BE Challenge’s final judging phase is underway.

Humber’s Office of Research & Innovation (ORI) is delighted to announce that 10 employee-submitted solutions are finalists in The 2022 Butterfly Effect (BE) Challenge:

1. Course Fee Calculator
2. Gecko Live Chat Widget (for Student Customer Service)
3. IT Email Template (to Confirm Support Request Received)
4. Operation Excellence (Tech Zone Tablet Charging)
5. Outlook Templates
6. QR Code for Lakeshore Campus Map
7. QRevolution (QR Codes for Office of Sustainability Info)
8. Recycled Waste Material to Personalized Gifts
9. Streamlining Indigenous Student Residence Applications
10. Upgrading (International Student) Webchat PowerPoints to Run Automatically

Following a review of the submitted solutions and one-on-one interviews conducted with the employee participants, the ORI team has confirmed that the 10 finalist projects have met The 2022 BE Challenge criteria: they are low-cost or no-cost integration and/or automation solutions that improved on-campus or remote work arrangements for the Humber community.

The next step is for a confidential judging panel of industry volunteers to independently evaluate and rank the finalist projects. Based on the collective results of the panel, Humber’s Ginger Grant, PhD., Dean, Research and Innovation, will make the final approval of the top-ranked solutions selected out of the finalists.

Stay tuned for the announcement of The 2022 BE Challenge champions.

About the Butterfly Effect Challenge

The Butterfly Effect (BE) Challenge seeks to discover and celebrate Humber College’s front-line innovators. The BE 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 this year. 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.

Help us promote it!

At Humber, student success and retention are institutional priorities; understanding our students is essential to provide focus for student success initiatives. Every year, three in four incoming students successfully complete their first year. However, one in four leave the college within the first year. It is imperative that Humber is able to identify students at risk of attrition and initiate timely interventions.

The Humber Student Success Survey (HSSS) is one means of identifying students at risk. The survey is administered each year to students in all semesters. The four purposes of the survey are:

1. To understand our diverse student population in terms of sociodemographic and other factors (e.g., culture and ethnicity, sexual identity, disabilities) so that we can assess the extent to which we are meeting their needs;
2. To understand students’ academic and career goals and the extent to which we are meeting them;
3. To identify students who may be at risk of attrition; and
4. To gain a broad understanding of students’ support needs to allow for service planning and resource allocation.

All students will receive their survey invitation and link on their Blackboard account on Thursday, October 27. The survey will remain open until Friday, November 11.

Please help us to ensure a strong response to this survey by encouraging students in all years and full-time programs to complete the survey so that we can continue to make a positive impact in their success.

Thank you in advance for your support.

On behalf of Information Technology Services (ITS), please be advised that after a recent upgrade, student images will no longer be displayed as part of the class roster (Summary Class List/Detailed Class List) function on MyHumber, as this feature is no longer supported by the software vendor. An analysis is underway to determine a solution to support student photos as part of the class roster function, but until this is complete, student photos cannot be exported.

If you can’t meet outdoors, enjoy the next best thing – a meeting room with a view. 

Walking meetings on the Humber Arboretum trails are a popular activity for many Humber College and UofGH staff, but they aren’t always a practical choice. For those who would like to bring a little more nature to their sit-down departmental meetings, the upper level of the Centre for Urban Ecology is available for booking on Mondays and Fridays through April, and on Mondays only in May. 

Staff may book the top level of the Centre for Urban Ecology for times falling between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Space will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis at no cost (internal use only). Tables, chairs, and a television that can be connected to a laptop will be provided. Eduroam wi-fi is available inside the Centre; outlets are available but limited. 

Please note that during your meeting time the lower level of the Centre for Urban Ecology may be open to the public and also serves as a gathering spot on Mondays for students from ECE 234: Two-Eyed Land-based Play and Co-Learning. Humber Arboretum staff may be working in the offices on the upper level at any time.  

To inquire about booking the upper level of the Centre for Urban Ecology for your next departmental meeting, please send an email with your requested date and time to arboretum@humber.ca and cc Jimmy Vincent, the Humber Arboretum’s Coordinator of Education, Camps, and Community Outreach, at jimmy.vincent@humber.ca.

There is also the option to book a tour or team building activities with a member of the Humber Arboretum’s educational staff, for an additional fee. 

Learn about more opportunities for staff at Humber Arboretum.

About the Centre for Urban Ecology 

Completed in 2007, the Centre for Urban Ecology was Gold Certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Building Rating System. In 2010 it also won an Ontario Association of Architects Design Excellence Award. Among its many sustainable features are a green roof with additional rainwater collection, a slatted solar awning and thermal chimney to aid in natural heating and cooling, and efficient radiant floor heating. The Centre is home to the educational activities at Humber Arboretum.