Mohawk College Community Project in Partnership with CityHousing Hamilton

How might we provide excellent student learning opportunities while providing cost-effective renovations to CityHousing units to meet the community need?

Project Description: While there is high demand for subsidized housing in Hamilton, CityHousing Hamilton has units that are not lived in because they need costly renovations and updates.

Students in their third year of the Building Technician Renovation Program at Mohawk College, are continuing their collaboration with CityHousing Hamilton to renovate city housing units that are unsuitable for use until renovations are complete.

City Staff: Brian Kinaschuk (Manager of Operations, CityHousing)

Faculty, Course, & Students: Brad MacDonald Mohawk College, Building Renovation (65 Students)

Enhancing Wi-Fi at the Hamilton Public Library

How can we improve the wireless guest network at all HPL branches to further enable member access to online resources?

Project Description: HPL provides free Internet access at all branches via their wireless guest network (HPL_Guest), enabling members to use online resources and the Internet with their own wireless-enabled equipment.

Library members depend on this free access to the Internet; we want to know how this service can be improved across the system.

Challenge Summary: Research Hamilton Public Library’s public Wi-Fi service across all branches, including public spaces and bookmobiles. Examine the service in terms of coverage, signal strength, capacity and user experience. Report on findings and provide recommendations to improve the service across all branches and public spaces.

City Staff: Sukh Jatana, Hamilton Public Library

Faculty, Course, & Students: Lisa Pegg, Mohawk College, Business Analysis - 334 (~3 students)

Group two:

Analyze WiFi coverage, signal strength, capacity, Terms and Conditions

Students: Andrea Thomas, Alex Hubling, Mishal Kella, Rachel Kolenko, Inja Yun

Group four:

Providing recommendations to improve the public Wi-Fi service at HPL

Students: Amna Sadiq, Avi Khurana, Luz Mejia Sierra, Tam Truong, Tina Vineham, Ogochukwu Assams

Group five:

Enhance Wi-Fi UX: Research current problems. provide solutions.

Students: Foluke Raji, Mohammed Sinaj Kalathil, Maigreth Lacouture-Diaz, Khushi Apurvakumar Shah, Yash Mukesh Makwana

Goals: This project will give HPL a clear understanding of the HPL public Wi-Fi network in terms of coverage, signal strength, capacity, connectivity and user experience, noting inconsistencies and opportunities for improvement.

Deliverables: The final report will describe HPL’s public Wi-Fi network across all branches in terms of coverage, signal strength, capacity, connectivity and user experience, noting inconsistencies and opportunities for improvement. The report may include maps, diagrams and tables to ensure it is easy to read and understand.

Project Agreement

Vanier Towers Data Analysis

How can we use data to identify needs and solutions in a neighbourhood facing high rates of poverty?

Project Description:

Vanier Towers faces significantly poorer health outcomes than other areas in Hamilton. Tenants at these two buildings report higher rates of poverty, mental health issues, physical health issues, and addictions, than the average citizen in the City. A hub of services was implemented in 2017, to bring support and programs to the towers to address the social and health needs of this community. Partners include: Wesley (meals, recreation/social activities, mental health support), tenant led groups (peer support, art programming, social activities), Shelter Health Network (doctors drop-in hours on site), St. Josephs social worker (mental health and addictions support), OW, ODSP, Home Management, Tenant Support Workers (address issues putting tenancies at risk). The hub continues to develop according to tenant and community partner feedback. Evaluation and assessment of the hub is complex and ongoing. Since the spring of 2019, community partners for Vanier Towers have been entering data from their interactions with tenants using a Google Form. This project aims to analyze and enrich the current data to identify trends, gaps, and potential solutions.

City Staff: Kelly Coxson, CityHousing

Faculty, Course & Students: Steven Way, Mohawk College, Capstone Project (Analytics for Business Decision Making Program)

Goal: It is hoped that the data analysis plan will help with the following:

• Improved data collection/analysis process so information can be analyzed using defined time periods (ex. monthly or quarterly).

• Improved data collection/analysis process so information on referrals between hub partners is clearer.

Deliverables:

• Written reports on data collection and analysis improvement suggestions, and data analysis visualizations (10 to 20 pages)

• Presentation of analysis (30 min)

View Project Agreement