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Designing for change wins MI students $19,000 prize money

Submitted on Thursday, April 20, 2023

Master of Information students who participated in the recent Design for Change 2023 competition worked hard to develop solutions to one of Canada’s most pressing societal issues: Homelessness. Three MI teams made it to the final round of five in the competition, which was presented by Presented by Wilfrid Laurier University’s UX Design Program. They took home $19,000 in prize money.

5 female students

Team Game Changers – comprising Iman ArainYing DuJenny Kong, Jana Anani and Gabrielle Woodside (left) – took first place and won prize money of $15,000. They proposed developing “Heels on Wheels,” a mobile team of medical staff to provide women-centric healthcare to homeless communities.

“As a team of female students, we were particularly interested in the experiences of homeless individuals in receiving female-centric healthcare, said winning team member Gabrielle Woodside. “Through background research and interviews with organizations who work to directly support homeless women (Shelter Health Network, Sistering, and Shifra Homes) we learned about their various challenges and pain points.”

Team Occasio – comprising Anorica Joaquin and Sarah Silverwood – won second place and the Audience Choice award, as well as  $4,000 in prize money. They proposed a partnership between the Richmond Hill Public Library (RHPL) and 360Kids (a non-profit organization for youth experiencing homelessness) that is located in Richmond Hill.

The third team from the Faculty of Information to place in the top five included Rebecca HsiungKarishma SavaniYang Ong and Runjie Dai.