Human-Centred Design Lab

Introducing Parallel Ottawa, a board game co-designed with from various communities around (not pictured). This week they will play the game with their peers to explore to . Pictured here the Lab team that made this possible, from left: Aviana Ruel, Danny Nhu, Maria Montano, Kevin Holmes, Keeren Milomga, Mayanna Holness and Jed Looker. Massive thanks to Embark Student Foundation for making this project possible. Algonquin College

Maria Montano, Danny Nhu, Jed Looker (Mayanna Holness and Aviana Ruel not pictured) at CRC Rideau-Rockcliffe CRC last night testing the board game we co-designed with our youth team. For the next several weeks we will be working together to iterate gameplay and produce a polished version they will facilitate with youth in their communities. As they play participants will define their unique pathway to independence and ideate solutions to challenges that emerge. We will then use data from gameplay to develop services and supports for . A massive thanks to Embark Student Foundation for supporting this important initiative. Algonquin College

Meet Maddie, team lead for food initiatives at CRC Rideau-Rockcliffe CRC and program officer for Social Harvest Ottawa, a not-for-profit that aims to educate, feed and empower our through urban farming, food literacy and engagement. Here she is with the worm compost that provides nutrient-rich soil for the greenhouse and hydroponic farms that produce greens for the emergency food bank.

Working at CRC Rideau-Rockcliffe CRC every Tuesday we have the privilege of getting to know the incredible people who volunteer their time for our . Like Susie (left) and Shirley (right) who are chopping veggies for the food bank when they're not shredding paper for the worm compost or posting flyers to the bulletin boards or making name tags for an event. And they do this all with the warmest smiles. Algonquin College

We feel the best way to get a feel for how tabletop game mechanics might be used as a framework to co-design with youth is to, well, play a game! Tzu-Ming Lin, Danny Nhu, Maria Montano, Te-Jung Tsai and Jed Looker hard at work in the Human-Centred Design Lab. Thanks to generous support from Embark Student Corp. the team is collaborating with CRC Rideau-Rockcliffe CRC and other partners around to build pathways to post-secondary for youth not in employment, education or training ( ). Algonquin College

Professor and Dungeon Master Mike Kent dropped by CRC Rideau-Rockcliffe CRC today to discuss how the mechanics of D&D and role-playing games might be used as a framework for co-designing services with youth. Algonquin College

We're feeling recharged and inspired after 2025! The Human-Centred Design Lab team from left: Te-Jung Tsai, Tzu-Ming Lin, Maria Montano, Jed Looker, and Danny Nhu. Algonquin College

A warm welcome for Tzu-Ming Lin (left) and Tsai Te Jung (centre) who are joining the Human-Centred Design Lab this fall as part of the Global Pathfinders Initiative. For the next several months they will be working with Danny Nhu, Maria Montano and Jed Looker (right) to explore pathways to post-secondary for youth not in employment, education or training ( ).

Many thanks to Tracy Lang (right-back) and Ana Huang from the Education Division of the Economic Office in Canada ( ) for their guidance, and to Professor Su Cheng Lee (top) and our colleagues at Algonquin College for welcoming the newest members of our lab to .

Professor Lanre Jerry-Ijishakin was in to host a panel discussion on for learning (UDL) at the 2025 Industry-Academia Collaboration Workshop. Pictured here with our good friend Adesh Shah. A massive thanks to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in for this incredible opportunity. Algonquin College