Knowledge Integration, University of Waterloo

Congratulations KI students for making it to the end of the term! We hope final exams are wrapping up smoothly and that you’re looking forward to your summer plans ✈️💼☀️

Thank you to everyone who came out to our final seminar and joined us at East Side Mario’s to celebrate! It was such a fun way to wrap up the year together.

A big congratulations as well to our Jernies award winners, and to our fourth years for continuing the KI tradition of donating books to the KI Library. If you’re already done exams and looking to unwind, be sure to check out the new additions featured above. There’s something for everyone, so happy reading! 📚

KI merch is now available to order! 🎉

The KI online store is officially open, with a range of apparel including crewnecks, hoodies, quarter-zips, and t-shirts featuring Knowledge Integration and KI Waterloo designs. It’s a great way to show your KI pride on campus and beyond.

Orders are open until Monday, March 16th at night, so make sure to place yours before the store closes. All items are unisex sizing, so be sure to check the size chart before ordering to find your best fit.

You can order through the link in the graphic or the link in our link tree. We can’t wait to see everyone repping their KI merch!

A heartfelt thank you to Ryan, Khoa, Devaney, and Zoe, our incredible alumni panelists! Last Friday, they shared their experiences in Knowledge Integration and the many paths their degrees have taken them in. We also want to extend a warm thank you to everyone who attended. Your engagement made the discussion even richer!

Throughout the panel, our alumni were asked questions like why they chose KI. Their answers highlighted the program’s flexibility, emphasis on design thinking, and ability to support diverse interests without forcing students into a single disciplinary box. They shared how courses spanning feminist epistemology, museum design, collaboration theory, and critical thinking shaped how they think, communicate, and work with others.

A recurring theme was the lasting value of KI’s transferable skills. These skills include critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. Panelists also offered reassuring advice: follow your interests, don’t feel pressured to have everything figured out, and remember that your first job does not define your entire career.

Thank you again, Ryan, Khoa, Devaney, and Zoe, for spending a Friday afternoon with us and for reminding us that Knowledge Integration prepares graduates for meaningful work across many paths.

Wrapping up our KI Alumni Panel spotlights, meet Zoe Whitman!

Zoe graduated from Knowledge Integration in 2022 with a minor in Philosophy and a specialization in Collaborative Design. She was part of the Berlin III cohort and served as KISS Director of Kinnovations. After graduation, Zoe started her career at the YWCA Cambridge, a nonprofit focused on gender equity, as a Project Manager. During that time Zoe led projects centered on growing revenue and engagement, supporting staff well-being and development, and auditing and implementing new software.

In December 2024, she earned her PMP (Project Manager Professional) credential. Zoe has recently started a new role at Cossette, a Toronto-based advertising agency, where she works as a Project Manager across both creative and technology teams.

Zoe will be joining us at the KI Alumni Panel on Friday, February 6th to share how her KI experience shaped her post-graduate journey. 🎓

All are welcome and we hope to see you there!

Meet another one of our KI Alumni Panel speakers Ryan Voisin!

Ryan graduated in the first Knowledge Integration cohort 2012 with a minor in computer science. He helped found KISS as its treasurer, Chaired WESEF, organized Orientation Week for the faculty, helped start TEDxUW, and was a Program Assistant for the Shad high school enrichment program.

He also had a hand in a few shenanigans in attempts to put KI on the map in its first year, including helping record the first KI rap parody and album launch party, making a mascot (scale model of the EV buildings) to interview students on Earth Day, and getting published in the paper by bringing a study group to the PAC pool after learning our required reading book was waterproof.

After graduation, Ryan started at Overlap Associates, where he worked for over a decade as a consultant in healthcare strategy, human-centred research, and government advocacy (2012–2023). During this time, Ryan earned a Master of Design ('17) in Strategic Foresight and Innovation from OCAD University in Toronto (in the part-time stream). Over the years, Ryan has completed certificate programs in anti-racism, reconciliation, vicarious trauma, facilitation, communications, and executive leadership. Most recently, he completed Maytree Policy School ('25).

Ryan is now the Director, Practice and Policy at Children’s Healthcare Canada and Managing Director of Inspiring Healthy Futures. Ryan drives collaboration among key partners, including policymakers, healthcare professionals, and child rights advocates, to address the most pressing issues facing children and youth. He oversees member practice networks, which focus on advancing research and actionable solutions in policy and practice. Ryan regularly contributes to critical conversations at the national level, engaging decision-makers to ensure children’s needs are prioritized.

Ryan will be joining us at the KI Alumni Panel on Friday, February 6th to share how his KI experience shaped his post-graduate journey. 🎓

All are welcome and we hope to see you there!

Say hello to one of our amazing alumni panelists, Devaney!

Devaney graduated from Knowledge Integration in 2019 with a Management minor, a Cognitive Science minor, and a specialization in Collaborative Design. Following graduation, she worked with a charitable organization developing dance-based education and enrichment programs for youth, and later managed programming at a community learning center supporting elementary and high school students.

In 2021, Devaney joined the Financial Modeling Institute, a company focused on promoting the discipline of financial modeling through Excel-based accreditation programs. Her current role looks at designing and improving complex processes that directly shape candidate and client experiences by turning big-picture goals into scalable solutions.

Devaney will be joining us at the KI Alumni Panel on Friday, February 6th to share how her KI experience shaped her post-graduate journey. 🎓

All are welcome and we hope to see you there!

Are you interested in what you can do with a Bachelor of Knowledge Integration or how your choice of specialization or minor can prepare you for your career goals? Join us next Friday, February 6th, at our annual KI Alumni Panel, to hear from alumni on how their KI experience shaped their post-graduate journey. All are welcome!

In the coming days there will be posts featuring each of the speakers, so stay tuned.

We hope to see you there! 🎓

As part of her Senior Honours Project, Emma LeCouffe just published a new resource on KI’s website, entitled: “What Does it Mean to be a Knowledge Integrator?” Check it out today here: https://uwaterloo.ca/knowledge-integration/resources/what-does-it-mean-be-knowledge-integrator

Emma’s goal for her Senior Honours Project was, “to do something that would help the KI community. More specifically, I wanted to create a resource that would help people understand what it means to be a Knowledge Integrator and understand why this expertise is so valuable."

Through 8 months of research, prototyping, and testing, Emma drew on literature about integration and cross-disciplinarity to create an accessible resource that explains what it means to be a knowledge integrator – and more importantly, why knowledge integrators are important. Be sure to check it out to hear from Emma about, “why does the world need knowledge integrators?” and “what does knowledge expertise look like?” KI alumni and current students will see themselves reflected in the characteristics that make up knowledge integrators, and how the different types of knowledge integrators contribute to disciplines.

To wrap up her project, Emma recently had the opportunity to present her project at the 2025 Science of Team Science Virtual Conference this summer. Congratulations, Emma!