Large-scale information maps relevant to complex problem areas selected by Systemic Design students in OCAD University's SFI MDes program
This online session on October 9, 2025, starting at 6:30pm ET, offers a reflection on the history of the sLab (Strategic Innovation Lab) at OCADU. We’ll discuss the potential for its renewal in the context of a vibrant systems thinking and design community, both locally and nationally.
sLab, at OCADU, was host to an active community of students, alumni, faculty, and stakeholders from 2002 to 2020. In this time, it produced notable projects such as Digital Governance, Economic Futures of Ontario 2032, Design Jams, amongst others. These projects and workshops used many strategic foresight methods, which have since become more well-known.
In this discussion, Greg Van Alystyne (co-founder of sLab) and Peter Scott (former graduate research assistant at sLab, OCAD U faculty in entrepreneurship & social innovation) reflect on the history and achievements of sLab, while exploring the relevance and opportunities of the lab in today’s systems thinking and design community context.
The session will be hosted by Zaid Khan, graduate of Strategic Foresight and Innovation at OCADU (2020) and co-organizer of Systems Thinking Ontario.
See the full announcement at https://wiki.st-on.org/2025-10-09. Enter the Zoom lobby at https://events.zoom.us/e/view/L2wspEN3S2GDY0JZNuSW6A
"Tracing sLab’s journey, and reinvigoration for the systemic design community" with Greg Van Alstyne and Peter Scott has a fuller description at
https://events.zoom.us/ejl/AlyJFDY6qS5yIce65LF68CEGUVw8Qnuj89S4LEEvVsQnTBYw9XN0~A9nXKd7tN0aQoXC5-BZIXE9TkPrZ2yze9-XoVvPYhk6D3eSOEi-an6TOci-btybJ3Ad--VjxWKWX8mDXY2c4-pMWVevY7EPoi2ZPE-H0y37MV2wBDhK4vu-8nBcJhegW5Kq2TL7-n19clIdlCcu09RCq-ReWw9qCmeSG4hsUa-aqf7e1BYb7wFxiWG-yzeH9m4RaG8h3sPe-UdZFypuV2wypPPId-DRqYvqBkpdZZvd2p-5c7smt9YupIEShTh
Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab)
OCAD University
100 McCaul Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5T 1W1
sLab is a centre for design research, innovation and strategic foresight at OCAD. Except where otherwise noted, content on slab.ocadu.ca is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Canada License.
