SFU Change Lab INSTRUCTOR
Applications are now closed. Thank you for your interest.
RADIUS SFU is seeking an experienced, energetic program instructor for the Spring 2018 Semester. This position will hold primary responsibility for delivery of the Spring 2018 SFU Civic Innovation Change Lab program (a partnership of RADIUS SFU @ the Beedie School of Business, CityStudio Vancouver & SFU Centre for Dialogue) for 20 students.
The instructor will also be expected to attend several planning meetings, and shadow portions of the Fall 2017 Change Lab program, as part of preparation.
DURATION
Sept. 2017 – April 30th, 2018.
- 3 days per week on average, for 13 week semester from January-April 2018, and
- Approx. 6 planning meetings and/or shadowing sessions in Fall 2017.
LOCATION
Spring 2018 sessions will be split between:
- CityStudio Vancouver (1800 Spyglass Place, Vancouver), and
- RADIUS SFU, Charles Chang Innovation Centre (308 W Hastings, Vancouver).
COMPENSATION
$18,000- $21,000 commensurate with experience
ABOUT THE PARTNERS
Based at the Beedie School of Business, RADIUS SFU is Simon Fraser University’s social innovation lab and venture incubator. RADIUS operates a variety of programs in support of a vibrant social entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem at SFU and in Metro Vancouver, including the Change Lab program for SFU students.
Change Lab is a full term, cross-disciplinary and experiential studio program where students work with community to understand a social problem and develop a social venture response. In Spring 2018 the program is being run in conjunction with CityStudio.
http://www.radiussfu.com/
CityStudio Vancouver is an experimentation and innovation hub for the City of Vancouver where City staff, experts and students from 6 universities and colleges co-create projects that support city programs. Since 2011, CityStudio has engaged over 3000 students, 113 faculty and 60 City of Vancouver staff, contributing 156 projects and over 75,000 hours of skills training and public sector innovation towards Vancouver’s Greenest City, Engaged City and Healthy City Strategies. These projects offer unconventional solutions to improve our city.
We are building the next generation of changemakers and active city builders. Our 10 year vision is to create City Hall in the model of a “Teaching Hospital” with universities and other cities in the practice of collaborative city building.
http://citystudiovancouver.com/
Civic Innovation Change Lab, Spring 2018
A partnership between RADIUS SFU @ the Beedie School of Business, CityStudio Vancouver & SFU Centre for Dialogue
This position is responsible for leading the Spring 2018 term of the SFU Change Lab, titled “Civic Innovation Change Lab”. Civic Innovation refers to a method that improves the lives of citizens, the functions of cities, the practice of citizenship, or the state of community affairs. This course brings together bright, innovative students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to collaborate with the City of Vancouver on civic problems and experiments.
The program relies upon an arc of learning based in Dialogue, Design Thinking, and Business Model Development, supported by knowledge of Civic Issues and Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship to allow students to become capable of producing impactful social innovations in cities. The curriculum delivery model is applied and experiential. The instructor will be responsible for delivering the core experience for the cohort throughout the term, and will be supported by supplemental modules delivered by others. Training and support will be provided.
Sessions are a mix of hands on workshops, coaching by instructors and experts, content delivery by the instructor, guest speakers, and open work time in teams to advance ideas. Participants work in teams to understand a Civic Innovation related challenge as presented by City of Vancouver staff at CityStudio, then develop and test an innovative, venture-based response. Teams will present to partner panels for feedback mid term, and be given the opportunity to connect with community and City partners and leaders to help build ideas connected to the realities of our communities, and possibly to see those ideas proceed in the real world. The experiential learning cycle is core to the course pedagogy, emphasizing iterative cycles of learning, action and reflection.
- The course runs Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:30am – 3:30pm with additional project coaching sessions Thursday afternoons from 1:30pm – 4:30pm.
- Portions of weekly studio time are open work periods for students, allowing instructors to utilize some class time for preparation and other course related work.
Term Length Challenge
The central framework for skills development and learning is a team based social venture design project, seeking to demonstrate how entrepreneurial approaches to civic challenges may unlock new possibilities. The instructor will be primarily responsible for ensuring students receive adequate and individualized project coaching for this work, but external mentors may be recruited as well.
Who we are looking for:
- Confidence with design thinking and business model development aspects of course.
- Experience as an instructor and with experience in, or keenly interested in, new ways of teaching in an experiential and studio-based environment.
- Motivated by creating impact through the learning of students, and responding to their needs. Comfortable with student energy and activity in studio environment.
- Equal parts confident, curious and collaborative.
- Highly organized, detail oriented and self-directed.
- High standard in time management, organization and communication.
- Responsible, reliable and able to work in a dynamic and creative team environment.
- Energetic, open-hearted and kind.
- Comfortable with responding quickly to changing tasks and priorities.
- Experience in Civic Innovation and/or Civic Engagement is an additional asset.
- Masters degree or higher preferred
Responsibilities and Deliverables
- Attendance at specific Fall 2017 Health Change Lab class sessions at SFU Surrey and/or RADIUS SFU to get a feel for how the program is run.
- Participate in Civic Innovation Change Lab planning sessions during fall 2017.
- Finalize design and delivery components in advance of the start of Spring 2018 Civic Innovation Change Lab.
- Deliver curricular and experiential components of program (with support from additional speakers/presenters/facilitators for certain components).
- Coach 20 students in 5 teams on social venture development projects over the term.
- Liaise with external partners to support project development, with support of CityStudio and RADIUS SFU.
- Provide 1-1 mentoring, and read and respond to individual student reflection journals.
- Assist students with preparing for public presentations of outcomes.
- Organize course documentation.
- Complete grading and feedback, with support of CityStudio and RADIUS SFU staff.
Supervision and Communications
- The Instructor will report to a RADIUS SFU team member responsible for the program.
- Communications and requests from RADIUS SFU and CityStudio staff will be given priority and responded to within a working day.
- The Instructor is expected to participate in monthly team meetings and events as feasible.
Application Details
- Please include full name and “Change Lab Instructor Application” in subject of the email and submit cover letter, teaching portfolio or examples, and resume to: tconnell@radiussfu.com
- Applications are now closed. Thank you for your interest.