REGINA — For almost 24 intense hours, downtown Regina became a living classroom as University of Regina students raced against the clock to tackle one of the city’s most pressing questions: how to reimagine the downtown core for the people who live, work and visit there.
The Innovation Challenge brought together 30 students across six interdisciplinary teams for a fast-paced competition led by the Hill Levene School of Business in partnership with the Graduate Advanced Training and Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of Regina. Many participants met for the first time on Friday afternoon. By Saturday evening, they were pitching fully developed solutions to community judges with $5,500 in scholarships on the line.
The event was supported by community partners Harvard Developments and the Regina Public Interest Research Group (RPRIG), reflecting how local organizations are coming together to back student-led ideas aimed at strengthening downtown Regina.
The challenge asked teams to confront downtown Regina’s realities head-on, exploring how entrepreneurship, technology, and placemaking could strengthen economic activity, improve community well-being, and make the city core more vibrant and accessible.
“This is about more than a competition,” Jordan Wall, Associate Director at the Hill Levene School of Business, explained. “It’s about putting students in real environments, with real challenges, and asking them to work together the way they would in the real world.”
The event unfolded at Mosaic Tower in Hill Centre III, beginning with an opening reception and panel discussion featuring local leaders who outlined both the opportunities and obstacles shaping downtown Regina. Students then broke into teams for extended work sessions that stretched late into the night, returning Saturday morning to refine their ideas with guidance from mentors and industry experts.
Wall noted that hosting the challenge downtown was a deliberate choice.
“When we ran a similar event in 2023, it was on campus,” he said. “This time, we wanted students to see the city up close. Being downtown, especially during a busy winter weekend, changed how they understood the problems and the possibilities.”
Judges from Regina’s business and innovation community, including representatives from Cultivator, Deloitte, and Regina city council, evaluated each proposal based on creativity, feasibility, and long-term impact. By Saturday afternoon, all six teams delivered final pitches ranging from policy ideas to community-focused digital platforms.
Dr. Erin Oldford, Dean of the Hill Levene School of Business, emphasized that the strongest ideas emerged from collaboration across disciplines.
“Interdisciplinary teamwork is the secret sauce,” Oldford said. “That is real life. When people with different backgrounds and perspectives come together, you get richer, more creative solutions. What we saw here was the power of people working toward something that truly matters for our city.”
Top honours went to Team Six, whose winning proposal tackled a problem the students said felt personal: a lack of awareness about what is happening downtown, particularly among younger residents.
“We realized awareness was the real barrier,” one team member explained before the winners were announced. “If people do not know what is happening or how to get there, they are not going to engage. Our solution focuses on meeting young people where they already are and giving them one clear place to see what’s going on downtown.”
Their concept combined targeted advertising, youth ambassadors, and a centralized digital hub designed to showcase events, venues, and transportation options in one place.
After being named the winners, the team reflected that the result was earned through long hours and careful focus on defining the problem before chasing solutions.
“We spent a lot of time figuring out what really needed to be solved,” one member shared. “Once we had that clarity, the solution came together. The win feels good because it was earned as a team.”
Beyond the scholarships, organizers say the Innovation Challenge is designed to plant seeds that could grow into real-world initiatives.
“The goal is not just ideas on slides,” Wall said. “It’s whether some of these concepts can move forward with community partners and help shape the future of Regina.”
The event wrapped up with networking and closing remarks, as organizers confirmed plans to bring the challenge back in the future with refinements based on participant feedback.
For Oldford, the weekend offered a clear picture of what innovation can look like when education and community align.
“This is creativity, hard work, and civic pride all coming together,” she said. “It’s exciting to see students step up and take ownership of the future of this city.”
