The annual event provides an opportunity for students who participated in the Internship-杏吧原创 University Research Experience for Undergraduate Students (I-CUREUS) and Students as Partners Program (SaPP) to share their work and celebrate their achievements.

This year, 30 undergraduate students participated in the showcase, highlighting their projects, showcasing their skills and how they applied their disciplinary knowledge in an impactful way.

SaPP

Students in SaPP gain hands-on work experience by collaborating with instructors, librarians and teaching support staff on course design.

For her SaPP project, fourth-year psychology major Katelyn Martin helped streamline content in a health psychology lab.

Fourth-year psychology major Katelyn Martin partnered with Prof. Rachel Burns to streamline content in a third-year health psychology lab with the goal of engraining research skills in students.

Martin had previously taken the course and was able to conduct a review from a student鈥檚 perspective. She gained hands-on experience and transferable skills in many aspects of course design, from conducting a literature review to updating slideshows with enhanced accessibility and creating learning guides for students and teacher guides for the TAs who lead the lab.

鈥淲hen [Prof. Burns] approached me with this idea, I thought back to my experience and how much I valued the guidance that I had in the lab and how much I think that that laid the foundation for my fourth-year thesis,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was really interesting to me to hopefully help future generations of people taking the class to actually feel empowered like I did and hopefully help to improve their experience.鈥�

Martin鈥檚 career goal is to teach, and she鈥檒l be starting her master鈥檚 in the fall. From going through the course design process and seeing how decisions were made, she says her experience in the Students as Partners Program will be a perfect complement to the TAship she鈥檒l be doing.

鈥淏eing able to experience this as an undergrad and having the extra support of working with a staff member to shape some ideas, I鈥檒l be able to really think about it more independently once I’m doing a TAship in the fall and starting my masters,鈥� she says.

Third-year student, Josefine Lukaszek, explored how 杏吧原创鈥檚 journalism program can better prepare students to enter the field as video journalists.

Third-year journalism student, Josefine Lukaszek, partnered with Prof. Kanina Holmes to explore how 杏吧原创鈥檚 journalism program can better prepare students to enter the field as video journalists, working with both established and emerging media. They compared 杏吧原创鈥檚 current curriculum with offerings at other post-secondary institutions and surveyed job postings to identify the skills expected from recent graduates.

鈥淐oming together and learning how to continuously adapt to changes in the field is so important,鈥� Lukaszek says. 鈥淲e compete with algorithms, TikTok and other storytellers who aren鈥檛 necessarily very factual, and that鈥檚 something that we need to continue pursuing and learning how to adapt to, so journalism is still remaining prevalent and factual even among all of those changes.鈥�

Following her experience, Lukaszek says she would tell anyone considering participating in SaPP to go for it.

鈥淭here’s only opportunity to learn and so many connections to build,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very inspiring. I鈥檓 standing here and I鈥檓 looking at all these smart young students who are doing this work, and I feel inspired. I’m so happy to be a part of it.鈥�

I-CUREUS

Students in I-CUREUS conduct research in their program or an area of interest. In the process, they build connections and gain exposure to research techniques.

Sam Mallow examined the integration of Indigenous Knowledge into undergraduate STEM courses.

Sam Mallow worked with Prof. Martha Mullally to examine the integration of Indigenous Knowledge into undergraduate STEM courses through the Collaborative Indigenous Learning Bundles. Through interviews with professors, they identified barriers and successful strategies for implementing the Bundles and then developed a practical toolkit to support instructors with incorporating Bundles into their own courses.

Mallow was particularly interested in this project after taking the Maternal and Child Health Bundle in a course last year. He says he realized there was so much he didn鈥檛 know and so much that could be applied to his own program. He wanted to make sure other students could access the information in the Bundles because it had been so beneficial to his own learning.

Looking ahead, Mallow says he thinks this I-CUREUS experience will benefit his career goals by helping him understand how to weave principles of Western science together with Indigenous science.

鈥淚鈥檓 hoping to go into health care and I think understanding things like that would help me be able to generate different kinds of research ideas from my peers and just approach medicine in a way that I hope will be really beneficial to any patients that I work with,鈥� he says.

Samuel Smith helped develop three low-cost teaching devices that can be integrated in high schools, summer camps, museums and remote communities in Canada.

Biomedical and mechanical engineering student, Samuel Smith, worked with Prof. Andrew Harris to develop three low-cost teaching devices that are easy to manufacture. The devices can be integrated in high schools, summer camps, museums and remote communities in Canada, with the goal of promoting curiosity in studying physics, engineering and biomedical engineering.

Harris is Smith鈥檚 capstone professor, and he flagged this project as something that might interest the fifth-year student. Smith founded a biomedical engineering design team at 杏吧原创, , with the goal of engaging more people in biomedical engineering, so this project aligned perfectly with what he was trying to achieve.

Looking towards his career, he says the experience in I-CUREUS has been helpful in gaining hands-on experience, learning about research methods and seeing the design process from start to finish.

鈥淚 think any practical experience is super valuable,鈥� he says. 鈥淲ith research projects…it teaches you to think critically and solve problems as you go along. You need to think on the fly and come up with different solutions for very specific problems.鈥�

Browse through the showcase program to learn more about the projects presented at this year鈥檚 event.

The CUEL-EF provides funding to support the purchase of new, upgraded or replacement equipment and technology that enhance student learning in credit courses. Projects can be course-level (i.e., single course) or program-level (i.e., multi-course) initiatives. Eligible expenses include but are not limited to:

• Digital and analogue equipment/technology (including tools, platforms and infrastructure)
• Accessories required for the effective use of purchased equipment/technology
• Installation and specialized training costs directly required for equipment/technology use

The deadline to apply is May 22. Find full details on eligibility criteria and the application process here.

As we continue to navigate a world where our learners have relatively easy access to GenAI, it’s important to consider our teaching practices.

This spring and summer, we鈥檒l be unpacking four interconnected elements of sustainable teaching practices:

• Relationship-rich environments
• Scaffolded experiences
• Productive failure
• Intrinsic motivation

This month, we begin with relationship-rich environments (check out Agile Ed’s episode, ).

In a moment where AI can generate explanations, summaries and even entire assignments, it鈥檚 worth asking: What remains distinctly human in learning? One answer is relationships.

Relationship-rich environments are not about being endlessly available or overly accommodating. They are about designing conditions where students feel seen, where their thinking is surfaced and where learning is shaped through interaction鈥攏ot just content delivery. This can look like creating space for student voice, building in moments of dialogue or making thinking visible through low-stakes activities.

And yet, this is not without tension. In large classes, tight timelines and resource constraints, relationships can feel like a luxury. But they are not an add-on鈥攖hey are the foundation that makes the rest of the learning experience meaningful and sustainable.

As the term comes to a close, consider:

• When did students seem most engaged鈥攏ot just compliant, but genuinely involved?
• Where did connection (or disconnection) shape the learning experience?
• What might you carry forward into your next course?

If you’re interested in exploring this topic further, join us on April 28 for 杏吧原创’s Teaching Innovation Symposium: InspirED 2026. Spend the day engaging in thought-provoking concurrent sessions that showcase ways to cultivate relationships that enrich our teaching practices. InspirED is an opportunity to connect, collaborate and celebrate the collective efforts of 杏吧原创鈥檚 teaching community.

Next month, we鈥檒l turn to scaffolded experiences.

Have something to share or a question about AI in your course?聽We want to hear from you!聽聽with your ideas, challenges or success stories.

During this period, our team remains available to support you with consultations, project planning and other requests. You can submit a request through the .

杏吧原创鈥痯rovides鈥痚xperiential learning opportunities through鈥�SaPP鈥痑苍诲鈥�I-CUREUS鈥痶hat help students develop essential academic and transferable skills. While鈥疭aPP鈥痯airs students with instructors on teaching innovation projects and course design, I-CUREUS provides an avenue for undergraduate students to conduct faculty-supervised research.

I-CUREUS gives students the chance to gain hands-on experience and contribute to ongoing work in their field, building research skills and enhancing their resume along the way.

For the summer 2026 call, Teaching and Learning Services (TLS) will be able to fund approximately 50 I-CUREUS projects.

To encourage and support undergraduate research opportunities in FASS, FPGA and Sprott, TLS will fully fund I-CUREUS projects for faculty members who do not have research funding. Normally funding for an I-CUREUS project is split between TLS and the faculty supervisor. This requirement has meant that FASS, FPGA and Sprott undergraduate research opportunities have been fewer compared to colleagues in FED and the Faculty of Science.

Funding for successful applications from FED and the Faculty of Science this summer will remain split between TLS and the faculty supervisor.

Applications are due Tuesday, March 31. Learn more and apply here.

This year鈥檚 conference will focus on the theme relationship-rich education – the power of learning through meaningful connections. Spend the day engaging in thought-provoking concurrent sessions that showcase ways to cultivate relationships that enrich our teaching practices.

The program includes two captivating plenary speakers: a morning plenary by (Elon University) and an afternoon plenary by (University of Windsor), as well as panels and showcases, demos, booths and stations to inspire. Lunch will be provided.

Visit the InspirED page for a detailed schedule and !

• Excellence in Educational Leadership and Pedagogical Innovation Award: recognizes faculty members who demonstrate educational leadership and pedagogical innovation across an established academic career.
• Provost鈥檚 Fellowship in Teaching Award: recognizes faculty and contract instructors dedicated to sustained excellence in teaching, scholarship of teaching and the continual development of teaching.
• New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award: recognizes new faculty members who underscore 杏吧原创鈥檚 commitment to teaching excellence and innovation.
• Excellence in Learning Support Award: recognizes the many educational support staff members who contribute to the student learning experience through their tireless work and support in labs, classrooms and many other diverse learning environments across 杏吧原创.

The application deadline is April 30. Get all the details on the awards and the nomination process here.