CCTH 3000Y: Interdisciplinary Studies Capstone

Dr. Joel Baetz

Imagine a group of students, from all different disciplines, coming together to use their knowledge and experience to tackle a common issue in the community. Each student brings their own perspective and their own knowledge to the table to make the team better. That is the mission of this third year Communications and Critical Thinking capstone course. This is the second year that this hands-on course offering has been available at the Durham campus, expanding each year on a different topic of priority to the Durham Region.

“The capstone course is designed to help students see how the skills that they've learned throughout their university career are transferable and valuable. They get to develop, refine, and put into practice all the wonderful and potent ways that they've learned to problem solve, think critically, and communicate, while working on an important project for our community.”

After the success of last year’s achievements in the capstone course, with students tackling the topic of storm water management in the local community, this year’s cohort of students took on the large task of assessing the vulnerability of the region’s food system in the event of an environmental crisis. The group determined that the best way to tackle the issue was to go out into the community and speak with representatives from important sectors, carrying out over 25 interviews across the community, that provided the group with enough info to collaborate on a 40 page report that assessed vulnerabilities and made recommendations to better the food system in the event of a climate-related crisis.

“I'm incredibly proud of the quantity and quality of the work that the students did -- and so was the Region,” says prof. Baetz. “Its Food Security Task Force has indicated that it will use the report to shape its future development of the climate adaptation plan.”

"I really enjoyed my experience working on the capstone course,” says Communications & Critical Thinking student Rayna Porter when reflecting upon her experience with the course. “This course was an excellent opportunity to conduct research interviews, creatively collaborate with other students, and connect with community partners in the Durham region. Utilizing the skills I have developed through my education at Trent Durham-GTA to work on community initiatives was incredibly rewarding."

Learn more about the Communications & Critical Thinking program at Trent University Durham GTA.