Town of Ajax joins CityStudio Durham

Whitby, Ontario – The Region of Durham is excited to announce that the Town of Ajax has joined CityStudio Durham—a program that pairs post-secondary students with local government to work on innovative projects that help shape the future of Durham.

The Town of Ajax has embarked on a four-month study in partnership with Durham Region and Durham College to explore the experiences of newcomer entrepreneurs. This initiative focuses on understanding their experiences to help develop an ecosystem of support.

CityStudio is a proven model of experiential education and civic engagement that encourages project collaboration between municipal staff and local post-secondary students and faculty. Regional projects are identified by matching programs and courses at post-secondary institutions to enable students to apply their skills, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit to solve municipal issues.

Last semester, through CityStudio Durham, 62 students collaborated with Durham Region staff to undertake 10 projects. Completed projects included researching the economic impact of municipal investments, barriers to accessing services for people with disabilities and impacts of COVID-19 on travel behaviour. More than 20 additional projects are underway for the winter 2021 semester.

For more information, please visit durham.ca/CityStudio.

Background

• CityStudio Durham is a collaboration between the Region of Durham, Durham Regional Police Service, Durham College, Ontario Tech University, Trent University Durham GTA and the Town of Ajax.
• By furthering connections between municipal government, academic institutions, and the local community, Durham's post-secondary students have real opportunities to apply their skills, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit to challenges facing our community to shape a better future for Durham.
• Started in Vancouver, the CityStudio model is now in 10 different municipalities across Canada including the Regional Municipality of Durham.

Quotes

“I am thrilled to have the Town of Ajax join CityStudio Durham. The alignment between our Region, municipalities and post-secondary institutions lead to a variety of opportunities that equip our young people with the knowledge they need to shoot for the stars and beyond. This unique program teaches students the inner workings of municipal government and inspires them to improve our community today, for tomorrow.” 

- John Henry, Regional Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Regional Municipality of Durham

“The Town of Ajax is keen to pursue all innovative opportunities to support our business community. CityStudio Durham is a great program to promote collaboration with students in our community. Almost 8 per cent of our population in the Town of Ajax are recent immigrants and our first CityStudio project will help us understand how we can best nurture and grow newcomer entrepreneurs.”

- Mayor Shaun Collier, Town of Ajax

- 30 -

For more information, contact Corporate Communications.