SAIT Interactive Design students soar at business innovation bootcamp in Portugal
The European Innovation Academy hosts a three-week program where students from around the globe tackle a business idea with industry experts
Whether it’s the adrenaline rush of catching a flight, spontaneous day trips or the little moments bonding with classmates, a study trip abroad unlocks unforgettable adventures.
This summer, 10 SAIT Interactive Design students took off to Porto, Portugal, mixing business with pleasure at a three-week innovation bootcamp put on by the European Innovation Academy (EIA).
SAIT students were placed on different teams with students from around the world. Over the course of 15 days, the teams drummed up ideas and pitched a business to industry leaders.
SAIT students stood out from the crowd of almost 450 bootcamp participants, applying their design and software skills to build viable businesses as solutions to real-world problems. Of the 10 teams with SAIT students, two made the top 10 for pitch presentations, three were nominated for a $3,000 scholarship and two others were nominated for a $25,000 scholarship. The accolades put the spotlight on SAIT, and through networking opportunities, the students were able to share a bit about Calgary too.
Throughout the bootcamp, participants received expert advice and attended keynote sessions with industry leaders from companies such as Disney, Microsoft, Amazon and Google Cloud.
“It’s really fun knowing you have industry experts who have been at EIA and have made it really far in their career,” says Christopher Nicdao, one of the students whose business pitch landed his team in the top 10.
Digital tools to help women travel safely and immigrants fill out legal documents
Nicdao and his team developed an app for solo female travellers to connect and review their experiences based on safety, cleanliness and aesthetics. For Nicdao, the successful presentation pitch reaffirmed he not only has valuable technical expertise, but also leadership skills to contribute to a team.
Leaning on support from Jessica Whiting, Academic Chair, School for Advanced Digital Technology, throughout the bootcamp, he realized he could collaborate to build bridges and gained experience in how to delegate tasks.
“Even if I don’t know what the best path is, we’re all learning together,” he says.
Joshua Depositar’s team created an app using AI to translate complicated legal documents into simple, nontechnical language for non-native English speakers — specifically immigrants — who may be unsure of legal jargon. The business proposal was nominated for a $25,000 award. While the students on his team were mostly from American universities, their ethnic diversity provided them with the basis for their concept and solution. Depositar led the branding and creation of the high-fidelity prototype (a polished simulation of the product), as well as the landing page for consumers.
“During the program, we needed to show there’s interest in our solution or product to determine the success of our product,” he says. The bootcamp experience gave him a feeling of confidence in his skillset in graphic design, user experience design (UX) and coding, even with only one year in the new Interactive Design program under his belt.
Pivoting to the Interactive Design Diploma
Nicdao came back to SAIT pursue the Interactive Design Diploma program after graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in Marketing. Before returning to SAIT, he spent two years working in marketing, one of them at a fintech startup and the other as an intern with the City of Calgary.
Depositar, on the other hand, was in social work and wanted to try something new.
“I wanted to find a program that had a good balance between being creative, artistic and technical, with skills like coding,” he says. “This is in-between graphic design and web development and has helped to make me well-rounded.”
SAIT’s new Interactive Design diploma program teaches graphic design, software development and UX skills. If you’re creative-minded and curious, build your skills in graphic design, software development and UX design with SAIT’s Interactive Design Diploma.
Study abroad through SAIT
If you love travelling and learning, consider combining the two through Study Abroad opportunities here at SAIT!
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SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney.
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