After a successful pilot test, aninternational award-winningcapstone coursewill begin its second yearٳSeptemberat 91ɫ.
, which meets Mondays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. between September and April,is open to all 91ɫ students at the end of their degrees, and enables studentsfrom different facultiesto work inmultidisciplinary teams focused on solving pressing, real-world challenges posed by organizations operating in both the for-profit and not-for-profit worlds– andtoget credit for their work.
C4’s intertwined personal, professional and academic journey offers students a chance to expand and refine their portfolios and uniquely prepares students to succeed after graduation
Past C4 partners include the Yonge Street Mission, Markham Arts Council, Canobi Tech, L'Arche Daybreak, Foundation for Environmental Stewardship and Panoplo Inc., among many others.
In last year’s course, 74 91ɫ students from eight faculties designed solutions for 11 social impact challenges.
In one project, for example, students from the Lassonde School of Engineering, Glendon College, the Faculty of Environmental Studies and the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, worked together on “,” a solar home system that provides affordable heating and electrical power for homeowners, farmers and workers in Chile.
“Capstone courses provide high-impact learning opportunities for students that set them up to succeed after graduation,” saidDanielle Robinson, thedirector of C4 and executivedirector of the,as well asan associate professor in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance, & Design.
Danielle Robinson
“These important experiential learning courses, which are offered in many departments across the University, apply and thus consolidate what a student has learned in his/her/theirmajor,” Robinson explained.“This is achieved generally through an individual or group project, but placements can also serve as excellent capstone experiences for students, if they are integrated with ongoing critical reflection and assignments that apply students’ skills and knowledges.”
Robinson andFranz Newland, an assistant professor in the Lassonde School of Engineering, are co-curriculum leads forC4 as an extension of the 91ɫ Capstone Network(YCN)they foundedin2018, with integral support from the Teaching Commons and the Career Centre.
C4 is a pan-University classroom, but not yet an official course, that requires students to registerfor a total ofsix credits in anindependent study, directed reading, senior thesis or capstone coursewithinadepartment. Once students gain entry to C4 throughadepartment, they will meet senior students from other faculties, form interdisciplinary teams andhave the opportunityto work onproblems pitched bycommunity partners, who will mentor them over the course of the school year.
Franz Newland
While other multidisciplinary capstonesmightbring together students fromtwo or three pre-selected disciplines,C4 makes it possible for as many asfive to 10 studentsfrom differentFacultiesto cometogether to engage in problem-based learning, with the potential for each group to have a completely different disciplinary makeup.
At the end of thefull-yearcourse, C4 student teams present their projects to the community partners at a capstone showcase event. Newland says that “C4 ends with a big celebration,of these students and all they have accomplished this year, of the partners and all they have contributed and of 91ɫ and its commitment to pedagogical innovation, experiential education and student success.”
C4’s intertwined personal, professional and academic journey offers students a chance to expand and refine their portfolios and uniquely prepares students to succeed after graduation.
This summer, the C4 project wasthe Airbus Global Engineering Deans Council Diversity Award for increasing diversity among engineering professionals globally, so the industry reflects the diversity of its communities.
More information about the impact of C4 can be found by watching the "" video.
C4 makes it possible for as many as eight students from different to come together to engage in problem-based learning, with the potential for each group to have a completely different disciplinary makeup
Students interested in joining the C4 classroom andmaking real social impact mustpre-register and register for the course bySept. 11.Thepre-registrationsitecan be found here:. The gateway courses students can register through are listed here: .
PitchWeek,whenthe community partners pitch their challenges to the student teams,beginsSept.8and continues untilthe first C4 class meetingonSept.14 (5:30 to 8:30 p.m.). Multi-disciplinary teams willthenbe created onSept. 15. To access Pitch Week and the first class, .
Community partners for this year’s course includeJobster,Centre for Free Expression,TechConnex,theCanadian Language Museum, 91ɫ’s Office of Sustainability, University Women’s Club,StoryPlanet,Peel Community Climate Council,FYI – For Youth Initiative, Barnes Management Group,MaRS Discovery District and Nascent,withmanymore to be announcedsoon.
To learn more, visit the on the , and the .
To read a student blog about C4, visit.
Want to get involved? Please write to c4class@yorku.ca.