Our project began with a blend of nervousness, uncertainty, and excitement. Starting something new with unfamiliar faces can feel daunting, but once we learned more about each other, we slowly started to uncover what our team is about—four driven individuals passionate about engineering and making a positive impact in our community.
Our first sprint was about building momentum, so we began by meeting with our community members to guide us, brainstorming ideas, and conducting research by reaching out to students and professors in our UVic community. Conversations with students, faculty, and professors gave us valuable insights and a deeper understanding of how we could create social impact.
After our first meeting with our mentor, we were filled with both a sense of potential and the realization that there was a lot of work ahead. We found that our desire to support the neurodiverse community at UVic was shared, and with four months of focused effort, we believed we could create something truly impactful.
As we researched neurodiversity in academia and got to know one another better, we found our rhythm and began to understand the problem. We had many conversations about where to focus our energy, shared our hopes and concerns, and mapped out the next steps. By this point, we had grown comfortable as a team and started to recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses, both individually and collectively.
Through design thinking and requirements engineering, we developed a clear plan to maximize our four months of work. As we approached our first sprint, we felt proud of our progress—going from nothing to something tangible—but also very aware of the challenges and development still ahead of us. Our next challenge for the next sprint is refining our scope, as it’s difficult to meet the needs of all students, and focusing on a specific group may be more beneficial. With the incredible support of our community partners, mentors, and leaders like Kezia and Dana, we’re confident in our ability to drive meaningful change for our community.