Social Innovation Lab

Salo family establishes an endowment for Social Innovation

The Salo family establishes an endowment for Social Innovation at Algonquin College

Applied Research is honoured to share the news that the Salo family has generously donated $50,000 to establish The Salo Family Endowment for Social Innovation at Algonquin College. This endowment will support student interns in the Social Innovation Lab, empowering them to engage in meaningful social innovation projects.

Our deepest appreciation to the Salo family for their generosity enabling Algonquin College learners to have life-changing experiences and make a positive impact in the community.

Read the full story here.

Algonquin College’s Social Innovation Lab is now recruiting for Winter 2022 positions

We're Hiring! SliDE - Social Innovation Lab

Want to Make our World a Better Place? Join Algonquin’s Social Innovation Lab – SLiDE is Hiring for Winter 2022 positions.

The Lab operates SLiDE (Service Learning in Design & Engineering) with a mission of “Empowering our community by sharing student creativity and technological knowledge to drive social change”. We are looking for students that demonstrate Authenticity, Integrity, Ambition, Curiosity and Humility and want to help others in our community. #slideintoimpact Open Positions: All positions are part-time (~20 hours a week) for current Algonquin College Students and paid at Ottawa’s current Living Wage ($18.60/Hour).

The target start date for Winter Interns is January 10, 2022.

Note* All positions offer flexibility to meet students’ schedules and tentatively will include both in-person (Social Innovation Lab, Woodroffe Campus) and remote work components. All positions will be subject to the College’s Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.

To apply, email your CV and a cover letter by the deadline of December 10, 2021: SLiDE@algonquincollege.com

Details can be seen on HireAC – Job ID 70117: https://hireac.algonquincollege.com/home.htm

IBM/SLiDE Intern – Social Sector Client Projects (5 Positions)

Applicable for students with digital technology skills (design, development, mobile, integration, adoption) or communications skills (branding, marketing, social media, written word, and videography).

Please note Intern Eligibility Requirements:
  1. Proof of full-time enrollment at Algonquin College in an Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, STEM or Business program during the internship period
  2. Proof of Canadian Citizenship/ Permanent Residency/Refugee Status, Unfortunately, due to 3rd party funder requirements, International Students are not eligible for these positions at this time.

Students who self-identify within one of the following under-represented groups are encouraged to apply: Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Indigenous students, Newcomers (immigrants who immigrated within the last 5 years), students with disabilities, visible minorities and first-year students.

Charity Village

The Social Innovation Lab was just named an award finalist for the CharityVillage Awards. Selected from 500+ submissions the “Finalists represent some of the very best across the nonprofit sector! Congratulations to your organization on this prestigious honour!”

CharityVillage established in 1995 is an HR partner for recruitment in the non-profit sector across Canada. Their vision is a place where people who work in the non-profit & charitable sectors can collaborate, share, network and engage with each other.

The Social Innovation Lab was selected by CharityVillage as a finalist for the Best Youth Engagement Organization (Under 20 Staff) Award. This award recognizes organizations who excel at engaging young people within their organization as volunteers, employees, or future leaders. It celebrates those passionate about social justice and committed to finding meaningful careers for Millennials, Gen Z, and even younger generations who represent the future of the non-profit sector.

Kevin Holmes, Managing Director, Social Innovation Lab (www.slidelab7.ca) speaking about this honour said “I am so humbled by this recognition of the work of our lab. To be included alongside all the incredible organizations across the country that are finalists for these awards, and to be selected by such an important social organization as CharityVillage truly validates what we collectively set out to do when we launched the lab in 2018.” “This honour really goes to all our amazing community partners across the city, our immensely talented interns and students, and the incredible funders and supporters who make what we do possible, for all of them we are forever thankful” Holmes said.

The awards winners will be announced on November 3, 2021, at the CharityVillage Annual Conference and Awards which brings together professionals within the Canadian nonprofit and charitable sectors and provides an opportunity for organizations to be recognized for their mission, purpose, community and recruitment initiatives. https://charityvillageconference.com

SLiDE Partners, CHEO and Eco-equitable (EE) are levelling up the mask game!

AC Student in mask

Last year, Algonquin College helped respond to the Ottawa/Canada PPE shortage assisting with efforts to create and decontaminate shields, and medical-grade mask. As part of this response two SLIDE partners, CHEO and Eco-equitable (EE) also initiated research into the design of a high performing re-usable mask for the community. After almost a year of development and testing, we would like to get the masks to the Ottawa public, with the goal of reducing COVID transmission during the third wave. To achieve this masks will be sold as part of a fundraiser for CHEO.

The masks are very comfortable, have an amazing fit and achieve > 80 % particle penetration (new) while retaining > 70% particle filtration after 50 machine washes. The mask easily meets the 50% particle filtration efficiency specification recently set by the ASTM for consumer/community masks. The vast majority of community masks only achieve 30-50% PFE.

CHEO and EE have manufactured an initial lot of 1000 masks and will be selling them through Ecoequitable’s website. They will also be available at Kardish Health Food stores.

Purchase a mask here: https://ecoequitable.ca/collections/ecoequitable-products/products/cheo-fundraiser-mask

Check out the full article in the Ottawa Citizen: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/cheo-doc-and-local-sewing-organization-help-tame-the-wild-west-of-masks

 

Algonquin’s Social Innovation Lab is Hiring

Want to use Data to make our World a Better Place?
Algonquin’s Social Innovation Lab is Hiring

two students display a project.

Algonquin College’s Social innovation Lab in the DARE District is recruiting for a new project “Accelerating COVID-19 Knowledge Synthesis w/ Machine Learning”. Working with leaders in medicine, AI and machine learning, the interns will learn to use leading edge tools and develop machine learning functions to assess and update medical knowledge with a focus on emerging COViD-19 data. Our partners for this project include the IBM Machine Learning Hub, CHEO Research Institute and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

4 Open Summer Positions (Returning Students Only): All positions are Full Time (June 15 – August 28, 2020) with the potential for continuing Part Time work during the Fall Semester

Are You Eligible?

  • Computer Programming Skills
  • Experience w/ Python, R, Django, IBM Cloud Pak would be an asset
  • Completed Level 4 of Computer Engineering Technology – Computing Science Program and/or have other relevant background and experience
  • Returning Full-Time Student for Fall 2020 Semester
  • Ability to work remotely

If you are a self starter and meet these requirements we want to hear from you. Please send us your resume by Tuesday June 9, 2020 and explain how you meet each of these requirements via e-mail to holmesk@algonquincollege.com