CityLAB is an innovation program partnership between the City of Hamilton, Mohawk College, McMaster University, and Redeemer University. CityLAB brings together student, academic, and civic leaders to co-create a better Hamilton for all. CityLAB matches students and faculty with City staff to develop innovative solutions to City-identified projects that align with the City’s Strategic Priorities.

CityLAB projects take on complex challenges and experiment with new solutions, all while mentoring and engaging the next generation of leaders. Through this collaboration, CityLAB will not only deliver co-created solutions that support the City’s Strategic Priorities, it will also provide a rich experiential learning environment for students and city staff alike. Together we unite to deliver a better Hamilton for all.

Semester in Residence (SIR) at CityLAB is an experiential opportunity that allows McMaster and Redeemer students to work alongside local community organizations and City of Hamilton staff on real change-making projects to address social and political issues in Hamilton. The program, hosted at the CityLAB Hamilton Innovation Hub (58 Jackson Street West, beside City Hall) aims to build students’ capacity in leadership, community engagement, project management, and design thinking. The SIR program consists of two academic courses (CMTYENGA 4A06 and CMTYENGA 4A09) that are taken concurrently during the fall semester. The two courses are equivalent to a 15-unit academic semester. As such, for most students, the SIR courses listed above are the only courses students take while participating in the program.

Please see the ‘How will two courses adding up to 15 units fit in with my schedule/program requirements?’ section for further details.

Any undergraduate student who will be enrolled in Level III and above in the upcoming fall semester is eligible. Students from all faculties and programs may apply, and there are no prerequisites to participate. This program is open to international students as well.

Everyone! SIR is an opportunity for students of all disciplines to grow and develop their community engagement and project management skills. You don’t need prior experience in community engagement or project work. You just have to be open to listening and learning about the needs of the Hamilton community, and how to best support those impacted by the issues we address. We understand everyone has a different set of skills and experiences gained from school, work, volunteering, and life experiences, and we know each and every one of you will bring something unique to the SIR program.

If you want to:

• Make positive change,
• Explore social issues,
• Develop professional relationships,
• Build your public-speaking, communication, and active listening skills,
• And have fun…

… then SIR at CityLAB is for you!

SIR students are expected to be available in person at CityLAB during business hours, Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM. During this time, students will be attending classes at the CityLAB building in downtown Hamilton and working on their projects alongside City of Hamilton staff or local community organizations.

A more detailed breakdown of the schedule will be developed and shared before the start of the term.

Note: We recommend discussing how the SIR program will fit into your course schedule and degree requirements with your academic advisor before you apply. You can also view your advisement report in Mosaic to assess if SIR will fit into your remaining elective space.

Applications for the SIR program open in April, with a late May deadline. Once we review applications, we will let you know if you have been accepted into the program before the enrolment period for the upcoming academic year opens (by mid-June).

McMaster students accepted into the program will be provided with course permission, and will be able to register for CMTYENGA 4A06 and CMTYENGA 4A09 as usual using Mosaic after they have been accepted. Redeemer students are encouraged to meet with Kim Lammers, Registrar (klammers@redeemer.ca) to discuss available options. Redeemer students need a 7.0 cumulative GPA (70 or B-) to be eligible. If you have difficulties with the application form, please email Randy Kay, Outreach Director for Semester in Residence at kayrl@mcmaster.ca.

At present, the SIR program is only offered in the fall term (September to December). If you’re looking for a similar experience, consider CMTYENGA 4B06 / INSPIRE 4B06:Urban Innovation and Policy with CityLAB, which is typically offered in-person during the Intersession term in May (6 units). Please consult Mosaic to see if the course is being offered.

City of Hamilton staff and local community organizations submit a broad range of projects and challenges for students to work on throughout the year. We work with City staff, community partners, and faculty to scope out appropriate projects for the SIR program, and a final list of approved projects will be presented in early September. The projects will be co-created between City staff, community leaders, faculty members, and students, so they will change depending on specific interests. All projects will align with the City of Hamilton’s Strategic Priorities.

Here’s a link to past projects and final reports.

CityLAB SIR students are assigned to projects by the instructional team based on skills, interests, and to ensure interdisciplinary teams.

Planning ahead is a great idea, but the permission phase only happens as part of the application process. You will have to wait until the year you apply for the permissions process to activate.

No, participation in the SIR program does not involve living in a specific residence! “Semester in Residence” simply refers to the idea that you will be spending the whole fall semester participating in the program. Currently, SIR classes take place in downtown Hamilton in the CityLAB Innovation Hub, right beside City Hall at 58 Jackson Street West.

The SIR classroom space is located in downtown Hamilton at 58 Jackson Street West. There is access to an elevator and accessible washrooms.

Each semester, the SIR program also organizes field trips to various parts of the city. If you require accommodations, these can be made in collaboration with SIR faculty and staff.

For further questions regarding accessibility, please contact our Instructional Coordinator, Randy Kay, at kayrl@mcmaster.ca.

CMTYENGA 4B06 / INSPIRE 4B06:Urban Innovation and Policy with CityLAB is a distinct but similar course to SIR at CityLAB. INSPIRE 4B06 is offered in-person during the Intersession term  in May (6 units), while SIR takes up the entirety of the fall semester (15 units). Students can expect similar themes across both CMTYENGA 4B06 / INSPIRE 4B06 and SIR at CityLAB but SIR is a longer, more intensive program.

Please consult Mosaic to see whether CMTYENGA 4B06 is being offered.

For more information about INSPIRE 4B06 visit the McMaster Intersession Webpage. If you have questions about which course would be a better fit for you, please contact: Sarah Whitwell (Educational Developer, Office of Community Engagement) at whitwese@mcmaster.ca

The SIR program consists of two academic courses (CMTYENGA 4A06 and CMTYENGA 4A09) that are taken concurrently during the fall semester. The two courses are equivalent to a 15-unit academic semester.

The SIR courses are meant to be immersive experiences and will not necessarily fit everyone’s program requirements. Depending on your program, you may be able to use all or part of the credits towards your degree requirements. You should discuss how SIR will fit into your degree requirements with your faculty’s academic advisor. We recommend doing so before you apply.

CMTYENGA 4A06 / CMTYENGA 4A09 cannot be taken as standalone courses; they must be taken together as a full 15-units as part of the broader SIR program.

Overloading is possible, however, it is not recommended since the workload for the 15 units is equivalent to a full course load and can be intensive and demanding. If you want to overload, you can check with your program for approval should you wish to add a course.

Some faculties and programs allow students to use their participation in the SIR program to fulfill the thesis requirement for their degree. If you are interested in this, consult your academic advisor to see if this is possible in your program.

There is a course outline, which is often updated after each semester. The course outline will include grading. In general, all individual and group assignments/projects that you complete during the semester will receive a grade; all of these grades then contribute to your SIR grade.

View previous course outlines.

Our core teaching team is made up of an interdisciplinary team of educators:

• Dialogue Instructor – Darina Vasek; vasekd@mcmaster.ca
• Design Instructor – Elizabeth Bang; bange@mcmaster.ca
• Project Management Instructor – Rachel Johnson; johnsr79@mcmaster.ca
• CityBuilding 101 – Randy Kay; kayrl@mcmaster.ca

You have some time to enroll since you are already approved to join the SIR. You can enroll any time before the start of term.

If you’ve been approved, register for both courses at the same time, for a total 15 units. If you only register for one of the courses at a time you won’t be able to enroll.