Changing the world is a team sport — 45 teams, to be exact.
Nineteen Western students were among the 45 teams to participate virtually in the annual How to Change the World challenge — a global, experiential learning program that guides students through an intensive week of developing solutions for real-world sustainability problems.
Four faculties represented Western (15 students from Engineering, one from Music, one from Law and two from Brescia University College) during the university’s reading week Feb. 15-19. Participants were placed in teams of like-minded students from around the world to tackle challenges based on their interests and skills.
Students competed in one of six challenges, ranging from clean water and sanitation issues in Biratnagar, Nepal, to infrastructure concerns in Inuvik, Canada.
Hannah Waters
Third-year mechanical engineering student Hannah Waters and her team addressed the lack of access to resources when installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the city of Calgary.
Waters’ team received a Most Creative Solution award for developing the S.U.N. Initiative — a three-phase sustainability program focused on education and onboarding, solar PV system implementation, and community progression.
“I loved the How to Change the World program,” said Waters. “It empowers students to develop solutions that our society urgently needs, throughout the program and beyond.”
Fourth-year music education student Amber Proulx quickly discovered that her experiences at the Don Wright Faculty of Music were extremely applicable to this challenge – her ability to work in a team, to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of a problem, and to engage in critical reflection.
“Because I was coming from a non-STEM field, it was easy to feel out of place or that I didn’t have something to contribute,” Proulx said. “But it became apparent very quickly that this was not the case.”
Amber Proulx
Her team received a Most Implementable Award for its work on food security in Northern Manitoba.
“It was definitely a challenge having such a short period of time to complete our presentation, and it was intense: we were working right up until the minute it was submitted,” said Proulx, who is completing her term as president of the Faculty of Music Students’ Council this month. “I was very proud to represent the Music faculty, and to be able to apply what I learned through my time at Western, including as a student leader, to address a real world issue.”
Team Awards (Western)
Amber Proulx, Music – Most Implementable
Project: Food Security in Northern Manitoba: Weecheetwin, Working Together
Challenge 1 – Cities & Communities in Northern Manitoba, Canada
Amelia Jiang, Engineering – Most Implementable
Project: RIPPLE | Potable Water for Urban Residents of Batac City, Philippines
Challenge 2: Cities & Communities in Batac City, Philippines
Chloe Robinson, Brescia – Best Overall
Project: Improved Modular Learning for Batac City Rural Barangays
Challenge 2: Cities & Communities in Batac City, Philippines
Deanna Hersey, Engineering (MESc) – Most Implementable
Project: Greywater Recycling for Villiers Island
Challenge 3: Water in Villiers Island, Toronto, Canada
Anastasia Maslak, Engineering (MESc) – Most Creative
Project: The Open Communication Initiative in Biratnagar, Nepal
Challenge 4: Water in Biratnagar, Nepal
Sebastian Myles and Keith Cook, Engineering – Most Implementable
Project: Water Treatment in Biratnagar
Challenge 4: Water in Biratnagar, Nepal
Cindy Zhang, Engineering – Most Implementable
Project: Food Insecurity in Calgary
Challenge 5: Industry & Infrastructure in Calgary, Canada
Hannah Waters, Engineering – Most Creative
Project: S.U.N. Initiative
Challenge 5: Industry & Infrastructure in Calgary, Canada
Blake Bunting, Engineering – Best Overall
Project: Project Inuvik Artisans Online
Challenge 6: Industry & Infrastructure in Inuvik, Canada
Luka Petrusevski, Law – Most Creative
Project: The Northern Connection Coalition
Challenge 6: Industry & Infrastructure in Inuvik, Canada
