriers that prevent students from engaging fully in classrooms. Strategies for overcoming these barriers are considered, and participants are supported as they begin to learn how to utilize these strategies to support decolonizing processes in their classrooms

Register for Part 2

Conducting Fair Appeal Hearings

Date: Monday, November 27, 2023

This workshop is for academic administrators, academic staff and students who are current members of faculty or university level student appeal committees. This would also be of interest to support staff who provide administrative support to committees. This interactive workshop will provide participants with practical information necessary to properly conduct appeal hearings according to University policies and procedures, as well as to ensure that students are treated fairly throughout the appeal process. This workshop will include considerations for the pre-hearing stage (i.e., notice to students), the hearing itself, and post-hearing matters (i.e., decisions).

Register for the Conducting Fair Appeal Hearings workshop

UM Learn Grades & User Progress

Date: Tuesday, November 28, 2023

In this workshop, participants will receive technical guidance through the process of building a gradebook in UM Learn and then utilizing the user progress tool to track students’ progress in the course. Using the gradebook in UM Learn allows instructors to share feedback and assessments with students in a secure and confidential manner.

Register for the UM Learn Grades & User Progress Workshop

Experientially Speaking Session 3: Experiential Learning in The Time of Crisis Workshop

Date: Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Climate disaster, Covid-19, financial crises, the rise of fascism, international conflict, forced migration. These are some of the crises facing our students today. How can experiential learning help students develop the skills, knowledge and experiences required to thrive in today’s rapidly changing world?  How might traditional approaches to experiential learning need to change to adapt to this new reality? 

Register for the Experiential Learning in The Time of Crisis Session

Using classroom polling tools to increase students’ engagement and participation in class Workshop

Date: Wednesday, November 29, 2023

In this workshop, participants will learn how to use classroom polling tools – Mentimeter and iClicker – to engage students in class. This session discusses how to setup and access the polling tools accounts, use them in the classroom to conduct polls and engage students. It also talks about the similarities and differences between the tools and scenarios when these tools are best utilized.

Note: Participants will need to install iClicker Cloud on their own computer in advance of the workshop.

Register for the classroom polling tools workshop