The Experience

“What do you get when you put a bunch of enthusiastic students and dynamic mentors together in a (virtual) room? An enriching memorable learning experience! The challenge not only connected me to people from across the world but also provided the opportunity to learn and gain exposure to different perspectives. It helped me develop a systems’ thinking mindset and honed my communication skills. The virtual element really taught us a different dimension of ‘adaptability and flexibility’. Most importantly, it provided us with a platform to put forth our ideas to the City of Toronto and I am grateful to Humber College for organizing this challenge.”

- Mehar Aijaz, Humber College, Human Resources Management, (Team 73)

“Learning and applying the systems thinking skills was amazing as well as making connections with valuable mentors!”

- Nikitha Mandala, Humber College, Bachelor of Commerce (International Business) (Team 30)

“Firstly, my motivation to join was retrieved from the demand to learn something new, and to discover different perspectives. I believe that projects like this one help students to enrich their knowledge and to improve their professional and non-professional qualities. What I really liked about the challenge is that we weren't supposed to look for solutions but to find the gaps in the existing solutions. That was a methodology that I have never used before when solving a problem and therefore I find this experience very beneficial for me.”

- Aleksandra Peychinova, Saxion University of Applied Sciences (Team 51)

“I have always wanted to be a part of a project that will help to broaden my perspective, so when I saw this challenge, I knew it would be a great experience. I recommend everyone to have that kind of experience because the skills you get and to interact with people on the other side of the globe was amazing. In addition to knowledge, we got long-lasting friendships. There are things that you cannot gain on your own, this challenge, with every aspect of it, provided us that kind of experience.”

- Melike Tezel, Istanbul Gedik University (Team 44)

"The best part of being a mentor was working with global students to see how different approaches, innovations and creativity could solve a problem. It was a "wow" experience to witness the project coming together, and to know the future is in good hands. I learned with them, and being a coach was uplifting, and energizing. Highly recommend staff and faculty participate."

- Annette Borger-Snel, Professor and Program Coordinator, Humber College

"This is my first time working on a COIL project and I am grateful this experience has given me so much space to learn about the shared challenges of mentoring a globally placed team of students! I am so proud that our team managed to deliver a solid response to their supporting creatives question and considering the issues they had with aligning international comms initially, I’m impressed by their digital-based endurance. It is been great getting to know more about Humber and Canadian culture has been an unexpected, but very welcome highlight of this project for me."

- Andrew Lansley, Senior Lecturer in Music Business, University of Gloucestershire, U.K.

"As a mentor, I helped guide students to identify gaps with the use of systematic thinking. The most memorable moment of this experience was the first meeting where we got to connect with our students and learn about why they joined the challenge, where they lived and their different personality traits. This is an experience I would recommend to my colleagues and I would definitely join again next year!"

- Linda Sam, Program Support Officer, Faculty of Health Sciences and Wellness, Humber

"Let me say how proud and pleased I am to have been part of this very meaningful challenge. My feeling is, all who participated in it, took away something quite meaningful from this engagement – Mentors and Mentees alike. The learning was phenomenal. Beginning this, I had no clue I would have had as much fun."

- Ian Forrest, Programme Officer, University of the West Indies, Jamaica

"I joined the Global Systems Gap Challenge as a mentor because I love a good challenge and the college requested the support of staff in mentoring. I also have a passion for interacting and talking with people especially those from a diverse cultural background to hear about their experiences and challenges and just to learn more about their culture.
There are so many memorable moments in this journey of mentoring. One such moment occurred when one of the mentees said, “thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts and express myself without judgment” and that was a huge moment for me. I worked with a group of five wonderful young ladies from Japan, India and Canada who showed utmost tolerance and respect for their fellow mentees and mentors."

- Shernett Bennett, Library Clerk, Humber College

"Humber’s Global Systems Gap Challenge was a terrific experience. Every week I learned something new and unique, and our mentors went above and beyond to provide additional resources, insights, and motivation for team success. The systems approach inspired me to approach problems in different ways, keeping an open mind throughout. I would recommend this initiative to any Humber student seeking to get involved and further develop their collaboration, research, and presentation skills."

- Jacob R. Robinson, Humber College, Public Relations Advanced Diploma (Team 25)

"It was such a delight to be a part of this engaging and challenging six week journey. It was absolutely magnificent working with a diverse team who had various experiences and knowledge. This challenge helped me upskill my Critical Thinking and Innovation Skills."

- Radhesh Parekh, Humber College, Global Business Management (Team 52)

"Participating in the Humber Global Challenge was a thought-provoking experience and an incredible opportunity to contribute toward inclusivity and diversity. An open mindset that welcomes different perspectives is the key to building a better and successful community. I want to give Humber College and the City of Toronto a big shout-out for their vision!"

- Jayshal Sood, Prospective Humber Student (Team 34)