AgeTech LaunchPad trainees gain hands-on innovation experience

Read the original story: AgeTech LaunchPad trainees gain hands-on innovation experience at AGE-WELL Summer Institute | Department of Health and Society

For one week in June, eight University of Toronto undergraduate and graduate students, along with postdoctoral fellows, stepped beyond the classroom to work as innovators, collaborators and entrepreneurs.

As participants in the 2026 AGE-WELL EPIC Summer Institute, they joined a multidisciplinary cohort of 17 trainees from across Canada and the University of Edinburgh to co-design solutions to improve transportation and mobility for urban older adults.

The five-day program immersed participants in experiential learning, bringing together students and older adults to tackle real-world challenges with support from researchers, community organizations, municipal leaders and industry partners. 

Michelle Silver, Academic Co-Director of the AgeTech LaunchPad (with Alex Mihailidis) and Chair of the Department of Health & Society (DHS) at the University of Toronto Scarborough, joined participants during the week to observe the Summer Institute in action and mentor one of the teams as they refined their solution. 

Reflecting on the experience, she said: “The Summer Institute exemplifies the best of what experiential learning can do. Through intensive interdisciplinary immersion and collaboration, it beautifully prepares students to translate their research into tangible, real-world impact.”

Learning by doing

Throughout the week, participants worked in multidisciplinary teams focused on three challenge areas: accessible and safe public transit, pedestrian and road safety, and reliable, dignified and user-centred specialized transportation. 

Rather than beginning with technology, teams began with people.

Working directly with older adults through MIRA | Dixon Hall, trainees explored lived experiences, identified barriers to mobility and co-created potential solutions alongside those who would ultimately benefit.

Participants also learned through talks and workshops provided by University of Toronto faculty, the City of Toronto, Vision Zero, TTC/Wheel-Trans, Parachute Canada, Root & Seed and Summer Institute faculty members, gaining practical experience in stakeholder engagement, design thinking, commercialization, implementation planning and persuasive pitching.

A campus-wide collaboration

The Summer Institute was held at the Faculty of Information’s Claude T. Bissell Building and supported by the Department of Geography & Planning, the School of Cities, and the AgeTech LaunchPad Institutional Strategic Initiative whose home unit is DHS, University of Toronto Scarborough.

Bringing the program to the Faculty of Information, a supporting division of the LaunchPad, created a shared space where students, researchers, older adults, community organizations, government and industry partners could come together to advance innovation. 

“The Faculty of Information was delighted to host the AGE-WELL EPIC Summer Institute and support a program that exemplifies the kind of socio-technical, community-engaged research at the heart of our strategic vision,” said Matt Ratto, Associate Dean, Research and Professor at the Faculty of Information. “Bringing together researchers, older adults, public sector partners and industry to co-create solutions to real-world challenges creates exactly the kind of experiential learning and lasting societal impact that we value and are proud to help make possible.”

The Summer Institute also highlighted the lasting impact of the Faculty of Information community. Two members of the Summer Institute faculty were alumni of the iSchool’s PhD program, returning to lead workshops, mentor participants and share their expertise with the next generation of researchers and innovators.

Building skills that extend beyond research

While participants developed solutions, they also built professional skills that will support them throughout their careers, from communicating across disciplines and engaging stakeholders to developing business and implementation plans and pitching ideas.

As part of the AgeTech LaunchPad Institutional Strategic Initiative, three University of Toronto trainees from LaunchPad-affiliated divisions were selected to participate in the Summer Institute. This partnership extends access to Canada’s premier experiential training programs in aging and technology–an opportunity typically reserved for AGE-WELL’s competitive trainee program and a small number of institutional partners.

Faculty of Information PhD student and registered occupational therapist Ali Sutani noted:

“The Summer Institute was a unique opportunity to learn from a wide range of experts and mentors working across health, technology and business. It encouraged us to think creatively and entrepreneurially, while strengthening the skills needed to move innovative ideas forward.”

Celebrating innovation and collaboration

The week concluded with a pitch competition, where teams presented their solutions to a panel of judges from MaRS Discovery District, Parachute Canada and the City of Toronto.

A highlight was the success of University of Toronto Scarborough trainee Yassine Belghiti, whose team, SafeCross, captured first place with a solution addressing pedestrian safety for older adults. The system pairs a wearable beacon with an intelligent traffic signal device to automatically extend crossing times for older adults while collecting data to help optimize intersection safety over time. 

In addition to a cash prize, AGE-WELL will provide the winning team with the opportunity to present at the AGE-WELL Annual Conference in November, as well as in-kind support to further develop their solution.

“Being part of Team SafeCross was incredibly rewarding,” said Belghiti. “Conversations with older adult stakeholders at Dixon Hall grounded our solution in real-world challenges. Winning reflected the teamwork, dedication and feedback that shaped our solution, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate.”

The value of stakeholder engagement was also reflected in the experience of Melissa Tan, a recent graduate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. 

Tan and her team, AccessVoice, received the inaugural Josephine McMurray Award for Excellence in Co-Creation, recognizing their outstanding commitment to engaging older adults and other stakeholders throughout the design process.

“I felt incredibly privileged to learn alongside peers, mentors and community members. Receiving the Josephine McMurray Award for Excellence in Co-Creation was an honour. What I will carry forward most is the importance of listening with humility and curiosity. Engaging stakeholders throughout the process grounded our solution in lived experience and strengthened our work.”

Connecting University of Toronto students to Canada’s AgeTech ecosystem

One of the strengths of the Summer Institute is the breadth of partnerships AGE-WELL brings together to support student learning.

Through AGE-WELL’s national network, University of Toronto trainees engaged directly with older adults, caregivers, researchers, entrepreneurs, municipal leaders, policymakers and industry experts.

Samantha Sandassie, Director, Education and Training of AGE-WELL, said the Summer Institute, now in its ninth year, is a core element of AGE-WELL’s capacity-building work and a key component of its EPIC (Early Professionals, Inspired Careers) training program. “We prepare future leaders in AgeTech by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to address complex challenges and drive meaningful change. This work strengthens the pipeline of leaders and supports Canada’s capacity for innovation.”  

This year’s Summer Institute was made possible through collaboration with the Faculty of Information (host), the AgeTech LaunchPad Institutional Strategic Initiative, the Department of Geography & Planning, the School of Cities, MIRA | Dixon Hall, the City of Toronto, Vision Zero, TTC/Wheel-Trans, MaRS Discovery District, Parachute Canada, Root & Seed, AGE-WELL faculty and mentors, older adults, caregivers and community advisors.  

Together, these partnerships created a learning environment that gave trainees access to a national ecosystem of collaborators, mentors and end-users–providing experiences and professional networks not easily replicated in a traditional classroom.

As demand for age-friendly technologies grows, initiatives like the AGE-WELL EPIC Summer Institute demonstrate the value of bringing universities, communities, governments and industry together to prepare the next generation of innovators.

For more information about the AgeTech LaunchPad, visit: isi.utoronto.ca/initiative/age-tech

To get involved, contact the AgeTech LaunchPad Academic Co-Directors, Alex Mihailidis and Michelle Silver.