Global Goals Jam Canada Winter 2026

Over 50 student changemakers shine at the inaugural in-person Global Goals Jam Canada Winter 2026

A fun, experiential design jam challenge fostering changemaking and entrepreneurial skills aligned with our Strategic Plan and generously supported by Diane Blake

The 11th Global Goals Jam Canada Winter 2026, hosted by the Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (COIE) at Centennial College, was the first full-day, in-person Global Goals Jam held on campus and a COIE flagship innovation event. The program brought together over 120 total attendees, including 50 students across 9 interdisciplinary teams, supported by 19 mentors from Centennial faculty, alumni, startup founders, and ecosystem partners. The day featured a keynote presentation, a panel discussion with 4 panelists and an interactive group activity, followed by 5 hands-on workshops: Problem Identification, Empathy Mapping, Value Proposition Canvas, Business Model Canvas, and Storytelling & Pitch delivered by the COIE team. Participants addressed 5 SDG-aligned challenges, and the event concluded with 9 final team pitches evaluated by a judging panel of 8 academic leaders.

All in one day, united for 1 mission: advancing the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Aligned with Centennial College’s Strategy Priorities

Meet your winning teams

1st Place Winning Team & People’s Choice Award: Ecomotiva

Ecomotiva,  consisting of 8 members (6 current students and 2 alumni), addressed Challenge 5: Sustainable Transportation. Their solution is a digital platform for route and carbon mapping that helps logistics companies reduce carbon emissions and improve network connectivity, minimizing empty return trips and wasted truck capacity.

Congratulations to the Ecomotiva team members:

The 2nd-place winning team: Revive Renovators

The 2nd-place winning team, Revive Renovators (6 students and 1 alumnus), addressed Challenge 1: Circular Economy. Their solution offers a CRD waste pick-up service for Toronto home renovators, reducing disposal costs and improving convenience through private-sector services.

Congratulations to the Revive Renovators team members:

The 3rd Place Winning Team: Healthy Hub

Healthy Hub, consists of 3 students (2 current students and 1 alumnus). Their project addressed Challenge 3: Health Equity. Healthy Hub provides community healthcare support for underserved, non-emergency patients by leveraging volunteer healthcare providers and early diagnosis, helping reduce unnecessary ER visits.

Open mic: 4 students presented other pitches (3 tech ventures and one non-tech food startup) to showcase other startup ideas they’ve been working on, along with 1 community entrepreneur inspired by the event. Mentors shared their advice for aspiring and budding entrepreneurs, and other participants reflected on their experience and other passions.

A comprehensive set of challenge topics

This year’s Jam invited participants to tackle five challenge areas aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

1. Sustainable transportation & low-carbon mobility
   • ​How might we design transportation systems that are accessible, affordable, and low-carbon, while meeting the needs of diverse communities? This challenge explores ways to reduce emissions, improve mobility equity, and rethink how people and goods move through cities and regions.
   • ​Advances SDG #9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG #11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG #13 (Climate Action)
2. ​Health equity & wellbeing
   • ​How might we address systemic barriers that prevent individuals and communities from achieving equitable health outcomes? This challenge focuses on access to care, social determinants of health, prevention, and community-centred approaches to wellbeing.
   • ​Advances SDG #1 (No Poverty), SDG #3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG #10 (Reduced Inequalities)
3. ​Sustainability education & Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
   • ​How might we integrate sustainability knowledge, skills, and values into education systems so learners are equipped to address environmental, social, and economic challenges? This challenge focuses on curriculum design, educator support, experiential learning, and embedding sustainability across formal and informal learning environments.
   • ​Advances SDG #4 (Quality Education), SDG #12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG #13 (Climate Action)
4. ​Food justice & sustainable food systems
   • ​How might we build food systems that are equitable, resilient, and environmentally sustainable? This challenge looks at food access, affordability, food security, supply chains, and community-driven solutions that ensure everyone can access healthy, culturally appropriate food.
   • ​Advances SDG #2 (Zero Hunger), SDG #10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG #12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)
5. ​Circular economy & responsible consumption
   • ​How might we shift from a linear “take–make–waste” model to a circular economy that reduces waste and maximizes value? This challenge focuses on reuse, repair, recycling, sustainable design, and responsible consumption and production.
   • ​Advances SDG #12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG #9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG #13 (Climate Action)

A facilitated participant journey

Throughout the day, participants moved through five key innovation stages:

• (1) Problem Identification – Teams explored complex sustainability challenges and narrowed broad issues into clear, actionable problem statements grounded in real-world contexts.
• (2) Empathy Mapping & “How Might We” Opportunity Identification – Participants analyzed user needs, motivations, and barriers to frame meaningful opportunities for change.
• (3) Value Proposition Canvas – Teams defined the value of their ideas, identifying how their solutions address specific user needs and challenges.
• (4) Sustainable Business Model Canvas – Participants mapped out how their solutions could be implemented, exploring partners, resources, and pathways for real-world impact.
• (5) Storytelling & Pitch Development – Teams crafted compelling narratives and prepared final presentations showcasing their solutions and alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

In a single day, teams were able to take a complex challenge and turn it into a business plan that they then bravely pitched to a panel of judges.

Designing Change in Your Community: an empowering keynote to start the day

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​Samantha Casey is a changemaker passionate about sustainability education, youth empowerment, and social impact. She has worked at the grassroots, community, and institutional levels to champion youth-led solutions to the polycrisis. She is heavily involved in her local community. She is the co-founder of the Climate Hope Lab and Community Climate Council, two youth-founded climate organizations, and she sits on the board of the Guelph Tool Library, a community-led sharing initiative, and is the vice-president of the Canadian Youth Biodiversity Network, which empowers youth to tackle the biodiversity crisis. For her work, she has been previously named a Top 25 Under 25 Environmentalists by The Starfish Canada and a Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leader by Corporate Knights.

In her keynote, Samantha provided actionable tips on how to tackle problems and turn ideas into solutions – such as falling in love with the problem instead of the solution, challenging the status quo, using your own lived experience, designing “with”, not “for”, and more. She also gave numerous tangible examples of student changemaking from her time at the University of Guelph, both as an Environmental Governance student and as a staff member at the university’s Sustainability Office. 

Panel Discussion: Changemaking for Complex Challenges

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The Panel discussion, moderated by Samantha Casey, inspired students through their research, innovation, and industry experience across the event’s five challenges:

• ​Dr. Purnima Tyagi, Director, Wearable, Interactive and Mobile Technologies in Health (WIMTACH) and Social Innovation, Centennial College
• ​Dr. Wenzi Ckurshumova, Associate Director, Applied Research and Innovation, Centennial College
• ​Lilian Cardoso, Executive Chef, The Local Restaurant, Café and Event Centre, Centennial College
• ​Dr. Lorraine Fraser, Professor, The School of Business, Faculty of Global Business and Creative Industries, Centennial College
• ​Vicky Huang, Communications and Marketing Strategist; Knowledge Mobilization & COIE Lead, Centennial College

Mentors provided invaluable support throughout the day

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The Jam was supported by 19 mentors from across the ecosystem, including 9 startup founders and industry leaders, 7 academics and university professionals, 2 nonprofit/community leaders, and 1 government/public sector expert. Several mentors have been long-time supporters since the early Global Goals Jam events, continuing to guide and inspire student innovators.

Mentors at the Jam included:

• Alison Solis — Teaching Assistant & Graduate Student, Strategic Foresight and Innovation at OCAD University
• Christal Duncan — Founder & CEO, Brave Soles; Advisor, Social Ventures Zone, TMU
• Courtney Brooke Barr — Startup Coordinator, startGBC
• Dihan Chandra — Managing Director, The Spent Goods Company
• Duncan So — Director, Burnout Recovery Accelerator
• Jagtar Singh — Founder & CEO, TGCC
• Jin Li — Professor, Centennial College
• Joyce Lee — Founder (HerPossibillity) & Senior Project Manager (Ontario Public Service)
• Julian DiCarlantonio-Powell — Executive Director, Music Share for Seniors
• Lorraine Fraser — Professor, Faculty of Global Business and Creative Industries, Centennial College
• Marisol Fornoni — Project Manager, Scadding Court Community Centre
• Mark Donaldson — Founder & CEO, Quantuity Analytics
• Michael Bertuzzi — Professor and Program Coordinator, Faculty of Global Business and Creative Industries, Centennial College
• Olga Gagarina — International Student Advisor, Centennial College
• Samantha Casey — Co-Founder, Climate Hope Lab
• Sophie Jiang — CEO & Founder, MoVA Realities
• Wintta Ghebreiyesus — Founder & CEO, Moon Trades Technologies
• Yaw Sarkodie — Growth Consultant, OCAD University
• Zavosh Zaboliyan — Co-Founder & CEO, Aurmada

Esteemed judging panel offered feedback and guiding questions

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The Jam was supported by 8 judges, including Deans across each of the college’s Faculties as well as other leaders at Centennial, peer institutions and community organizations.

• ​Jonathan Hack, Dean, Centennial Innovates – Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Centennial College
• ​David Ip Yam, Associate Vice-President, Student Experience, Centennial College
• ​Damian Goulbourne, Dean, Faculty of Global Business and Creative Industries, Centennial College
• ​Veronique Henry, Dean, Faculty of Integrated Health and Community Care, Centennial College
• ​Meera Mather, Dean, Faculty of Lifelong Learning and Industry Training, Centennial College
• ​Clarence Cheung, Chair, Sustainable Design & Renewable Energy (SDRE), Centennial College
• ​Courtney Cole, Director, Innovation and Industry Partnerships, York University
• ​Samantha Casey, Co-Founder, Climate Hope Lab & Community Climate Council

Entrepreneurial learning outcomes achieved

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This year’s event created a hands-on learning environment where students explored challenges related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through collaboration, mentorship, and pitching, participants developed skills in problem-solving, teamwork, and innovation while connecting with experts across academia, industry, startups, and the community.

We look forward to the next Jam!