Recipients
Past Recipients
Past recipients are organized by the year below:
2025 Recipients
Building a Community of Students through Extra-Curricular and Experiential Learning
Innovators: Kerri Simich
Kerri demonstrated innovation in teaching and learning through multiple student-centered initiatives that enhance academic success and career readiness in the accounting industry. Connecting curriculum to student engagement, community building, and industry she launched an Accounting Hub offering accessible cross-campus peer tutoring, mentored the Accounting Club’s student executive in organizing industry panels and networking events, coached a case competition team at the Ontario Accounting Case Competition, and integrated a student-run tax clinic into her course. Kerri’s commitment to innovative, experiential learning exemplifies the transformative impact of faculty who connect classroom learning to real-world application and community engagement.
Enhanced Immersive Ecosystem Restoration Field Experience
Innovators: Martin Smith and Andrea Sinclair
Martin and Andrea designed and delivered a transformative, week-long immersive Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) experience for students in Niagara College’s Ecosystem Restoration program. This innovation expanded traditional fieldwork into a fully integrated, off-campus learning model that combined ecological restoration, Indigenous knowledge, and community engagement. Students collaborated with NGOs and Indigenous partners to complete real-world restoration tasks, including invasive species mapping, seed collection, and forest health assessments. This innovation has significantly enhanced student learning, employability, and community impact.
STEP Up Program
Innovators: Leah Neamtu, Scott Green, LB Brown, Aaron Russell, Jennifer Roberts, Katrina Frausel, Kellie Kirkwood, Tanya Pavelko, Lorraine Nadeau, Linda Ismailos, David Atherton, Jessica Berecz
This CICE team initiative focused on a six-week, skills-based program to serve youth aged 16+ who face learning challenges in traditional postsecondary education programs. The program, STEP UP, is an experiential program that engages participants in hands-on activities across diverse areas such as the Greenhouse, Fitness Centre, Culinary, Sustainability, and Library/ Exploratory that were modified based on the diverse learning needs of participants. These participants included Alumni who want to strengthen and apply their acquired skills, CICE Bound students, and youth who may not be pursuing CICE but are interested in exploring it. STEP UP exemplifies NC’s commitment to innovation by meeting diverse student needs in an engaging and impactful way, allowing prospective CICE students to explore the program before applying, and offering alumni meaningful paid roles.