United College is affiliated with Waterloo University and focuses on supporting students to pursue and launch new ideas for social or environmental change. Specifically, GreenHouse and Trading Post are social impact incubators that aim to address the needs of Indigenous entrepreneurship and sustainable impact around social or environmental change.
Through a renewed partnership with BHER, United College is creating entrepreneurial and event-based Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities focused on addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, including Canada’s transition to net zero by 2050. The project will target equity-deserving students and aims to support local industry partners and host organizations through resources, training, and support.
Students can participate in a variety of WIL models that target the sustainability-focused innovation challenges of partner host organizations. Entrepreneurship WILs will support students launching their own ideas, or working in teams to build an idea for a host organization, while event-based WILs will allow students to work in teams on social impact projects, applying design thinking, ideation and applied problem-solving skills to test solutions in a real-world setting.
Changemaker Labs
United College at the University of Waterloo is a not-for-profit, post-secondary institution affiliated with the University of Waterloo. United College is the campus lead for Indigenous and social entrepreneurship education and for the past 10 years, provides specialized support through GreenHouse – a social impact incubator and national leader in youth-led social innovation and entrepreneurship. The Indigenous Entrepreneurship program at United College includes academic offerings as well as experiential learning opportunities supported by a new virtual incubator for young Indigenous entrepreneurs.
GreenHouse runs the Changemaker Labs for Green Youth program, that drives climate action by creating work-integrated learning opportunities through partnerships between small and mid-sized municipalities, and youth that are driven to take action. It is an experiential pathway to support students’ skill development and network in the green economy while providing meaningful support and action for municipal climate action.
Changemaker Labs for Green Youth will curate real-world, green innovation challenges from municipal partners in Waterloo-Wellington, Brandon and Kelowna. Students will work in multi-disciplinary teams to create and launch projects that contribute towards municipal climate goals that are found within their climate action plans and strategies.
For more information about United College, visit their website
