A $35,000 grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council will mean additional opportunities for participants in the UWill Discover Sustainable Futures project.

The funding will enable the University to offer up to $20,000 in student awards, support students attending a Model United Nations event in Washington DC in November 2023, pay students for their work in organizing the conference, and purchase much-needed materials for running a sustainable project.

“The University of Windsor is very grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for their support of this initiative, which will provide game-changing opportunities for our students to engage in experiential learning and showcase their own research in a public forum,” says Chris Houser, interim vice-president, research and innovation.

There are currently 100 proposals, and the goal is to support 150 presentations, says Tim Brunet, co-ordinator of Outstanding Scholars and student leadership in the Student Success and Leadership Centre. Proposals are currently being accepted until Feb. 9 on the UWill Discover Sustainable Futures website.

The UWill Discover Sustainable Futures project amplifies student research work, creative projects, and future visions into structured constellations of opportunities. Its experiential learning opportunities include:

• submitting project proposals;
• a writing retreat;
• a policy brief competition; and
• an event the week of March 20 featuring up to 150 presentations.

“UWill Discover Sustainable Futures project is a bold step towards showing the world what the University of Windsor is able to do and be through the lens of student works,” says Dr. Brunet.

“We are putting students at the front of the room and providing them opportunities to show academics, practitioners, and our greater community exciting possibilities for research, creative work and community-based proposals.”

Aside from sharing their own work, he notes students can learn and share about international frameworks such as United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the International Decade for People of African Descent, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.