The Co-Lab: Centre for Community-Engaged and Collaborative Historical Research

About

Who we are

The Department of History’s Co-Lab for Community Engaged Research is designed to facilitate research partnerships between the University of Saskatchewan and community partners in ways that communities themselves identify as meaningful and beneficial. Rather than merely bringing research and analysis to communities (outreach programs), the Co-Lab believes research projects should be co-designed and co-executed with communities.

What we do

The Co-Lab offers unique community engaged opportunities by hiring and training undergraduate students to work with community partners on projects. Most projects in the Co-Lab run during the summer months (May-August). Although, depending on community needs, vision, and funding, the scope and length of each individual project may vary.

All Co-Lab students receive training through a condensed for-credit-course in May. During their time in this course, students learn about community-engaged historical research practices including ethics, collaborative research protocols, oral history skills, and archival and digital history research techniques, among others.

Please see our previous projects for examples of past work done in the Co-Lab. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

 

Fun photo of the 2025 Co-Lab Team

The 2025 Co-Lab Team

Student Experiences in the Co-Lab

"My name is Eric Story. I graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in 2015 with a BA Hons in History. While working in the collaboratorium, I researched and wrote a magazine for the City of Saskatoon Archives on Saskatoon’s Great War memorials. You can read the magazine HERE on the City’s website. I was also tasked with mapping the Saskatchewan History & Folklore Society’s historical markers around the province. I am not sure where that project stands.
I completed my PhD at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2024 and am currently an AMS Postdoctoral Fellow at Brock University. 
The Co-Lab meant a great deal to me. It was my final summer as an undergraduate student and confirmed that I was ready for graduate school. It showed me that my skills were applicable beyond the classroom and instilled in me a confidence to conduct historical research projects on my own terms." - Eric Story, Co-Lab Student 2015

"In 2018, I worked in the former Collabritorium with Dr. Ashleigh Androsoff on the Doukhobor Living Book Project. Here's the website with additional information about the project: https://doukhoborlivingbook.ca/. As someone with Doukhobor ancestry, it was an honour to work on this project, to learn about my ancestry and heritage, to connect with the Doukhobor community in Saskatchewan, to gain hands-on archival and historical research experience, and to engage with historical research in a way that I didn't know was an option. I cannot stress enough how important this project was in documenting Doukhobor Choral singing, especially since many vocalists who appear in the documentary have sadly passed since filming. Working in the Co-Lab was an incredible experience and a catalyst for me to pursue a history degree.
The project is complete, with an exhibit, a documentary (which I was in!), and a website. The Doukhobor Living Book Project won the 2020 Governor General's Award for Excellence in Museums: Living History (https://www.canadashistory.ca/awards/governor-general-s-history-awards/award-recipients/2020/the-saskatchewan-doukhobor-living-book-project). 
I now have a Master's degree in History from the U of S and will take on the manager position at the National Doukhobor Heritage Village in Verigin, SK., in May 2025." - Cat Woloschuk, Co-Lab Student 2018

"I’ve benefited hugely from getting comfortable with Excel! Hearing about the various projects underway in the Co-lab has broadened my ideas of what being a historian can mean. I have learned countless skills from other students who also add to the enjoyment of doing my project which now focuses on digitizing Saskatchewan Homestead Registers." - Sarah Trevor, Co-Lab Student 2024-2025

Current News

Call for Project Updates!

The Co-Lab opened under the name the Collaboratorium in 2016. Due to COVID-19, the Co-Lab had to close for a couple years. In 2021, the Co-Lab reopened, rebranded, and began working with community partners again. The Co-Lab is now looking to put together a full profile of previous projects from the years 2016 to 2019.

If you were once a student researcher or a community partner with the Collabratorium from 2016-2019, we would love to hear from you! If you were a student researcher, can you share more about your experience and about the project? If you were a community partner, can you provide an update on where your project is now? Let us know!

Check out of Past Projects and tell us if you have any details to add!