The 2022 Butterfly Effect Challenge top-ranked finalists and special award recipients are selected

Humber’s Office of Research & Innovation (ORI) is pleased to announce that following evaluation by an independent judging panel and review from Ginger Grant, PhD., Dean of Research and Innovation, the top-ranked finalists and special award recipients of the 2022 Butterfly Effect (BE) Challenge have been selected.

These (often simple) solutions have collectively resulted in annual savings of more than $150,000 of costs, almost 2.5 years of employee time, and the equivalent of two 45-foot mature pine trees worth of paper! The members of these ingenious teams will also be sharing their solutions with other employees to multiply their impact.

Top-ranked finalists

  • First place: Streamlining Indigenous Student Residence Applications
  • Second place: QR Code for Lakeshore campus map
  • Third place (tie):
    • Upgrading Webchat PowerPoints to Run Automatically
    • QRevolution (QR Codes for Office of Sustainability Info)

Special Innovation Awards:

ORI Dean’s Special Award: Student Impact

  • Gecko Live Chat Widget (for Student Customer Service)
  • Course Fee Calculator

External Panel & ORI Team Special Award: Hearts & Minds

  • Streamlining Indigenous Student Residence Applications

Sustainability Spotlight Award

  • Recycled Waste Material to Personalized Gifts
  • QR Code for Lakeshore Campus Map

Simply Smart Spirit Award

  • Operation Excellence (Tech Zone Tablet Charging)

Microsoft Automation Award

  • IT Email Template
  • Outlook Templates (Student Research Emails)

Innovation Sandbox Award

  • Upgrading Webchat PowerPoints to Run Automatically
  • Streamlining Indigenous Student Residence Applications

About the Butterfly Effect Challenge

The BE Challenge seeks to discover and celebrate Humber College’s front-line innovators. The Challenge looks for simple, low-cost or no-cost integration and/or automation solutions that have already been implemented by Humber’s support staff and non-managerial administrative staff. The solutions can improve both on-campus and remote work arrangements.

Humber’s front-line colleagues are continuously improving the Humber experience, but their ideas and solutions often remain hidden in plain sight. This initiative is part of a broader Inclusive Research & Innovation training program the Humber Office of Research & Innovation (ORI) has been piloting. ORI staff have been trained in the principles and processes of Inclusive Innovation, and they launched and managed The 2022 Butterfly Effect Challenge over the summer and fall.

Please reach out to the Humber Office of Research & Innovation team at be@humber.ca if you’re interested in learning more about the BE Challenge.

Interested in learning more about the projects?

Read the project descriptions from the finalist teams.