This summer, the C4: Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom will be working in collaboration with IBM to offer co-branded micro-credentials to York students through C4 Sprint 3.0, a three-layered experiential learning space for students at all levels and faculties.
C4 Sprint 3.0 combines three streams of C4: Primer (first- and second-year students), Launchpad (second- and third-year students), and Management (graduating students) into one multi-layered classroom. The class will work collaboratively over a short and intensive term (May to June) to rapidly develop viable solutions for a large, complex, social-impact challenge directly linked to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“This summer’s challenge questions will focus on Poverty and Hunger (UN SDG 1 and 2), which are key initiatives within the United Nations goals. I’m delighted that York in conjunction with IBM Canada will be launching its first Cross-Campus Capstone Classroom Work Integrated Learning (C4 WIL) student experience, starting May 9 through June 20, 2022. York University students will gain valuable experience in technology, power skills, design, research and collaboration,” says Steven Astorino, vice-president of development data and AI and Canada Lab director at IBM.
C4 was launched in 2019 to bring students together from across York’s campuses with community and industry experts who want to partner with the University to create a social impact.
More than 400 students have participated in C4 since its inception. The program has more than 60 project partners and has developed more than 48 projects across different themes and industries.
York University students Althea Reyes, from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, and Mahakprit Kaur, from the Faculty of Science, took part in last year’s C4 summer learning opportunity to address “How can we redesign city spaces to improve their use across four seasons?” C4 partnered with YSpace to help develop solutions to the real-world challenge pitched by the Smart Cities team at MaRS Discovery District.
“Through an iterative process of brainstorming, user research and design thinking, our team for Summer C4 envisioned a community ‘play garden’ concept that simultaneously tackled the need for healthy food and childhood recreation in Woburn, Scarborough,” says Reyes. “C4 was a unique opportunity for me to work with a team of diverse backgrounds to conceptualize an out-of-the-box idea tackling multiple Sustainable Development Goals at once – in a short period of time.”
“C4 provided the tools and was the platform that allowed equally eager students to come together and tackle the question of ‘how can we extend the seasonal reach our shared city spaces?’ Our team focused on this question through the equity lens and C4 helped us create and work through a tangible plan where we were able to host a community event to help connect local youth with the outdoors,” says Kaur. “C4 was definitely the highlight of my summer and I’m very grateful for the amazing team, the support from our mentors, the incredible experience, and gaining the knowledge that we all have the potential to bring about positive change in our communities.”
C4 Sprint is open to second-year students, as a pre-capstone experience, and to third- and fourth-year students as a capstone experience. The two sections of C4 Sprint 3.0 take place Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. or Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Each section will have different partners, projects, and SDGs they will be pursuing. Applications to participate in C4 Summer Sprint 2022 are due April 1. To learn more, students are encouraged to participate in a virtual information session or visit the C4 webpage.