What is the Innovation Accelerator?
Sheridan’s Innovation Accelerator is designed to engage teams of students in researching and developing solutions for industry and community challenges and meet work-term and internship requirements.
Degree students form interdisciplinary teams from business, technology, the arts, and health programs to build proposals over the course of 10 weeks. Innovation teams are backed by a Portfolio Lead and a Project Manager, who will provide students ongoing training and support for their work.
How it works
Through a series of self-directed modules and facilitated workshops, innovation teams are guided through the ideation process including problem definition, ideation, prototyping, testing and refinement. The process culminates in an adjudicated pitch session with our community collaborators.
Each team will prepare a final pitch video and proposal that will be presented to the community collaborator. In week 10, all groups come together to see some of the highlights of the Innovation Accelerator experience and listen to the winning pitches from each cohort of innovation teams.
If you have any questions about Sheridan's Innovation Accelerator, please email SheridanWorksCoop@sheridancollege.ca.
We look forward to connecting.
The Innovation Accelerator in action
The Innovation Accelerator was first launched in the summer of 2020. Participants and engaged collaborators helped address challenges faced by older adults, young learners, postsecondary educators and people facing food insecurity. Those involved felt resounding satisfaction in working on something meaningful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2020 collaborators
- Food for Life (see below)
- Sheridan's Centre for Elder Research (see below)
- Apple Education
- Sheridan's Galvanizing Education Hub
Graham Hill, Executive Director, Food for Life
“What really amazed me was the depth of caring that led to the students going one step beyond. Kudos to the faculty at Sheridan for inspiring that love of learning and the desire to ask questions and not be afraid to push the envelope, because that is what will make our society better.”
Ina Varghese, Information Systems Security degree student
“This challenge really helped me take a step back, to gain insights into other experiences and how people navigate the world. That helps you become more inclusive in your thinking.”
