Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022

Introduction

The Global Goals Jam Fall 2022 is a keystone event of the SDG Innovation Lab at the Centre of Entrepreneurship, Centennial College, organized with the support of Canadian Partners, OSPE, UNDP and Digital Society School Amsterdam. Each Fall and Winter semester, the Jam brings together changemakers, social innovators, designers, developers, strategists, and enthusiasts from Centennial and diverse colleges and universities as well as community members to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals through a unique weekend of experiential learning and impact entrepreneurship.

Over the weekend, the teams learned and applied leading-edge design and entrepreneurial methodologies in a safe, facilitated, and mentored environment. As a result, the nine vibrant, dedicated teams were able to not only build a well-thought solution to a global challenge but also pitch and defend them to a panel of eminent Judges in just 2½ days. Each team member is heavily engaged and develops a variety of skills that future-proof their careers.

Before the Jam: SDG Training

In preparation for the Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022, the COE organized an SDG Training session on September 23, 2022. The 3-hour session brought a wealth of knowledge by experts on the Global Goals and the United Nations to students, faculty, staff, and community members. Led by the Foundation for Environmental Stewardship (FES), participants gained both knowledges on the history of as well as training on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The keynote speakers were Steve Lee, a young climate change activist, policy advocate to the United Nations, and former Executive Director of the FES, alongside Julie Marshall, Canadian Spokesperson for the United Nations World Food Programme since 2006. The second part of the SDG Training was delivered on October 7, 2022. It featured a Localization session where participants learned about actionable ways to implement the SDGs in their local contexts, alongside an interactive Action Plan Workshop that engaged them in problem identification and the design thinking process while working in teams. Participants also earned Certificates of Completion from FES.

The Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022:
An Overview

Leading up to the United Nations World Food Day, the SDG Innovation Lab at the Centre of Entrepreneurship (COE) planned and organized a Global Goals Jam on October 14-16, 2022. The Jam was an intense, hands-on, team-oriented, and thoughtfully mentored program during which participants worked together to identify the root problem based on proposed themes and topics, and explore solutions in teams using human-centered design and lean methodology. The goal was to design, build and pitch strategies for an originally- or collaboratively-hatched idea focusing on challenging problems of the world addressing multiple SDGs. During the Jam, the participants worked on themes addressing:

Check out the detailed report of our Global Goals Jam Themes & Topics too!

The Global Goals Jam was opened by Jonathan Hack, Dean of ARIES, and Lalit Guglani Manager of Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship along with a special message from Marco van Hout, co-founder of the Global Goals Jam, as well as four illustrious keynote speakers:

• Sandra Odendahl, Senior VP and Head, of Sustainability and Diversity at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC);
• Boaz Paldi, Chief Creative Officer at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP);
• Shefali Mehta, Founder and Principal at Open Rivers Consulting Associates and former Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); and
• Angie Redecopp, Corporate & ESG Lawyer at Impact Business Law.

The speakers engaged the 79 plenary attendees in a holistic view of sustainability, providing engineering, sustainable finance, ESG legislation, creative media, and agricultural, economic, and governance perspectives to eager participants.

In addition to a strong student response that included participation from various colleges, the Jam also featured faculty leadership and expertise from the various schools within Centennial (School of Engineering Technology and Applied Science, The Business School, School of Community and Health Studies, and School of Hospitality, Tourism, and Culinary Arts).

34 executive mentors from post-secondary institutes, government, corporations and community groups (including Toronto Metropolitan University, George Brown College, Business Development Bank of Canada and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers) came and provided guidance and mentorship to the teams on themes, business ideas, pitches, developing virtual prototypes, and integrating advice and feedback throughout the design journey. At the end of the design jam, three teams were awarded prizes totaling $4,500 based on evaluation by the panel of esteemed judges below. 

Among the winning team members were four Centennial College students Muriel Assande (1st place team member), Jessica Correia, and Jarid Robertson (both 2nd place team members) & Young Park and Alejandro Rosero (both 3rd place team members).

Our Winning Teams:

Agrirate by Migrant Avengers – Overall Winner

Click the slide or this link to view their final pitch deck!

Project overview:

Agrirate helps prospective foreign agricultural workers find equitable employers in Ontario through workplace transparency and empowerment. Their web platform gives migrant workers the voice to anonymously share their experience in an in-depth workplace review, combined with site photos, benefits reviews, and the company’s latest jobs. Unlike other platforms, all the information is shared by those who know a company best – its employees.

The Agrirate platform also features a curated Resource Hub, sharing important information about migrant workers’ rights and what to do if they are exploited. Migrant workers can also create self-organized groups of migrant workers and allies. By mobilizing experiences, advocating rights, and creating a community among migrant workers, Agrirate aims to create workplace democracy and informed decision-making for foreign workers in Ontario’s agricultural sectors.

Teammates:

• Muriel Assande—Hospitality and Tourism Administration, SCHTA (Centennial College)
• Stephanie Ta
• Melody Motsa

Terra Homes by Ecoheroes – 2nd Place

Click the slide or this link to view their final pitch deck!

Project overview:

Terra Homes are prefabricated, eco-friendly homes that help property owners rapidly provide energy efficient and affordable housing by utilizing their available land. Using Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) instead of a stick-and-frame design, Terra Homes reduce construction waste and are 50-70% more energy-efficient, 60% more affordable at $80,000 per home, and up to 90%+ quicker to install than conventional tiny homes, with installation within 1 week of ordering and construction within 1 day. The homes also come with features such as ENERGY STAR appliances, solar panels, triple pane windows, a heat pump HVAC system, and smart home systems. In addition, Terra Homes offers a Rent-to-Own program, further increasing their accessibility and tackling the climate and housing crises simultaneously from the ground up.

Teammates:

• Jessica Correia, Children’s Media, SCMAD (Centennial College)
• Jarid Robertson, Robotics and Automations, SETAS (Centennial College)

ROOY Smart Helmets– 3rd Place

Click the slide or this link to view their final pitch deck!

Project overview:

The ROOY Smart Helmet is designed to help firefighters and other first responders attend to emergencies more effectively in extreme environmental conditions. The helmets are designed to increase the user’s sensory and information awareness by detecting possible hazards, victim location, and crucial live information that otherwise would be unknown to human senses (i.e. temperature and CO2 level).

Using a variety of sensors alongside augmented reality and AI technologies, ROOY Smart Helmet features live info from IoT sensors, an AI advisor, AR glass as well as an embedded gas mask. With climate change accelerating climate disasters, ROOY will help first responders reach millions of victims in a safer and more informed way,  enabling better decision-making and reducing the critical time needed to save lives.

Teammates:

• Young Park, Artificial Intelligence, SETAS (Centennial College)
• Alejandro Rosero, Electromechanical Engineering, SETAS (Centennial College)

What our participants shared:

“Global Goals Jam ensures entrepreneurs don’t just think about a problem but motivates them to act to solve it. [It’s] a must-attend for everyone pursuing innovative and sustainable entrepreneurship.”

– Abosede Adewole

“The three day Jam was an intense but great learning opportunity. We got the opportunity to work with mentors of many different backgrounds. We were required to pick a Sustainable Development Goals theme and come up with a potential solution for that problem. We were required to be creative, realistic, and do a lot of research.”

– Jessica Correia

“Global Goals Jam Canada was an incredible experience. I was able to learn from so many sector experts and build the foundational knowledge of what it means to be a social entrepreneur.  As someone who holds space in the social sector, I never really saw myself as an entrepreneur but this weekend gave me the confidence to start thinking outside of that imaginary box and really reflect on the power of social innovation.”

– Stephanie Ta

“Amazing opportunity to learn! I could learn by doing and by watching other like minded people. It was an intense experience.”

– Anonymous Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Participant

“It is an experience that I can never forget. From the use of technology to the organization, the load of experience from everyone, I am thrilled and promise to work better and smarter to win the next Jam!”

– Anonymous Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Participant

“I was so happy to participate in this hackathon! Thank you for all your efforts and support.”

– Soha ElSeidy, Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Participant

“Glad to have joined this awesome event. I learned a lot, met many new friends, and even won a prize. Just wow! My big thank you to everyone who made it so memorable. Global Goals Jam Fall 2022 Canada.”

–  Jacqueline Leslie Ignacio, Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Participant

What our leaders shared:

“We are so proud of the Canadian jam community and our collaboration with COE!”

– Marco Van Hout, Creative/ Design director, Co-founder of Digital Society School and Global Goals Jam

“I enjoyed seeing the amazing work that the students did in such a short time. You did a fantastic job organizing the event!”

– Marilyn Powers, President, OSPE, Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Judge

“A wonderful Global Goals Jam event on the weekend hosted by Centennial College. Thanks to the COE Centennial team for doing an excellent job!”

– Jonathan Hack, Dean, Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Services, Centennial College, Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Judge

“Thrilling to see the groups create bold, smart solutions together then analyze it from all angles. Innovation in real time!”

– Jennifer Andrews, CEO, FreshLeaf Marketing, Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Mentor

“An absolute pleasure, going into this week with a feeling of fulfilment and a determination to stick with tech for good and social innovation. Thanks for all the learnings.”

– Kate Withers Hess, Co-founder, Functionland, Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Mentor

“Fantastic event as always! Thanks for having me!”

– Naina Kansal, Entrepreneur Success Manager, Startup Canada, Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Mentor

“What a great event! Thanks so much for inviting me to be part of it.”

– Patricia Quintero, Director of Marketing and Communications, Quintero and Co, Global Goals Jam Canada Fall 2022 Mentor