Our Programs
At the core, our people are creative, cross-disciplinary, collaborative and forward-looking.
The Studio consists of 4 incubator programs, and various communities and spaces affiliated with our membership. Each incubator program provides different resources and benefits, membership models, and application processes and timelines.

Our Zones
Our Student Programs

The TMU (Formerly Ryerson) Innovation Student Experience (RISE) is an 8-week virtual incubation program that supports young entrepreneurs to experience the journey of building a business in the creative industries.
With a focus on fashion, product, retail, media, music, design and technology, the program enables students to sharpen entrepreneurial skills while developing real-life solutions.

The Student Associate program looks for passionate, dedicated Toronto Metropolitan University students who want to apply their skills in a real-word environment, build their resume and expand their professional network. Through an associate placement, you'll be working with our zones and incubated teams on part-time projects.

The Global Campus Studio (GCS) is an internationally-focused offering that provides students and partner institutions around the world the opportunity to collaborate with diverse international teams on original creative projects.
With an online studio setting, using contemporary collaboration tools and technologies, student projects engage in disciplines ranging from television to film, performance, fashion, documentary, experiential entertainment and beyond.
Our Communities

About the Design + technology Lab
The Design + Technology Lab is an advanced technology-based workshop that supports creative research, specialized curriculum, and entrepreneurship activities across all nine Creative School programs and Zones. Creative Technology Lab looks to disrupt and revolutionize the use of technology within the creative fields by leveraging digital fabrication, 3D printing, textile computing, AR/VR, and robotics.
Benefits
- Creative Technology Lab is a 7,000 square foot facility located on level B in the new Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex.
- It features: CNC equipment, 3D Printing + Knitting, Robots, Woodworking, and Metalworking
- Creative Technology Skill-Building through workshops, seminars and collaborative projects
How to Get Involved
For general inquiry, and project applications, email: CTL@torontomu.ca

About the Catalyst
The Catalyst is the first large-scale space dedicated to scholarly, research, and creative (SRC) activities within The Creative School. The Catalyst brings brilliant minds together from across the creative industries to explore, innovate, and impact the world we live in.
Benefits
- Space to work, meet and gather in
- Grant writing, technology and other guidance to enhance your SRC
- After-hours event space
- Cross-promotion of SRC events
- A cross-disciplinary research community
How to Get Involved
- You need space or resources to enhance your SRC agenda.
- You have an idea for a Summer Institute.
- You have an idea or suggestion to share.
- You want to organize a conference or reception.

Zone Learning is for anyone who wants to get practical experience in what it takes to build an initiative/venture from the ground-up. You can initiate your own projects or contribute to existing ventures involving faculty, business and community partners.
Benefits:
Members develop valuable skills through workshops and bootcamps, add to resumes or portfolios with real-world experience that employers look for, or even graduate with their own startups. Participants in Zone Learning work at the forefront of emerging markets to develop new products, explore innovative solutions, or embark on ventures to change the world.

About the GCS
The Global Campus Studio (GCS) is a virtual hub for creative international collaboration and co-creation, offering a wide range of interdisciplinary learning opportunities for students.
Leveraging The Creative School's impressive roster of international partners, the Global Campus Studio gives students the opportunity to participate in hands-on development and production with students from around the world to create boundary-pushing work that culminates from the bringing-together of international perspectives and diverse skill-sets.
Benefits
- Creative labs with a studio-based approach for hands-on development experience
- Mentors from the Innovation Studio
- Master Classes which bring in lecturers and field experts in creative entrepreneurship and design thinking
- Gain vital 21st-century skills: entrepreneurship, design thinking, communication, collaboration
- An impressive addition to your resume that ensures you stand-out to future employers
- Exclusive opportunities to participate in additional workshops, international networking, as well as, panels & lectures presented through the Global Campus Studio Talks
- One open elective credit
How to Get Involved
Students can sign up for a FCD816 Global Campus Studio Supercourse.
Find more information here (opens in new window) .

About the Children's Media Lab
The Children’s Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University aims to positively impact media content for children and youth through innovative research projects and hosting think tank nights that bring together industry and academia. Our mission is to bridge the gap between academic research and content creation. There is so much research that could be helpful but doesn’t ever get to producers, writers and app makers. And there are so many content creators who would love to have distilled research but just don’t have access to academics or the time to peruse comprehensive academic reports.
Benefits
- Research: The Children’s Media Lab participates in and leads research that is relevant to today’s content creators. We collaborate with academics both at TMU and around the world, as well as the children’s media industry. In 2018, we led the Canadian data collection of an international content analysis of children’s television, investigating the representation of various demographics such as gender, age, socioeconomic status, body shape, and more.
- Think Tanks: The Children’s Media Lab hosts a minimum of two nights annually that blend academia, industry and students in a lively, informal discussion of relevant and forward-thinking topics in Children’s Media. The casual nature of the discussions with groups who don’t have ongoing avenues for interaction leads to some amazing thoughts and springboards for further actions.
How to Get Involved
Contact Kim Wilson (opens in new window) .