The Final Showcase: Forge

On April 12th, the students of Mount Royal University’s civic innovation class were given the unique opportunity to share our work with the public. Instead of the typical project which never makes it outside of the classroom, we had the chance to present our ideas in a much more meaningful way.

Our class was extraordinary from the beginning, thanks to the generous funders and community partners who believed in us students. Aspen Properties had lent us entire floors of their building to use all semester for our classroom and our projects.  

The culmination of this course was getting to create prototypes of our concepts, and presenting them in a showcase. For an evening, a diverse group of people gathered together to discuss the future of Calgary and some of the problems it is currently facing. Of all the unique experiences we’d had in this course, this was truly a real-world application of our work. Coming together in constructive discussion about the issues facing our city and how to solve them was rewarding for everyone present. We were gifted with the thoughtful interest of our community members, and a stimulating medium to spark discussion. Interactive, visually-stimulating spaces allowed thoughtful conversation to flow freely, and people from many different backgrounds to connect.

From all of us students, thank you to the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, RECODE, and Westman Charitable Foundation for seeing our potential and allowing us unparalleled learning opportunities. These are the standout education experiences that will stay with us long after our university days are past.

Sara McMullan, Mount Royal University Student