Innovation for a Better World course sparks curiosity, iteration, reflection 

This interdisciplinary IB stream, which launched in September, combines systems thinking and design thinking with digital innovation tools and approaches. UCC is one of only four schools worldwide offering the pilot program, along with Mulgrave School in Vancouver, UWC Atlantic in Wales, and UWC South East Asia in Singapore.  

“Design thinking is something the IB has embraced, as have many schools,” says Jonathan Kwan ’96, who joined the College this school year as Tanenbaum-Hutcheson Director of Partnerships and Social Impact. The role has him seeking speaker and experiential engagement with the College from across and beyond the community.  

“Next came the idea of systems thinking, which excited the IB as well,” Kwan continues. “That involves looking at problems beyond your individual lane and more holistically — at the inputs, outputs, and all the different stakeholders — so you can make decisions that are more impactful than would be in your single discipline, such as finance, tech or marketing.”

Innovation for a Better World is the unique course offered in the Systems Transformation pathway. Its focus is the development of ethical solutions to local, national and global issues as seen through its foundational lenses of wellbeing, pluralism and sustainability. It’s equivalent to two standard-level IB DP courses. Students in the pathway otherwise still take UCC’s DP Core course and the IB-standard three higher-level courses, but with increased subject flexibility. 

“This course allows students to nurture their curiosity,” Kwan says. “Often education forces them into boxes: ‘Are you a humanities student? Are you going into engineering? STEM? Health sciences? Law?’ When these choices start materializing, many students don’t yet know what they want to do. This allows them to go far on their own, and they’ve stepped up.”

The course began with a focus on the classical elements.

“We started with earth,” Kwan explains. “We used that as grounding, to understand ourselves and our environment before we can be bold and suggest intervention. Water is the second module, and we’ve nearly wrapped that up. The next one will be fire. And next year, we’re going to add air, then a capstone project that wraps everything together.”

One guest Kwan brought in was David Dickson ’01, superintendent of plant process and operations at the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant. 

“He came to campus to talk about the science of wastewater treatment and about his career,” Kwan says. “And he offered a tour of that plant, so we went down there, which was amazing.” 

The project showcase, which took place at the College on Feb. 18, was open to students and parents — including parents of younger students potentially interested in the pathway — as well as faculty, staff and external partners. The projects were water-focused, with the 24 Systems Transformation students tackling the exercise in groups of two.    

“We gave them a brief, then let their curiosity, skills and passions take over, which led to very different outcomes,” Kwan notes. 

The brief instructed students to pick any part of Toronto — their backyard, their neighborhood, the waterfront — and study the impact of water in that area, and the system around that microcosm. Then they were asked to design an intervention to improve the situation. 

“Some built physical models, including architecture and sculptures, to represent the intervention,” Kwan explains. “Others did artistic representations. One group did a curriculum design. They wanted to inject water into the UCC curriculum. I couldn’t have predicted any of it.” Students will move to the implementation phase in year two.  

The showcase pieces are not graded. “What’s graded is the reflection paper they have to write talking about the journey: Why did you build this versus drawing, or whatever it may be. What were the trade-offs of the design, and what aspects did you have to make? It’s personalized to them.” 

Kwan feels the experience, including its different emphasis on grading, will prove desirable to higher-education institutions. 

“Getting a high grade is no longer sufficient,” he says. “What universities and other organizations are going to want to know is beyond just that number. What else is there about you? What do you bring to our institution? What are you passionate about? This type of experience gives students so much fuel.”