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Extracurricular

Student Opportunities

The NCC’s Design Challenge 2026: Student Ideas Competition for the National Capital Region is now live. The study site is the Ottawa River shoreline in Gatineau, Quebec. The competition is open to university and college students in urban planning/ urbanism, landscape architecture, architecture, urban design, fine arts, engineering and other related design programs. Registration and all relevant planning and policy documents are available through the competition webpage. Participation is free and the deadline for registration is January 23, 2026. Submissions are due on March 23, 2026. The winning team (maximum 4 people per team) will be invited to present their ideas at a public Urbanism Lab event in Ottawa on April 29, 2026.

Kaira Looro is the most important and influential architecture competition in the world, open to students and young architects, with the aim of discovering new talents and adopting sustainable architecture models for humanitarian purposes, to improve living conditions in developing countries. The winners, selected by an international jury composed of the best architects in the world, receive prestigious awards. We seek an architecture that goes beyond mere construction, one that restores dignity, strengthens identity and rights, and reflects the universal values of solidarity and shared humanity. Early registration opens January 8 and closes February 28.
Submissions due June 7, 2026!

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and Vancouver’s Bomber Brewing have launched a label design competition, themed "Architecture Connects Us," inviting the public, architects, and designers to create a label for a limited-edition lager for the RAIC 2026 Conference; the winning design will be printed on cans and the designer will receive an all-access conference pass valued at $2,000, with submissions due by January 31, 2026!

Scholarships offering a reduced participation fee of EUR 890, including accommodation and full program access, are available for master’s-level students in built-environment fields who demonstrate academic excellence, English proficiency, relevant experience, and financial need; eligible applicants must apply by April 30, mentioning their partner institution and submitting a motivation statement.

Calling all Architecture Students! The Canadian Architecture Student Association (CASA-ACÉA) would like to celebrate the excellence of Canadian architecture students from across the country with an open call to submit work to the 2026 Student Work Showcase. The work will be displayed at the 2026 RAIC Conference in May in Vancouver and nationally across CASA-ACÉA media to continue our efforts to profile student work to professionals, potential employers, peers, and the public. Deadline: April 1.

Are you a student, graduate, intern or emerging architect focused on making your mark in Canadian architecture? Apply for the RAIC Foundation’s 2026 Scholarships and Bursaries and receive recognition and monetary support for your outstanding work.

In 2026, the Foundation will be awarding 13 different scholarships, bursaries and grants worth a total amount of more than $80,000 to be distributed to 24 recipients!

Same competition – new name.

The International VELUX Award for students of architecture is relaunched as Light of Tomorrow by VELUX for the 2026 edition of the competition and award!

Kickstart your journey – REGISTER NOW

Begin your journey by downloading the Award Brief

To receive updates and notifications, registration details, and key dates for the 2026 edition – sign up for our newsletter.

Get inspired by browsing the 2024 projects and previous winners:

• The winning projects 2024
• All projects 2024

About Light of Tomorrow by VELUX 2026

The competition and award challenges students to explore the theme of daylight – to create a deeper understanding of this ever-relevant source of energy, light, and life.

Submit your furniture design projects by Feb. 27, 2026, for your chance to win a trip to join Formica Corporation at NeoCon 2026 and a cash prize!

Formica Corporation invites architecture and design students to submit a furniture design embodying the theme “mood-boosting design”.

As expressive, meaningful and mood-boosting spaces are on the rise, Formica Corporation is inviting students to answer the call and create furniture pieces that inspire, emotionally uplift and spark joy. This can come to life, for example, with bold colors, unexpected color combinations, layered textures — all elements that can be achieved by experimenting with optical and physical textures across Formica Corporation’s product range. Pieces can be used for any residential and commercial setting and must incorporate at least three or more Formica® Brand and/or FENIX® products.

Critical intervention into the urban field requires first recognizing the contested spatial and institutional power dynamics that drive today’s urban and bio-regional crises. The 2026 Lyceum Fellowship competition asks participants to first expose and visualize a particular conflict—reflecting on the requisite political, economic, social, and spatial processes—then design the conditions to tackle this conflict.

Design Unlimited is thrilled to share the newly announced international architecture competition: Mass Timber Innovation and Design Center of Canada (Vancouver). We’re reaching out to see if you’d like to integrate it as a Spring 2026 studio project for your undergraduate and/or graduate semester.

Set in Stanley Park, the project challenges students to envision a habitat-sensitive, high-performance campus that advances mass-timber innovation through design research, prototyping, and public exhibition—woven into the park’s meadows, forest, and trail network.

External Events & Opportunities

The University of Waterloo’s Climate Institute is hosting a virtual National Forum “Designing Climate-Ready Education for the Next Generation of Professionals”. This online forum will explore what knowledge and skills students need most, and how we can teach in ways that cultivate hope, agency, and purposeful learning. 

Register for the full four-day virtual conference, then drop into the sessions that interest you—on your schedule.

There is a code for free student tickets, "BEAT_STUDENT". Be sure to complete the questionnaire at the end regarding institution affiliation.

SSAC 2026: Call for Sessions

Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada – 51st Annual Conference 
Saint John (New Brunswick) 
May 27–30, 2026 
Theme: Open Fields / Champs libres

For its 51st annual conference, the Society for the Study of Architecture in Canada will gather in the beautiful city of Saint John, New Brunswick. The conference will take place from May 27 to 30, 2026.

Building on the stimulating experience of the 50th anniversary conference in Ottawa, SSAC is once again proposing an edition without a prescribed theme. Under the title Open Fields, SSAC aims to offer a space open to the plurality of approaches, subjects of study, and methodologies that nourish research on the built environment in Canada.

TMU Programming

Check out TMU's Wellbeing Central - a one-stop website for wellbeing resources for TMU students, staff, and faculty.

From January 12 - 30, TMU is participating in the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey (CCWS). Your wellbeing has an effect on your post-secondary experience at TMU and it is a significant priority for TMU. Your participation is important as it will provide crucial feedback to TMU about your experiences, and will help shape the programs, services and initiatives that support you and other students to succeed at TMU and beyond. The survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete, and you are only eligible to participate if you are currently enrolled at TMU as an undergraduate, graduate or continuing education student. We are seeking participation from 25,000 students! In appreciation for participating, we will enter all students who participate in the survey into a draw to win one of more than 25 great prizes!

The Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey (CCWS) is a national survey that is coordinated by the University of British Columbia. More information about the CCWS is at https://www.ccws-becc.ca. If you have any questions about this project at TMU or how we plan to use the results, please contact Community Wellbeing at cwstaff@torontomu.ca

Winter Grad Photo dates have just been added for TMU graduates!
 
You must have your photo taken by Lassman Studios Photography to appear in your respective Graduating Class Composite.
 
All Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 graduates are eligible for a free class composite from the TMSU (formerly RSU).
Available for pick up at your convocation ceremony and at the TMSU starting in June 2026!
 
Click here book your appointment:
 
You can also book by following these 2 easy steps:
 
1. visit     https://www.lassmanstudios.com/dcs_sched/
 
2. enter      tmu26     in the school ID to access the schedules.
 
Find a time that is convenient for you and book it.

Both Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 are welcome to attend the sessions.  New sessions get added weekly as the schedules fill up so please check back to the site if you cannot find an appointment that works with your schedule. 

Questions? Contact info@yourtmsu.ca or questions@lassmanstudios.com

Grad Photos and Class Composites are a service of the Toronto Metropolitan Students' Union in Partnership with Lassman Studios.

By promoting community standards of respect, civility and safety, TMU Student Care supports students in distress and those in need of personal support. Students, faculty and staff can contact the office by email studentcare@torontomu.ca.

Students in need of counselling may contact the Centre for Student Development and Counselling, at csdc@torontomu.ca. Indicate “Architecture” in the subject line for prioritized appointments.

If you are in distress and need immediate assistance, please reach out to: The Gerstein Centre 24/7 Distress Line, a free, confidential support line for anyone experiencing an emotional crisis and needing immediate assistance:  416-929-5200; or Good 2 Talk, a free, confidential counselling support line specifically for post-secondary school students:  1-866-925-5454

If you are concerned about your own safety or the safety of a TMU community member, please contact TMU Community Safety and Security at: 416-979-5040, security@torontomu.ca, or for emergencies, please call 911.

Give today and help unlock opportunities for students who need it most. The ripple effect starts with you—let’s open more doors together: https://ow.ly/qM4o50Xt7a6

Your gift today helps students overcome barriers, dream bigger and do more. Let’s open more doors together and keep the ripple effect going. Support TMU students: https://ow.ly/qM4o50Xt7a6

Alumni News

Are you ready to give back to the next generation of architecture leaders?

The Discover Mentorship Program at FEAS matches senior career professionals with third and fourth year students. Our goal is to provide students with professional development, support, and guidance as they prepare to embark in meaningful careers.

Mentorship can inspire and motivate students to achieve their full potential in the transition from university to the professional world. If you have five years of career experience and would like to learn more about getting involved as a mentor, please contact Kieran Lynch at kieran.lynch@torontomu.ca.

Have DAS news to share? Let us know!

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