New toy invention program launched at Ryerson University
Students will be trained in the creative and business sides of the toy and game industry.
Breaking into the toy business is no child’s play, but a new program on toy invention at Ryerson University aims to help.
Reportedly the first of program of its kind in Canada, the one-year course series will cover the principles of toy invention and gamification, an introduction to intellectual property, how to conduct market research and pitch a concept as well as a product prototyping at a hands-on toy lab.
The program is based out of Ryerson’s faculty of communication and design and offered through the university’s Chang School for Continuing Education, with curriculum input from OCAD University and Spin Master, the toy company that owns brands such as Etch-a-Sketch and Meccano.
The program is modelled off a similar collaboration between Spin Master and Israel’s Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art. (Spin Master designer Paul Reynolds is a faculty member in both programs.) Lorena Escandón, program coordinator at Ryerson, says Spin Master initiated the partnership believing it could similarly nurture a community of toy inventors in Toronto, where the company is based. “Toy invention is at the intersection of creativity, entrepreneurship and design, and we believe that Toronto is a creative and entrepreneurial city,” Dr. Escandón said.
Although she anticipates the program will primarily attract people from related fields – chiefly education, psychology, industrial engineering and graphic design – she notes that its case-by-case admissions processes means it can facilitate a pathway into the industry for anyone who dreams of creating the next Rubik’s Cube or Mr. Potato Head.
Featured Jobs
- Occupational Therapy - Assistant or Associate ProfessorDalhousie University
- Medicine - Assistant Professor, Grant Tenure Track (Urologic Sciences, Kidney Cancer)The University of British Columbia
- Veterinary Medicine - Lecturer, Term (Large Animal Internal Medicine)University of Saskatchewan
- Canada Research Chair, Tier 2 in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Director, Maria T. Schneider Social Innovation InstituteMacEwan University
- Engineering - Assistant Teaching Professor (Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering)Ontario Tech University
More from News
-
Cuban students and scholars desperately await improvement amid continued blockade
Canada-Cuba relations expert Karen Dubinsky warns mood among Cuban colleagues continues to decline.
-
Red Alert!
Students tackle underground rescue scenarios as Laurentian University hosts the Intercollegiate Mine Emergency Response Competition.
-
Why has the Atlantic region been hit hardest by IRCC’s student visa cuts?
Reduced international student intake threatens local economies, workforce pipelines and long-term growth in less populous regions.
-
Maple: from soil to syrup
Discover the ecology behind Canada’s sweetest treat in this documentary short, featuring Université Laval Professor Guillaume Moreau.
More from Campus news
-
Strike over, but strife remains at Laurentian
Faculty ratify new collective agreement, but say the deal still puts them behind other Ontario universities.
-
Faculty strike at Laurentian
Negotiations fail, picket lines rise at northern Ontario university.
-
Quebec universities weather an unprecedented storm
The province’s institutes of higher learning are navigating immigration restrictions, language policies, budget cuts and challenges to academic freedom.
-
Reflecting the cultural temperature
A look back at some of Spring’s convocation speeches at Canadian universities.
More from Articles
-
Art schools grapple with AI
Creative arts among the first and hardest-hit by powerful new tech.
-
Montreal students, professors, protest Quebec’s Bill 9
Demonstrators to rally against law that restricts the wearing of religious symbols and forbids prayer rooms in higher education institutions.
-
Spring fiscal update boosts colleges, trades training
Universities also ‘want to be a big part’ of educating the new Canadian workforce, says UC president.
-
NL increases funding for post-secondary, confirms tuition freeze
Memorial University still faces “hard decisions” for upcoming operating budget.
Post a comment
University Affairs moderates all comments according to the following guidelines. If approved, comments generally appear within one business day. We may republish particularly insightful remarks in our print edition or elsewhere.