Contests to change the world

If you're a student who's always thinking about how to improve the world around you, read on for two contests running right now that could help you make your ideas a reality.

Thinking Scaffold Design Contest
We all have ideas for the next big thing, but excuse ourselves for not acting upon them with a fear of no exposure. The Thinking Scaffold Design contest will give Fanshawe students a chance to flex their creative skills and show the world those ideas by creating scaffolds that will be viewable online.

The purpose of a scaffold is to systematically demystify complex topics and serve as a platform for discussion. "A thinking scaffold tool could be used to guide thinking about something as focused as the important elements of an essay, why leaves change colour in the fall, or for a discussion about something as complex as reflecting on climate change or how to do effective sustainable development," explained project coordinator Anne Hill.

Based off the 'Six Thinking Hats' tool founded by Edward De Bono, the Thinking Scaffold Design Contest aims to rectify problems present in the original scaffold initiative, mainly, the lack of online sharing and interaction. With the advent of this contest, improved tools and greater online frameworks will allow students to display their digital constructions for the world to see. "One of the aspects of a knowledge building/creation environment is providing scaffolds/frameworks to support thinking," said Hill. "This competition will contribute to the larger picture of knowledge creation environments."

Entries need to be usable for learning purposes, and not only be informative, but also welldesigned, in terms of information organization and pure eye candy. With very little rules to stifle creativity, outside of simply adhering to ethics and intellectual property laws, entrants will have the freedom to truly expand upon the topics of their choosing.

All big thinkers are welcome to put their skills to the test. "This competition will likely appeal to two groups of students: it will appeal to students who like coding challenges; it will also appeal to students who like to envision their "dream" learning environments," explained Hill. "I can see some collaborative design and coder teams working on this."

But what sort of purpose do these scaffolds serve?

Contest entries will be judged by members of highly respected academic faculties, including Engineers Without Borders, University of Toronto, Open Learning Initiative and, of course, Fanshawe College, among others. For a prize of $5,000 and exposure for the best entries, students should find plenty of incentive to take upon this opportunity.

Submissions must be made by May 15, and results will be announced on July 30.

For contest details/entry and scaffold examples, visit fanshawemultimedia.com/competition.

Sustainable Design Awards
'Sustainability' seems to be the new buzzword going around — it has something to do with saving the planet, right? Like recycling or making a more efficient water heater? But, of course, all that matters in the end is that it has something to do with keeping the planet up and running smoothly. Now, students can have the chance to try their hand in becoming one of those mechanics of the world, with the Sustainable Design Awards.

The Sustainable Design Awards (SDA) is an annual contest that invites students to think big, think sustainable. But what, exactly, does the word mean?

"We actually don't have one definition of sustainability, as we feel that it is a moving target and highly contextual," said Mike Lovas, founder of the Sustainable Design Awards. "As such, we are very interested in how participants from different disciplines, schools and contexts define sustainability for themselves."

A 'for students, by students' initiative encouraging students to define their own criteria for sustainability, SDA challenges participants' problem-solving and critical thinking skills. "In the past, the Awards were just open to OCAD University students, so the submissions were inherently heavy on industrial, environmental and graphic design tackling food systems, urban design and environmental campaigns." Going handin- hand with the intention of avoiding the limiting of sustainability's definition, this year's contest will be open to all postsecondary students.

Giving students the invaluable chance to interact with sustainability advocates in their fields, the contest is sure to spark creativity for a worthy cause. While participating brings in its own rewards, winning the SDA itself will grant the deserving participants a cash prize, and their project on display at the winner's show on October 17.

The SDA should encourage students to think of how the mindset of creating efficiency and sustainability can positively affect their fields in new ways. Contestants will submit a poster and write-up detailing their ideas for sustainability within their fields.

The registration deadline is April 3, and the contest submission deadline is June 2. For full details, check out sustainabledesignawards.ca.