Award Recipients

Susan Kates has made vast contributions to both internationalization of curriculum and student engagement at Humber Polytechnic. Susan has worked collaboratively with strategic international partner institutions and industry partners to bring an international perspective into her classroom. Susan has emerged as an expert and leader in integrating Collaborative Online International Learning, or COIL, at Humber Polytechnic.​

Susan led her first COIL in 2022 in collaboration with Humber strategic partner the Cologne Business School (CBS) in Germany. Since her initial COIL, Susan has led five more iterations. On top of facilitating an impressive six COILs in three years, Susan has also mentored a number of students over the past few years. Susan volunteered her time and expertise to mentor students through systems thinking, prototyping, and final presentations. Susan’s dedication, collaborative mindset, and commitment to student success embody the spirit of excellence and innovation that Humber values. Her mentorship left a lasting impact across institutions and students. ​

In addition to Susan's tireless efforts to internationalize curriculum and foster student engagement in her own courses and in mentoring others through the COIL framework, she has mentored a team of students who won regionals and competed at Enactus Canada showcasing Humber talent and hard work. Susan shared her expertise to support Humber's Enactus team in building their employability and soft skills as they developed project "Reshade” which upcycles old makeup and turns it into paint. ​

In her work, Susan reimagines learning, deepens partnerships, and inspires the next generation of entrepreneurs to be bold, to be brilliant, and embrace the benefits of thinking and working internationally for themselves and for the community.