'Bridging Ways of Knowing' at our 2025 Capstone Conference - Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy

Students, faculty and collaborators at the Capstone Conference

On the last Tuesday of August each year we hold the annual Capstone Conference, a showcase of the graduating class of our Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) program, who present findings and insights from their year-long research projects.

This year, the Class of 2025 curated the conference under the theme of ‘Bridging Ways of Knowing and Integrating into Occupational Therapy’. The day offered 33 presentations of cutting-edge research projects from student teams, along with inspiring keynote, community and faculty speakers. Acting as the final part of the MOT program, the conference is a joyous, if bittersweet occasion, and provides a chance for the Class of 2025 to celebrate their collective achievements with friends, family, faculty, staff, and the wider clinical community.

As part of the opening address, Valedictorian Tim Henderson encouraged everyone to remember back to the beginning, when they were just applying to the program. That was only two-and-a-half years ago, but it felt to many like a whole lifetime had passed. They had formed more memories in the program than they could count, and now, they were on the verge of practicing as OTs.

Poster for 2025 Capstone Conference including a painting of a bridge over water at sunset, with a background of mountains.

The theme of this year’s conference was personified by the diversity of projects, perspectives, and personal stories that were presented by both the guest speakers and shared through the projects themselves.

Keynote Speaker

“Differences in land produce differences in thought”

Dr. Janna MacLachlan, Banting Postdoctoral Researcher, Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre

Dr. MacLachlan lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut with her family. She shared her experience as an OT and public health scholar learning from and advocating for Inuit knowledge, community and culture. Taking examples from her doctoral work, OT practice and personal learning, she spoke of the ongoing need to decolonize the approach to healthcare and continuously question the dominance of Western ways of knowing. She gave examples of community-centred concepts that are far more effective when modelled on local needs, rebuked the deficit model of Inuit communities (they are “wise, capable and thriving”), and highlighted that methods used for over 1000s of years are also profoundly evidence-based.

Dr. MacLachlan underlined how relationship building over time is fundamental to trust and improving outcomes, and how relationships can bridge the gaps left by imperfect tools. “Welcome stories into your practice”, Dr. MacLachlan noted, build relationships, be quiet when needing to listen, and be loud and push back when faced with oppressive practices. She encouraged the class to edge things forward as guided by local communities, and seek to broaden the discipline beyond a singular, restrictive ‘occupational therapy’, to a more versatile and effective plural: occupational therapies.

Community Speaker

Take the chance–not the obvious one, not the easy one, but the one that makes your heart beat faster.

Giovanna Boniface, Chief Commercial Officer, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada

Giovanna almost pursued another career entirely. Having applied unsuccessfully to the MOT program once and after having been waitlisted the second time, she received a phone call telling her that a spot had opened up for her. She had already started courses in environmental science at BCIT, so she would have to uproot her life to study OT, but she accepted the offer and stepped into the unknown.

As an OT, Giovanna has continued to embrace the discomfort of venturing into the unknown; as she pointed out, growth often lives on the other side of fear. After nearly seven years in leadership with CAOT, she felt ready for a change. She spotted a role with the Royal Society of Architecture and she seized on it, using her OT lens in an entirely new area of work. In 2023, she started the OT Climate Action Network (OT-CAN) with her husband Jeff. They did not know where it would lead them, but Giovanna highlighted that advocacy does not require that you have all of the answers; it just requires that you begin.

Faculty Speaker

This moment right now is yours. Hold it and remember it.

Dr. Elly Park, Assistant Professor of Teaching, OSOT, UBC

Dr. Park began by reflecting on how we know what we know, and the interconnected nature of our experiences. Integrating memories and reflections (not to mention catchphrases) from class members, her presentation further embodied the idea of everyone leaving a little part of themselves during meaningful experiences, while also taking a little part of each other, thus engaging in a continuous shifting development of self.

Research Project Highlights

The topics of the presentations included neurological injuries, such as traumatic brain injury and stroke; distributed learning, fieldwork, and perceptions of OT in Northern BC; virtual care, support for employment, and diversifying the health professions; perceptions of the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare; of intersectionality in OT education, and on aging and well-being.

Read the Research Project Abstracts