And, the students who take Sodhi’s course have an affectionate name for themselves after it ends: survivors.

The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies course, designed as a compressed version of real marketing work, demands a lot of participants. Over 12 weeks, it pushes them to think strategically, act decisively and communicate with the clarity and confidence expected in professional settings. Part classroom and part boardroom, the experience moves quickly from advanced marketing theory to collaborating directly with external organizations on real business problems. Ideas are tested publicly, feedback is unfiltered and performance matters.

“It’s a tough journey,” says Sodhi, “and that’s why they call themselves survivors.”

Sodhi launched the program eight years ago, inspired in part by the Canadian Marketing League, the country's foremost experiential competition that brings top marketing students together to solve real business challenges for real brands. Sodhi, who judges the competition each year, wanted to create something similar at 91ŃÇÉ« that would give students exposure to live clients while addressing the job‑ready skills employers told her were missing. “Companies told me they were looking for plug‑and‑play talent,” says Sodhi. “This course was designed to help participants become that.”

The class blends advanced classroom learning with real industry exposure. Students work through case studies in areas such as consumer behaviour, brand management and digital marketing, learn from industry practitioners and train with data tools aligned to their clients’ sectors. That foundation quickly gives way to live-client work, such as cases drawn from this year's organizations including Yamaha Motor Company, Sofina Foods, Clearly Canadian, Queen Steet West and Supaagents. As the cohort immerse themselves in each business, they develop and pitch go‑to‑market solutions in high‑stakes settings that closely mirror workplace marketing practice.

Each year, students apply for the course, submitting résumés, transcripts and statements of career intent before being screened and interviewed by Sodhi. From that pool, a small cohort – usually no more than 12 individuals – is selected and divided into two competing teams. This year's group included Jacob Barreto, Maegan Chen, Tram Anh Le, Victor Duong, Charles Alatiw, Delilah O., Nandika Kumar and Yousef Abdollahi who formed two teams: InterLnk and Fluidus.

As it does every year, the experience opens with targeted preparation. Sodhi tailors the academic material to the cases students will take on, revisiting or introducing concepts in areas such as brand management, customer relationship management or international marketing. The goal is not exhaustive coverage, but a shared foundation that allows the cohort to apply theory confidently once the live‑client work begins.

Participants rehearse through instructor‑designed mock cases, using feedback to fine‑tune analysis, presentation structure and question‑handling. Then the course shifts to work with clients.

Over the following weeks, external organizations brief teams on real marketing challenges, often inviting students into their workplaces for deeper immersion. Teams develop and present solutions in extended evening sessions judged by industry experts and the clients, with each case evaluated on criteria such as strategic thinking, leadership and analytical skill.

Presentation nights are demanding. Teams presents in person, followed by a hard‑hitting question‑and‑answer period that plays a significant role in the judging. Judges push students to defend assumptions, explain trade‑offs and think on their feet, often from multiple directions at once.

The experience is new territory for many students, including those part of InterLnk and Fluidus

Even after eight years of teaching the course, Sodhi says she is still struck by how much students change over the term. As the weeks unfold, they develop what she calls a “courage of conviction” – the ability to persuade an audience that their thinking is sound, even without depth of experience. With repeated feedback and escalating scrutiny, students find their footing. “They just become better and better,” she says.

The experience culminates in a final showcase that brings the intensity of the term into one room. After weeks of competition, InterLnk and Fluidus presented their strongest efforts to a grand jury of clients, faculty and program sponsors. Awards recognize both performance and potential, highlighting strategic thinking, leadership and growth demonstrated over the full 12 weeks, as well as an overall winner. Learning partners like Environics Analytics and Oxenham Consultants Inc recognize students with awards for use of data and showing enterprise potential. 

For many participants, however, the most valuable recognition comes afterward.

In past years, clients have offered jobs or internships following the final showcase. Sodhi recalls instances where companies were so impressed by student efforts that hiring decisions followed quickly. Similar moments continue to emerge. This year, a client reached out to one student for her perspective on the company’s social‑media presence. Drawing on the same strategic approach she used during the course, she shared her feedback and is now under consideration for a role that would typically require six or seven years of industry experience.

Participants also gain something less formal but no less lasting: each other. “All eight years of cohorts are connected now, as part of one team community,” says Sodhi.

That network continues to grow, not just with the addition of InterLnk and Fluidus' members. This year, a graduate from the program’s very first cohort, now the founder of a successful business, returned as a client, bringing his own company’s case to the experience. Sodhi also brought alumni back in a new role, hiring former participants to coach teams behind the scenes during presentation nights.

Sodhi is proud of what the course has become. “You can talk to all of the students and they will tell you that this course is the most challenging,” she says, “but also the one they learned the most from. It literally prepares them for the real world and their careers.”

That impact is echoed by "survivors." In LinkedIn posts after the course ended, many describe LCL as a turning point. “Going into the program, I did not realize just how prepared, challenged and fulfilled I would feel by the end of it,” wrote Kumar. “I am leaving this experience feeling far more confident, capable and excited for what lies ahead in my marketing career.”

For Duong, the takeaway came through the pressure as much as the payoff. “There were long nights, stressful moments and times when everything felt overwhelming,” he wrote. “But through it all, LCL pushed me, challenged me and helped me grow in ways I did not expect, both personally and professionally. Every part of it was worth it.”

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Several times a month, a small drone rises above the trees at Swan Lake, following a precise path over the water. Parkgoers who enjoy walking, jogging or birdwatching might assume it’s there to capture scenic footage. Instead, the drone is part of a 91ŃÇÉ«-led effort to understand – and help restore – the health of an urban lake under pressure.

Swan Lake, a former gravel pit transformed into a stormwater pond and community green space, faces ongoing water quality challenges. As rainwater flows into the site from surrounding roads and neighbourhoods, it carries excess nutrients, road salt and other pollutants. Over time, this can fuel frequent algae growth, cloud the water and reduce oxygen levels, stressing fish and wildlife, limiting recreation and, in some cases, raising public health concerns.

Since April 2025, 91ŃÇÉ« researchers, led by CIFAL 91ŃÇÉ«, have been turning concern about the lake’s health into measurable data and practical action through the Swan Lake Citizen Science Lab (SLCS Lab). The initiative brings together 91ŃÇÉ« research centres, including ADERSIM and the One WATER Institute, with local partners such as Friends of Swan Lake Park, a community‑based volunteer organization dedicated to protecting and improving the area’s ecological health.

“Communities often know when something is not right with a local ecosystem, but it’s hard to act without clear, comprehensive and consistent information, as well as meaningful community engagement” says Ali Asgary, director of CIFAL 91ŃÇÉ« and professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. “The goal of the lab is to support those concerns with reliable data that can guide real decisions.”

"To assess a lake is to assess ourselves," adds Satinder Kaur Brar, director of the One WATER Institute and professor at the . "Its health card is a mirror of our environmental stewardship."

One way the lab is assessing the lake is through advanced technology, such as the use of multispectral and thermal drones operated by 91ŃÇÉ« research teams.

Equipped with special cameras that capture different types of light – including some invisible to the human eye – the drones can detect potential algae growth and subtle changes in water clarity as they scan the lake from above. Flying low and on demand, they provide detailed, up-to-date views of trends across the entire water body, offering a clearer picture than satellite images and a broader perspective than scattered and spot‑by‑spot water sampling.

The drones have already yielded valuable insights, recently shared in a 91ŃÇɫ‑led, under-review study that monitored patterns from spring through fall 2025. By flying the drones roughly once a month and analyzing the findings over time, researchers were able to pinpoint where algae forms, how blooms shift across the seasons and how changes in water cloudiness are driven by biological growth rather than stirred‑up sediment.

The findings confirm what many residents and park managers have long suspected: the lake is rich in nutrients and prone to recurring algae growth. The drone data, however, also reveal something new.

Conditions vary significantly from one area to another, suggesting that targeted, location‑specific interventions may be more effective than broad, one‑size‑fits‑all treatments applied across the entire lake. Knowing where problems emerge helps guide chemical treatments, shoreline naturalization projects and future restoration efforts – and provides a better way to measure whether those interventions are working. "Interconnecting drone data with on-ground water quality can turn ecological signals into informed action that is vital for communities," says Brar.

“What the data made clear is that this isn’t a uniform problem,” adds Asgary. “When conditions vary so much from one part of the lake to another, it changes how you think about solutions. This kind of information allows us to be more precise, more proactive and more strategic in environmental management.”

In addition to monitoring Swan Lake, 91ŃÇɫ‑led teams are working to make the data easier to interpret and use in planning. Researchers are developing AI tools to identify patterns in the drone imagery, anticipate conditions such as algae outbreaks and translate complex trends into clearer insights.

Other teams are using virtual reality and simulation to help users visualize the lake over time and explore how different interventions might affect conditions. Meanwhile, geographic information system (GIS) specialists are turning the results into interactive maps and dashboards that help the public and those involved in lake management understand what is happening across the site.

A core goal of the Swan Lake Citizen Science Lab is to encourage meaningful community engagement and shared stewardship.

“From the start, this was never about researchers working in isolation,” says Asgary. “The goal of the Swan Lake Citizen Science Lab is to create a shared process, where community knowledge and scientific tools come together.”

Local partners are not just observers; they are active partners in the research. Residents take part in field checks, help interpret findings, attend workshops and contribute to outreach efforts that share findings. Alongside them, 91ŃÇÉ« students gain hands‑on experience applying classroom learning to a real environmental challenge, working with researchers and resident members in a local setting.

For CIFAL 91ŃÇÉ«, which is affiliated with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, the work at Swan Lake is a pilot that could inform other communities facing similar pressures on small urban lakes and wetlands.

“The impact here is very tangible,” says Asgary. “Through drones, data and collaboration, we’re building a deeper understanding of how this ecosystem functions and how it can be protected over time. That kind of shared knowledge is what allows stewardship to last.”

Find out more about the SLCS Lab, and see it in action, in the video below.

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In the course, students are asked present industry‑ready marketing campaigns directly to industry representatives. When Rachel Saarony's turn was up, she noticed her hands trembling as she walked into the offices of Penguin Random House Canada (PRHC).

The fourth-year professional writing student was about to present a full-scale marketing plan to the country’s largest book publisher, completing the final assignment for PRWR 3004/4004 – an upper-year course designed to bring real-world publishing exposure into the classroom.

For Saarony, the moment felt significant. “I felt a lot of pressure to leave a strong impression in front of industry professionals,” she says. It was her first encounter with the publishing industry, and the stakes felt real.

That opportunity was exactly what Matthew Bucemi, director of 91ŃÇɫ’s Book Publishing Specialization in the Writing Department, had in mind when he helped reshape the program in 2022. Among his efforts was the desire to create meaningful connections between academic learning and the industry realities students would face after graduation.

“My goal was for students to get a level of hands-on experience that a classroom can’t provide,” Bucemi says.

As part of that push, Bucemi drew on industry connections at Penguin Random House Canada and approached Polly Beel, director of marketing and publicity, to explore collaborations. The result was PRWR 3004/4004, a course grounded in a shared idea that students learn best when they are asked to meet professional standards and should have the opportunity to present their work beyond the classroom. “What does it feel like to really present something to senior staff at a publishing house?” says Bucemi.

First, however, it was Beel’s who would present. In January, she and members of PHRC's marketing team visited Bucemi’s class to introduce a project where students would develop original, comprehensive marketing plans for Spoiled Milk, a debut supernatural gothic horror novel scheduled for release.

While students were given broad creative freedom, Beel outlined the same expectations a marketing team like theirs would face, including deliverables, timelines and creative standards. “It reframed the project from a classroom exercise into something that felt professionally real,” says Saarony.

The class was divided into five teams, each responsible for a different piece: a preorder push, influencer outreach, paid digital advertising, organic social media content and an in-person reader event. Over the course of three months, students worked collaboratively to build a unified, multichannel strategy that blended digital marketing with immersive, experiential ideas.

The final campaign leaned heavily into the gothic atmosphere of Spoiled Milk. Elements were timed around culturally resonant moments, such as Friday the13th and Halloween, with the aim of extending the novel’s eerie tone beyond the page. One proposed initiative – dubbed a “Summer-ween” reader event – imagined bringing the book’s haunted boarding school setting into the real world.

Saarony served as one of two team leads on the influencer mailer project, which focused on creating a tactile, interactive experience for book-focused creators on TikTok and Instagram. She and her team designed a themed mailer inspired by the novel’s setting.

The package took the form of a vintage steamer trunk and included story-linked objects such as tarot cards, a custom bookmark and a painted compact mirror featuring a rotting apple. Interactive elements encouraged recipients to explore the contents over time, including hidden messages revealed with a UV Ouija planchette (also known as a spirit board pointer).

“Our goal was to give influencers something they could return to,” Saarony says, “objects they could explore, decode and interact with.”

Another student, Lauren Russell, co-led the digital ads team, which developed a cross-platform advertising strategy tailored to online book audiences. The team identified platforms such as Goodreads and Book Riot, and created a range of static and animated banner ads, alongside short-form video content for social media.

For Instagram, Russell took on an acting role, posing as a fictional student from the novel’s boarding school in a character-driven mock interview. The team also produced a TikTok-style video showcasing gothic horror recommendations, positioning Spoiled Milk within a broader reading community.

At the end of March, students visited Penguin Random House’s Toronto offices to deliver their pitch.

After months of preparation, Russell says the key was stepping into the room with confidence. “We kept reminding ourselves that we knew our work was strong,” she says. “Our job was to show it clearly and enthusiastically.”

For Saarony, the nerves subsided quickly. “Once we started, I went into autopilot,” she says. “I trusted the preparation, and it went better than I could have hoped.”

Following the pitch, PRHC staff provided detailed, industry-aligned feedback to each group. Students were encouraged to think critically about their creative choices, audience targeting and feasibility. One piece of feedback resonated strongly across the class. “We were told that the presentation we had put together was corporate level,” says Russell. “I felt like all our hard work culminated in that moment.”

With the project complete, students reflected on what they gained. For Saarony, the opportunity helped build confidence in her ability to contribute to large projects, and to lead them – which sparked a new interest. During a post-pitch conversation with PRHC’s managing editor, Saarony mentioned her curiosity about the legal side of publishing – an exchange that led to an offer for her to connect with the company’s legal team to learn more.

Russell similarly described the experience as a turning point, noting how it sharpened her leadership, communication and research skills while demystifying how much planning and coordination goes into launching a book.

For Bucemi, those outcomes reflect the program’s broader purpose. Giving students the chance to apply their skills in a real-world context helps them see how theory translates into practice, and how their interests might evolve once they engage directly with the industry. “Understanding what professional life looks like before you graduate makes a real difference,” he says.

At the same time, he was pleased when Beel noted that the students demonstrated a level of ambition and creativity that would get them a job at any company in the industry.

“The biggest thing for me is helping students get practical opportunities that will support them as they enter the job market,” he says. “My hope is that putting something like this on their resume will be a real X-factor when they're looking for a publishing job."

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Created in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the initiative brings together researchers, community organizations and international partners to build knowledge and capacity to respond to the global water crisis.

With Shooka Karimpour, associate professor at the , as academic director, the academy supports learning, strengthens global dialogue and bridges water knowledge with decision-making and public policy.

"Water insecurity means different things for different groups and different demographics," says Karimpour.

While some water challenges are shared internationally, she says, the academy also works to highlight local issues – from changing ice patterns in Canada to the impact of drought on specific communities elsewhere in the world.

That dual focus shapes everything the academy does. Its free online courses are open to learners worldwide at no cost. Offerings include “On Thin Ice: The Impacts of Climate Change on Freshwater Ice” and “An Introduction to Indigenous Relationships to Water on Turtle Island,” among others.

The courses aim to build practical knowledge of water systems, governance and sustainability at both local and global scales – whether the learner is a student, a community organizer or a policy professional.

In 2024, the academy engaged nearly 8,000 participants from 147 countries through courses, events and partnerships including United Nations conferences, international research collaborations and public exhibitions.

One of its most recent collaborations illustrates how that work translates beyond the classroom. For World Water Day 2026, the Global Water Academy partnered with the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto to present a Microplastics Discovery Station. This brought 91ŃÇÉ« scientists directly to the public to demonstrate how microscopic plastic particles move through aquatic ecosystems. Visitors examined water samples, identified microplastics and engaged with researchers first-hand.

For Karimpour, the event captured something central to the academy's mission: moving water science from the digital space into hands-on, in-person public engagement with communities.

There is also work happening with community-based organizations to surface stories and solutions that connect research to lived experience.

A with water activist Swani Keelson and the non-profit Global Water Promise examined how water insecurity in Ghana affects women's physical and mental health – and how limited access to clean water compounds broader inequalities, including period poverty and barriers to education.

"We are providing them with a platform and opportunity to share not only global water insecurity issues, but also innovative solutions that have been developed to mitigate this problem," says Karimpour. "Our goal is to raise awareness and ultimately inspire collective action."

That combination of training, storytelling and public programming reflects how the work aligns with 91ŃÇÉ«'s broader sustainability agenda.

While its mandate is rooted in Sustainable Development Goal 6 – clean water and sanitation – the issues it engages consistently extend into climate resilience, health, gender equity and governance. The work around the Ghana story advances SDG 5 on gender equality, while the microplastics research supports SDG 14, life below water.

"You can't really confine the impact to one SDG because water availability is such a deep issue," says Karimpour. "It really affects and falls into a lot of other SDGs as well."

Karimpour credits strong institutional support from 91ŃÇÉ«, including from University leadership, as central to the academy's growth. Looking ahead, Karimpour says it will continue to build new courses and partnerships, with an emphasis on reaching communities that have the most at stake in global water insecurity.

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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For real-world action to result from academic inquiry, researchers must be able to actively share and apply their findings.

This is the focus of 91ŃÇɫ’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit (KMb Unit): to help scholars build relationships with community organizations, government and other non-academic partners. It supports efforts to share research in ways that are more accessible and usable beyond the University, ensuring 91ŃÇɫ’s work reaches the right audiences.

For Michael Johnny, manager of KMb Unit, that work begins with communicating a simple idea.

“My definition of knowledge mobilization is that it helps take the best of what we know and makes it useful for people in our communities,” he says.

Located in the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, the unit provides services and resources for collaborative projects, helps broker partnerships and offers training and strategy support for researchers, students and non-academic collaborators.

Johnny says it plays an important role because academic research does not always reach audiences in the right way.

“If everybody accessed information through academic journal articles, then we really wouldn’t need a service unit like this at 91ŃÇÉ«,” he says. “But it’s safe to say that different audiences like to access information in different ways.”

That means helping researchers build relationships at the front-end of the research cycle, and offering assistance in translating findings into plain language. There is also a multitude of tools and resources that can help implement research into practice.

Among the unit’s core areas of work is partnership-building. Johnny says the office regularly engages with organizations such as 91ŃÇÉ« Region, the City of Toronto and United Way Greater Toronto to better understand the kinds of questions and broader thematic issues that matter to them. KMb Unit then works to connect those needs with relevant 91ŃÇÉ« expertise.

That collaborative work also shows up in how researchers plan grant applications, with the unit supporting scholars who require a knowledge mobilization strategy for federal funding applications.

“Quite often what they are looking for is help and support around developing that strategy,” Johnny says.

The impact of the unit’s work can be seen in the long-term research partnerships it has facilitated. Johnny points to the work of Jennifer Connolly as an example – a psychology professor in 91ŃÇɫ’s .

Through partnerships the unit helped facilitate in 91ŃÇÉ« Region, Connolly’s work took on a new direction, guiding graduate student research and overseeing collaborative projects while conducting research on gender-based violence.

Connolly works in partnership with 91ŃÇÉ« Regional Police and 91ŃÇÉ« Region’s Children’s Aid Society studying the prevention of sex trafficking. She uses her findings to develop tools and approaches for early intervention, such as the 91ŃÇÉ« Simcoe Sex Trafficking Screener.

“It completely changed the trajectory of her engaged scholarship,” Johnny says.

He also highlights the unit’s work with Community Music Schools of Toronto, originally based in Regent Park. After the organization approached the KMb Unit with a broad set of research questions, the unit helped coordinate an advisory group of 91ŃÇÉ« academics to respond.

According to Johnny, the resulting connections helped secure a $2-million endowment for the Helen Carswell Chair in Community Engaged Research in the Arts at 91ŃÇÉ« U, which creates meaningful opportunities for 91ŃÇÉ« students and faculty to work on projects shaped by community-identified needs.

KMb Unit’s training has expanded over time, including the introduction of MobilizeU, a non-credit course in knowledge mobilization. Johnny describes the offering as a “cornerstone service” that helps equip 91ŃÇÉ« researchers, students and community partners with tools and skills to maximize the impact of their work.

The success of MobilizeU, says Johnny, is due to the work of Senior Knowledge Mobilization Specialist Krista Jensen, who envisioned the program in 2017 and launched it in 2019.

The unit has also extended its reach through Research Impact Canada, a national network that grew out of early collaboration between 91ŃÇÉ« and the University of Victoria. Now made up of 46 members in Canada and the U.K., the network serves as a community of practice for knowledge mobilization, with 91ŃÇÉ« set to host its Canadian Knowledge Mobilization Forum in July.

For Johnny, one of the biggest challenges goes back to general understanding of what knowledge mobilization is, and why it’s important.

“For a lot of people, there is an understanding that knowledge mobilization is simply a dissemination or communications-based exercise around research,” he says. “And that’s not wrong. It’s just often incomplete.”

Applying research to real-world challenges, strengthening community partnerships and increasing research visibility are all key benefits of sharing the work of 91ŃÇÉ« academics.

Johnny notes that since it began operating in 2006, the unit has assisted in more than 1,600 unique interactions with faculty members, 2,000 non-academic partners and 2,500 students.

For Johnny, those numbers reflect the success of the KMb Unit and speak to the University’s a broader goal: helping research move into the world in ways that are collaborative, responsive and useful.

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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Emergency management at airports is uniquely demanding because of the complex, diverse and dynamic systems involved, says Ali Asgary, professor of disaster and emergency management in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

With dense traffic, multiple vehicles and operations often unfolding during changing or extreme weather, coordinating airside and landside activity remains a major challenge.

“Even a small emergency at an airport can have significant political consequences and cascading impacts,” Asgary says. “These are the dynamics that shape airport emergencies, runway incidents and large‑scale disruptions to air transportation.”

Asgary's research has gained renewed relevance amid the March 22 Air Canada collision between an aircraft and a fire truck on a runway at LaGuardia Airport. While investigations are ongoing, the fatal incident underscores how seconds matter during runway operations.

While it’s still too early to determine what led to the tragedy, Asgary says events often involve factors that emergency managers and aviation operators routinely study: real-time hazard assessment, workloads, communication and warning systems.

“Runway incidents often involve overlapping risks, including split‑second decision‑making, heavy controller workload and limited redundancy in warning systems,” he says. “When warning systems rely on a single communication channel, missed messages can quickly escalate into serious incidents.”

Asgary is executive director of – the Advanced Disaster, Emergency and Rapid Response Simulation lab at 91ŃÇÉ« – where researchers and students simulate disasters and test response plans before they emerge in real‑world settings.

At ADERSIM, researchers use agent-based models to simulate aviation scenarios and examine how decisions by pilots, passengers, crew and ground emergency responders influence outcomes.

The lab incorporates virtual reality to help emergency managers visualize airport events and uses AI to analyze disruption patterns. It also explores how tools such as drones could support airside emergency response and risk assessment.

ADERSIM has also developed AeroHaz, a web-mapping application that identifies major hazards for airports worldwide to support hazard awareness and planning.

“Through a combination of computer modelling, human‑in‑the‑loop simulations, extended reality and AI, we can test how emergency response systems behave when multiple risks converge and conditions change rapidly,” says Asgary. “The work of ADERSIM contributes to 91ŃÇÉ«'s leadership in disaster and emergency management.”

Major runway incidents can yield lessons for emergency preparedness – but only if they are researched, documented and incorporated into revised procedures. The incident also highlights the need for more research into the technological and human factors driving airport safety.

“Simulation-driven research allows emergency planners and responders to review how decisions are made, how workflows unfold in crisis situations and how to improve preparedness,” says Asgary.

In addition to leading ADERSIM, Asgary is also director of CIFAL 91ŃÇÉ«, a UNITAR centre that connects academia with leaders and organizations to tackle global challenges through specialized training in disaster management, sustainability, health and entrepreneurship.

Together with Maleknaz Nayebi, associate professor at the and associate director of CIFAL, he is leading a project to develop AI solutions for airports to minimize risks and enhance response operations. Using AI can help predict weather conditions, coordinate workforces and more.

ADERSIM and CIFAL 91ŃÇÉ« also share this research through training and professional learning for airport and emergency management leaders, and through public events.

Those who are interested in learning more can attend a two-part webinar series titled Airport Operations, Passenger Management, and Technology in the Face of Geopolitical Crises. Presented by CIFAL 91ŃÇÉ« and ADERSIM, in collaboration with UNITAR, the event runs April 15 and 25.

CIFAL 91ŃÇÉ« and ADERSIM will also contribute to UNITAR’s Airports Global Training Programme, when Nayebi will host “Future-Ready Airports: Preparedness for Mega Events Through Safety, Sustainability, and Smart Innovation” on April 22 and 23 in Atlanta, Georgia.

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91ŃÇÉ« has launched a new public resource designed to help people better understand electric vehicle (EV) charging and make practical decisions about where and how to charge.

The initiative, led by Hany Farag, a professor in the , is supported by a $139,294 federal grant from Natural Resources Canada through its Zero Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative, which funds education projects that support cleaner transportation.

"The hub is meant to serve a wide range of audiences, from everyday drivers and prospective buyers to building managers and municipalities planning for more charging infrastructure," says Farag.

The is an online platform that combines plain-language explainers with interactive tools. It helps users explore common questions, such as how long charging might take in different situations or what it can cost to install a faster charger at home. It is designed as a practical starting point for anyone trying to make sense of EV charging without a technical background.

The site is organized into two main parts. The first features short explainations and briefs answering common questions about charger types, home charging and why charging speeds sometimes vary. Users can also download information as PDFs. The second section is a growing set of interactive tools that help users explore real scenarios, such as a charging simulator that estimates how a vehicle's battery level changes over time during a session.

"A key aim of the project is to also address common misconceptions that can make EV charging seem more complicated or intimidating than it needs to be," says Farag.

The hub reflects the University’s deep research strengths in clean energy systems – grounding EV charging within the broader electricity infrastructure that powers homes, buildings and communities. It supports diverse settings, including condos and apartment buildings, where planning becomes more complex when multiple residents charge simultaneously within a building's power capacity limits.

Some tools tailored to multi-unit and municipal planning are still in development, but progress is steady and intentional, says Farag. His team is actively engaging collaborators – including representatives from municipalities, dealerships and the EV charging sector – to ensure the hub is shaped by real-world needs.

Core development is on track for completion by June, with an official launch planned for March 2027.

The project is a 91ŃÇÉ« community effort, with Abdullah Al-Obaidi, postdoctoral fellow, and Ahmed Abdelaziz, PhD candidate, leading the algorithms and software development that powers its interactive tools. Paulina Karwowska-Desaulniers – executive director of 91ŃÇÉ«'s SmartTO initiative – supports community engagement, events and outreach.

The hub is being developed in collaboration with Moataz Mohamed – director of the Mobilizing Innovation for Transportation Lab at McMaster University – and the City of Mississauga, alongside industry partners EVA Canada and RideAlike.

Three years ago, 91ŃÇÉ«'s Keele Campus was announced as a sustainability-focused 'living lab' where faculty, students and campus staff tested next-generation electric commuter vehicle prototypes. The hub builds on that momentum – supporting smarter, more practical planning for campus charging infrastructure, helping students and visitors navigate on-campus EV charging with confidence and keeping 91ŃÇÉ« at the leading edge of sustainable campus innovation as EV demand grows.

Looking ahead, Farag says the team plans to build national awareness by sharing the hub’s mission and resources through workshops, partner networks and by collaborations across Canada, ensuring the impact extends beyond 91ŃÇÉ«'s campuses.

“Whenever there is a chance to advertise or publicize the project for any national effort, we will definitely take that opportunity,” he says.

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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Funded by the Sustainability Innovation Fund at 91ŃÇÉ«, the program – called Shifting – includes two initiatives: a series of public programs focused on ecology and resilience; and, the creation of a living document that will guide the gallery’s planning, materials, transportation and waste methods.

Clara Halpern, the gallery's assistant curator, says Shifting was inspired by a desire to address climate change anxiety – including her own – by leaning into sources of hope.

Building on the gallery’s relationships with working artists, curators and writers, the first part of the initiative will feature events exploring practical pathways to climate action in the cultural sector. Alongside the launch of this new program, the exhibitions Worlds Away by Anne Duk Hee Jordan and Winter Wheat by D’Andrea Bowie, are currently on view at the gallery and offer perspectives on ecology.

Another key component will be a series of public dialogues organized by the gallery. The first event, on will feature a discussion moderated by Halpern with Kirsty Robertson, Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Museums, Art and Sustainability and director of the Centre for Sustainable Curating at Western University, and conservator Kim Kraczon, whose work focuses on reducing the environmental impact of materials and methods used in conservation, art production and exhibition-making.

Insights from these events will inform the second part of Shifting: the development of a living document focused on guiding the gallery’s operations with sustainable best practices.

In recent years, Halpern notes, resources supporting responsible approaches in the arts sector have emerged from Canadian organizations such as the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts and the Centre for Sustainable Curating, as well as international groups like the Gallery Climate Coalition.

While the Goldfarb Gallery already works to mitigate the environmental impact of its activities – for example, by minimizing waste and reusing or recirculating exhibition-installation materials when possible – it has not yet developed dedicated sustainability resources.

“I wanted to create the gallery’s guidance resource document because in the field of contemporary art it can be challenging, midway through a project and under time constraints, to research different options for more sustainable choices,” says Halpern. “The idea of the document is to have resources and information close at hand at each stage of developing a project.”

Working with Rute Collaborative, a Vancouver-based consultancy that supports museums and cultural organizations working on ecological sustainability, the gallery has been advancing work on the document, structuring it around the various stages of exhibition development and project planning. The project has also benefited from dialogue with specialists on sustainability at 91ŃÇÉ«, in particular Associate Professor Ian Garrett who teaches ecological design for performance and is the director of the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts.

Discussions coming out of the speaker series will also inform guiding principles in the document, alongside insights from partners, artists, students and faculty at 91ŃÇÉ«.

Once finalized later this year, Halpern will begin using and sharing the document while continuing to refine the information within as new research, practices and materials emerge. She hopes in doing so, it will evolve into a resource that inspires others, beyond the Joan and Martin Goldfarb Gallery.

“In reckoning with the scale of the climate change crisis, it can be difficult to envision our potential to make meaningful change,” says Halpern. “The hope for this project is to not get stuck in feeling powerless, and instead make shifts and create pathways to climate action and integrating more sustainable choices in the work we do.”

Featured image: Installation view at The Goldfarb Gallery of ¶Ů’A˛Ô»ĺ°ů±đ˛ąĚýµţ´Ç·Éľ±±đ'˛őĚýRe-member. Photo Credit: Hao Nguyen.

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A course director in the , Marchese has taught generations of 91ŃÇÉ« scholars, witnessing both the University and his area of study transform around him.

His introduction to 91ŃÇÉ« was, fittingly, a lesson in feeling welcome. When Marchese arrived at Atkinson College to hand in his CV, an administrative assistant named Marilyn Weinperer greeted him warmly and suggested he walk down the hall to meet the department Chair. He knocked, introduced himself, and Graham Reid – then-Chair of the department – responded by inviting him downstairs for tea and cookies.

"In my dealings in the past with college and university officials, it was often much more formal than that," says Marchese. "Overall, I found the Department of Psychology at Atkinson College throughout the 1970s and ’80s to be very welcoming."

What has stayed with Marchese across five decades is 91ŃÇÉ«'s sense of community – from the college pubs where faculty and students gathered after evening classes in the 1970s, to the classroom conversations he still looks forward to today.

"Faculty and administration have been very helpful, very supportive and available to me," he says. "Although I enter the classroom as a singular individual, all of the support systems put in place for this to happen are a collective endeavour."

The change he values most is one of expansion – in course development, faculty recruitment and interdisciplinary study.

"There is more inclusivity now, with a vigorous pursuit of diversity and equity," he says. Students and faculty from a broader range of backgrounds, cultures and lived experiences have transformed the University into what Marchese describes as "a microcosm of the larger macrocosm of Canadian society."

These days, Marchese teaches PSYC 2230: Psychology of Motivation, though, throughout his career he has covered nearly three-quarters of the undergraduate psychology curriculum, supervising honours students through their fourth-year theses along the way.

PSYC 2230, he is careful to explain, is not a self-help class.

"Some students come in believing the course will teach them how to be motivated," he says.

Instead, the curriculum explores the biological, cognitive and emotional forces that drive human behaviour: why we act, why we sometimes don't, and how thought, feeling and circumstance shape our choices.

Marchese has watched psychology evolve dramatically. In the early years, behaviourism dominated – asserting that only observable actions, not inner thoughts or feelings, could be scientifically studied. Then came the cognitive revolution, putting the inner life of the mind back at the centre of the field.

Today, brain imaging allows researchers to observe the brain in action and understand how biology and thought connect. Perhaps most meaningful to Marchese, is that the field has grown far more attuned to trauma, how that trauma ripples through communities and cultures, and how its weight falls hardest on those who have faced oppression and exploitation.

However, some of Marchese's most memorable moments have happened outside the lecture hall. Former students approach him by happenstance – sometimes a year after his class, sometimes five – to say the experience stayed with them long after graduation.

"I really appreciate it when they come forward," he says. "It takes some courage to approach a former professor and say that they made a contribution to the path you've taken since leaving their class."

When asked what he hopes his legacy will be at 91ŃÇÉ«, Marchese doesn't hesitate to answer.

"That I tried to be a responsible and decent individual in helping students achieve their goals – and hopefully, that students would take note of the pride I feel in being a 91ŃÇÉ« lecturer, engaging students in a subject, psychology, that I find endlessly fascinating," he says.

After more than half a century at 91ŃÇÉ«, his advice to those just starting out is equally straightforward.

"Your commitment and your persistence in undertaking university studies are vital and important. Whatever obstacles there are, there are ways of dealing with them. Don't be discouraged by setbacks ... take advantage of the opportunity in realizing your personal and professional goals."

The greeting Marchese received on his first day at Atkinson College – a stranger pointing him toward an open door, a department chair sharing tea with him – shaped the kind of educator he became. Fifty-five years later, Marchese continues to extend that same warm welcome to his students and remembers how, for him, that first day on campus was a defining moment in his career.

With files from Mzwandile Poncana

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In this first video for 91ŃÇÉ« in Focus: Leadership Perspectives, Interim President and Vice-Chancellor Lisa Philipps shares what she’s hearing across the University, the opportunities she sees taking shape and why she feels optimistic about 91ŃÇÉ«'s path forward.

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