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Rei Kitagawa

2025 Cohort

I found the Urban Innovation Lab to be a valuable opportunity to better understand municipal governance and how projects unfold in practice. Working in an unfamiliar environment pushed me to learn quickly and develop skills in collaboration and public presentation. The open door sessions my peers organized gave me a glimpse into parts of New Westminster I likely would not have seen otherwise, showing just how diverse the city really is. I found the ideas charrette at the end of the course to be particularly meaningful, as I got the chance to speak with numerous people from the City, and even presented to Mayor Johnstone about my project! Overall, the Lab was an enriching and memorable experience that I’d recommend to students curious about urban issues and real-world problem-solving.

Gordon Chan

2024 Cohort

The Urban Innovation Lab is one of the most practical, academically engaging experiences you will have, regardless of where you are in your academic journey. All walks of life and all experiences will contribute to the goal you are guided towards during your time within the lab. For all that it brings, it's a tough class, and you will be taking in information from all sources that are not typical of the classroom environment. The Urban Innovation Lab is the class that will teach you to read those reflections.

Angela Kim 

2025 Cohort

During Urban Innovation Lab, I was able to learn how to work with a municipality. I grew a lot as an urbanist through this course, and as a resident of New West, it was more meaningful and personal. The lab provided my team and me with the foundation to explore innovative solutions to urban problems by collaborating with various community partners. I recommend the lab to students across disciplines who would like to gain hands-on learning experience, but especially to those students who would like to experience working with local government and contributing to their communities.

Jenny Choi

2025 Cohort

This course was exciting, fun, and uncomfortable for me all at once. I was challenged by the number of times this course led me into a road block. By the end of the Lab, there were many variations of our project and I do not regret any of the mistakes that we made. The UIL was truly meaningful in that our team had the opportunity to engage with the wider community of New West. I developed the capacity to think and engage deeper with the context, the processes, and the people through an urban lens. This experience has definitely left a deep impact on how I interact with the city and think about its spaces. Also, I finally have a grasp of local politics! Despite never being a resident of New West, I now feel a deep sense of connection and pride for the community.

Taylor Sacre

2023 Cohort 

Participating in the urban innovation lab was a great learning and professional development experience. At the time, my project team was able to work with the Fire Department on topics relating to the City's Toxic Drug Response and were welcomed into their engagement processes. The practical experience learning and working alongside city staff to address and co-design solutions to real municipal issues was invaluable, and I often find myself reflecting on these skills in my current work!

Sayeh Faridtehrani 

2023 Cohort

The Urban Innovation Lab was an excellent opportunity to gain firsthand experience working with the City of New Westminster. This course provided valuable insights into how municipalities operate, including departmental responsibilities, key concerns, and how collaboration happens across different departments to address urban challenges. Among the courses I have taken in the Urban Studies program, I found this to be the most practical and engaging. It connected students directly with real-world issues and encouraged us to think critically about solutions tailored to the social and environmental context of the city. Working on projects with the City of New Westminster helped me better understand the complexities of municipal governance and the importance of interdepartmental cooperation to achieve meaningful outcomes. This course truly bridged the gap between academic learning and the realities of professional urban practice.