Rethinking the Future of Housing

The 2026 Systems Innovation Challenge, in partnership with ATCO Ventures, brought together 245 students from 25 universities and colleges across Canada (with representation from all 10 Canadian provinces for the first time) in exploring the future of housing.

The challenge progressed through two stages:

1. Nurture Stage: Students deepened their understanding of systems thinking through a podcast series recorded by the Innovation North team, exploring how to approach complex, systems-level challenges. Teams submitted a visual deliverable showing how their understanding of the housing system had evolved.
2. Navigate Stage: Nine teams advanced to this stage and further explored the housing system in Canada. Each team was paired with mentors, including Ivey MSc alumni, PhD candidates, and faculty, who helped them to further refine their proposals for the final challenge of rethinking the future of homes. Teams presented their ideas at a showcase in Toronto. 

The challenge culminated in final presentations to judges from ATCO Ventures, JLL Canada, and Sysco. Four teams were recognized:

•   Holding Complexity ($5,000) – Ivey Business School Stella Tian, Sally Yan, Jolene Xu, Shaamini Gopala Krishnan, and Bridget Yucheng Huang – for surfacing unresolved tensions within the housing system rather than oversimplifying them.

•    The Overlooked Perspective ($5,000) – University of British Columbia – Rozina Khoja, Perry Lawrence, Brett Caswell, Noah Abajian, and Ishita Sharma – for highlighting voices and ways of seeing that are often absent from mainstream housing discourse.

•    The Inquiry That Changed Us – All of Us ($5,000) – University of Calgary, University of Prince Edward Island, Université de Sherbrooke Jonathan Mendez-Young, Sahiba Chaudhry, Ben Reamico, Ankitha Raj Puthenpurakkal Ranjakumar, and Yessica Kurock – for showing how deeply the work had changed their thinking.

•    Best Story Told ($5,000) – University of Waterloo Simran Singh, Mohamed Lateef, Katie Langille and Ananya Maheshwari – for mapping out a compelling story.