Last week, the 10 winners of the 2011 Good Ideas contest were revealed. Congratulations to Mary Aglipay, Natasha Chaykowski, Nicholas Zorn, Véronique Fraser, Ned-Divin Nadima, Zohra Kassam, Mobolaji Laflamme-Lagoke, Imeyen Akai, Miguel Angel Sanchez Navarro and Colette Joubarne, whose ideas were selected as the 10 best. Thanks to the more than 400 students who submitted creative ideas on how to improve the student experience at uOttawa.

As you know, improving the student experience is my key objective as president of the University of Ottawa. Hearing directly from students is the best way to learn how to reach our goal of creating a stronger sense of community on campus-something that is not always easy given our location in the middle of an urban area. Your input and ideas are invaluable.

I would also like to thank the contest judges for the time and energy they committed to evaluating all the ideas submitted. Their participation is extremely important and is what makes Good Ideas truly a contest for and about students. And with all the great ideas submitted, I am sure choosing only 10 winners was no easy task!

The quality of the student experience is one of my key objectives during my mandate as president of the University of Ottawa. I want students who attend this institution to be able to truly say that they spent some of their best years on our campus. You can help me achieve this objective by participating in the 2011 Good Ideas Contest!

For the fourth-consecutive year, the University invites undergraduate and graduate students to submit ideas on how their experience could be improved. Launched on Monday, January 31, the 2011 Good Ideas Contest has received already close to 300 submissions.

Be sure to submit your ideas before 4 p.m. on Friday, February 11. If you're interested in becoming a student judge who will evaluate the ideas submitted and help select the 10 winning ideas, we are looking for one student representative from each faculty.

Good luck!