| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 74.30 |
| Liaison | Joséanne Bélanger-Gravel |
| Submission Date | Sept. 2, 2022 |
Polytechnique Montréal
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Joséanne
Bélanger-Gravel Sustainability Advisor Sustainable Development Office |
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Campus Engagement:
The Darlington ecological corridor is an ongoing project aimed at ecologically connecting the old and new campuses of Université de Montréal. This project is led by Alexandre Beaudoin, a biologist and biodiversity advisor at the Université de Montréal’s Sustainable Development Unit.
In the design phase, Alexandre worked with Anouk Desjardins, P.Eng., a lecturer at Polytechnique Montréal, to get the community involved.
Anouk and Alexandre devised an engineering mandate for the final year capstone project in the civil engineering program, one of the last courses of the engineering curriculum that places the student in a real-world project. Multiple Polytechnique students are working on this on-going project since 2017 and there were still involved on this project in Fall 2021.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Public Engagement?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Public Engagement:
METIS is a Technical Society of Polytechnique Montreal focused on Biomedical Engineering. Métis wishes, through the variety of its projects, to become a reference in technological and social innovation in the field of engineering. 3 main projects are being developped at Poly :
- an automated shower that would be accommodating for the patient as well as for the beneficiary attendant
- an exoskeleton to assist patients with muscular dystrophy in their daily lives.
- Métis worked in collaboration with the Centre de recherche de l’Hôpital Marie-Enfant and the CHU Sainte-Justine to design a smart wheelchair suitable for children aged 2 to 5 years.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Air & Climate?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Air & Climate:
The Sustainable Development Office hires students for various internships. In 2020, the Office recruted a student for an internship to find ways to achieve carbon neutrality at Polytechnique Montreal. The student delivered a report stating the basic concepts of cabon neutrality, a comparison with other higher education institutions in Quebec, Canada and abroad, and finally, proposed solutions using Polytechnique Montreal data. All the information of this report is taken into account to develop the carbon neutrality action plan for Polytechnique Montreal. The final report was also presented at ACFAS, a scientific conference held in 2021.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Buildings?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Buildings:
Inauguration of the Polytechnique-Alstom Station in 2019-2020. The inauguration of Station Polytechnique-Alstom, a refurbished subway car converted to a center aimed at promoting well-being and raising community awareness of mental health issues, was the culmination of three years of work, including eighteen months devoted to the conversion and installation of an MR-63 metro car in the Lorne-M.-Trottier Atrium of the Lassonde building. This unique project is the result of the initiative of a group of students, gathered under the Station Polytechnique committee, which received the support of Polytechnique Montréal and financial support from Alstom. Besides the longlasting effect on the community wellbeing, this project was a great opportunity to use the skills learned in class from structural behavior to project management, this project gave the students a solid work experience within the walls of the institution. Also, the project puts emphasis on the benefits of having dedicated spaces for well-being in a work environment or an education institution.
https://www.stationpolytechnique.com/
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Energy?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Energy:
The Sustainable Development Office hires students for various internships. In 2020, the Office recruted a student for an internship to find ways to achieve carbon neutrality at Polytechnique Montreal. The student delivered a report stating the basics concepts of cabon neutrality, a comparison with other higher education institutions in Quebec, Canada and abroad, and finally, proposed solutions using Polytechnique Montreal data. All the information of this report is taken into account to develop the carbon neutrality action plan for Polytechnique Montreal. Furthermore, this report explicits solutions regarding Scopes 1 and 2, related to energy production and consumption. Some of those are integrated in the Campus Development Plans.
Moreover, chemical engineering students in the last year of their curriculum are doing a capstone project: Design of a lithium hydroxide production plant for new generation batteries.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Food & Dining?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Food & Dining:
The Food & Dining signage project for the hot table menu is a common project of the Food & Dining services (called ASAP), the Sustainable Development Office, the Undergraduate student association, the student comittee called Polycarbone and the CIRAIG (internationally-recognized life cycle expertise and research centre). The LCAs were performed by a graduate student at CIRAIG and Polycarbone designed the communication tools. The project is to help Polytechnique's community to understand the impact of a chosen meal on greenhouses gas emissions and to make a more advised choice when choosing a meal. Being aware of the impact of the meal taken can have a huge impact on the behavior of the community, even outside Polytechnique Montreal. At the same time, it also helps ASAP Food & Dining Services to continue in improving low-carbon food, meals, and snack offerings based on vegan, vegetarian, and local products.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Grounds?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Grounds:
Every year, in the Sustainable Developement for engineers course (DDI8001), the lecturer asks the students to think about a sustainable project or a project to improve sustainability on campus. Many students choose to think about ways to integrate urban agriculture on the little land that Polytechnique has to offer (one team chose this project during the winter of 2019, trying to develop a small parcel on the green roof). Although until now, no proposals have been turned into real projects, it is interesting to see how urban agriculture and land use interest many within the Polytechnique community.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Purchasing?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Purchasing:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Transportation?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Transportation:
Students from the 3rd year of the Civil Engineering curriculum have to desgin and develop a Sustainable Mobility Plan as a part of their yearly Integrator Project.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Waste?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Waste:
Various projets can be identified, here are a few examples :
Project Injection Molding : design of injection molding equipment as a solution to reuse residual 3D printing waste from PolyFab Normand Brais. This project was funded in part by the Fonds pour des initiatives durables (Sustainable initiatives Fund).
Poly AI project : automated sorting for better waste sorting using artificial intelligence. Items from Polytechnique cafeteria and other vending points were used for the machine learning process. Multiple tests were done. The machine is intended to be used an awareness and information tool for Polytechnique community. This project was funded in part by the Fonds pour des initiatives durables (Sustainable initiatives Fund).
Réparons Poly : Weekly electronic device repair workshop for the Polytechnique community. This project was funded in part by the Fonds pour des initiatives durables (Sustainable initiatives Fund). https://www.polymtl.ca/durable/fid-2019-reparons-poly
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Water?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Water:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Coordination & Planning:
The Sustainable Development Office hires students for various internships. In the Winter 2021 semester, a student was hired to improve and automate the reporting process by developing methodologies to improve data processing and automate the calculation of multiple indicators essential to sustainability assessment. In the end, the methodologies and tools developed were useful for 10 different indicators.
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Diversity & Affordability:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Investment & Finance:
Is the institution utilizing its infrastructure and operations as a living laboratory for applied student learning for sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work?:
A brief description of the projects and how they contribute to understanding or advancing sustainability in relation to Wellbeing & Work:
Inauguration of the Polytechnique-Alstom Station in 2019-2020. The inauguration of Station Polytechnique-Alstom, a refurbished subway car converted to a center aimed at promoting well-being and raising community awareness of mental health issues, was the culmination of three years of work, including eighteen months devoted to the conversion and installation of an MR-63 metro car in the Lorne-M.-Trottier Atrium of the Lassonde building. This unique project is the result of the initiative of a group of students, gathered under the Station Polytechnique committee, which received the support of Polytechnique Montréal and financial support from Alstom. Besides the longlasting effect on the community wellbeing, this project was a great opportunity to use the skills learned in class from structural behavior to project management, this project gave the students a solid work experience within the walls of the institution. Also, the project puts emphasis on the benefits of having dedicated spaces for well-being in a work environment or an education institution.
https://www.stationpolytechnique.com/
Website URL where information about the institution’s living laboratory program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.