Concordia University
AC-4: Applied Learning

Sustainability Living Lab Funding Program: Each year $80,000 is available to  support teams of students, faculty and/or staff in advancing applied projects that align with the university’s 5-year Sustainability Action Plan; it is an essential element that ties together key objectives of the Sustainability Action Plan. The aims of this funding opportunity are to: (a) Provide experiential learning through internships, classroom projects and project implementation and learning outcomes; (b) Provide hands-on learning activities through leadership opportunities in event coordination & programming, workshops, employment and varied forms of engagement opportunities; (c) Foster cross-disciplinary partnerships between faculty, staff and students for the purpose of utilising our campus and communities to incubate innovative solutions to sustainability challenges; and (d Empower community members to propose and implement projects that improve the sustainability of campus operations, foster community, and build thrivable new futures. The program is currently on pause pending exploration of additional funding sources and ownership.

Climate Action Plan: The Climate Action Plan is being advanced partly through research partnerships with the PhD students in the Next-Generation Cities Institute at Concordia. Eight projects have been funded by the university, focussing on campus energy management; renewable energy integration; and electric mobility. Results will be used for planning purposes as we enter the next phase of our Climate Action Plan.

Volt-Age: Volt-Age is a transformative research program to redefine electrification, smart buildings and net-zero communities. Supported financially through a Canada First Research Excellence Fund, it pioneers carbon-neutral solutions through integrated research in building technology, energy storage, smart grids, and transportation electrification while prioritizing affordability, equity, and societal well-being. In February 2024, Volt-Age funded a new project entitled "Concordia Living Lab of Loyola Campus: Decarbonisation and operational optimisation of a community energy system". 

Student Sustainability Ambassadors Program: The Sustainability Ambassadors Program (SAP) provides students with leadership experience, engagement opportunities, skills, and competencies that support a culture of sustainability on campus.  Students connect with a nexus of changemakers to design and implement projects that inspire peers to take sustainable action. The 20-30 selected candidates commit to an 8-month engagement period starting from September to April. Students in the program are eligible to claim credit for the LOYC 420 "Integrative project" course offered through the Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability to students from all four Faculties.

GEOG 301 The Sustainable University Campus: Offered through the department of Geography, Planning, and Environment, GEOG 301 explores and contributes to building a more sustainable campus community. It is designed to support Concordia’s commitment to sustainability while providing students with an applied learning experience. Students gain experience in planning and implementing interdisciplinary research projects using a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques. They learn about participatory action research, the application of sustainability concepts in a living and learning organization, and work in teams to develop creative and actionable projects that contribute to moving the University in a more sustainable direction. The course uses lectures, guest speakers, workshops, and project work as learning tools. The course is not being offered this year.

Office of Sustainability projects: The Office of Sustainability often employs interns and/or partners with faculty on classroom projects. This year, we are partnering with three separate courses in the Biology and Ecology programs to use the campus grounds, gardens, and trees in their curriculum: (a) BIOL 226 Biodiversity and Ecology; (b) BIOL 398: Ecology of Urban Environments; (c) ESTU 642  – Selected Topics in Educational Problems: Alternative Environmental Education in the Context of Climate Emergency.

Sustainability Living Lab Funding Program: The application process includes a requirement to indicate which quantitative and qualitative metrics the project leads will use to measure the success of the project, which must correspond with one or more goals, targets or strategies of the Sustainability Action Plan. The final report requires reporting on those same metrics.

Climate Action Plan: The students funded to perform research related to campus energy management, renewable energy integration, and electric mobility report back to the Climate Action Plan Taskforce. 

Volt-Age: The project will provide simulation models, system requirements and preliminary research on finance and local regulations, which will help the university execute the transition to a more sustainable community energy system.  

Student Sustainability Ambassadors Program: All students are required to undergo a reflection exercise and quiz at the beginning of the program and at the end of the program to articulate what is learned through their participation. This includes sustainability knowledge, leadership, teamwork, and engagement.

GEOG 301 The Sustainable University Campus: This is a graded course requiring completion of a project and accompanying report or presentation.

Office of Sustainability projects: When partnering with a faculty member on a course project, the project is part of the students' grade and is accompanied by a report or presentation. When we host interns, we make use of the Office of Experiential Learning's reflection exercises at the beginning, mid-point, and end of the internship.

Sustainability Living Lab Funding Program: The SLLFP webpage includes a list and description of all projects funded through the program. 

Climate Action Plan: Project descriptions are included in our Climate Action Plan progress dashboard.

Volt-Age: The SLLFP webpage includes a list and description of all projects funded through the program, including the "Concordia Living Lab of Loyola Campus: Decarbonisation and operational optimisation of a community energy system" project.

Student Sustainability Ambassadors Program: The SSAP webpage includes a full list of applied projects completed through the program.

GEOG 301 The Sustainable University Campus: There is no repository for completed, current, or prospective applied learning projects through this course.

Office of Sustainability projects: There is no repository for completed, current, or prospective applied learning projects through the Office of Sustainability.

ADDITIONAL NOTE ABOUT OUR EL DATABASE: Concordia has an Experiential Learning database that is regularly updated with a list of courses across the university that provide applied learning opportunities. Students have the option to type a keyword while performing their search, such as "sustainable" or "sustainability" or "climate".

https://www.concordia.ca/sustainability/living-lab/living-lab-funding-program.html

https://www.concordia.ca/sustainability/about/action-plan/progress-updates/climate.html

https://www.concordia.ca/research/volt-age/initiatives/concordia-living-lab-loyola-campus.html

https://www.concordia.ca/sustainability/get-involved/student-ambassadors/projects.html

https://www.concordia.ca/academics/undergraduate/calendar/current/section-31-faculty-of-arts-and-science/section-31-130-department-of-geography-planning-and-environment/geography-planning-and-environment-courses.html