Computer Information Technology (CIT) Diploma students presented their Industry Sponsored Student Project (ISSP) at an expo held in the TEC Hub at the BCIT Downtown campus to close off the term. Led by Computing department faculty Dr. Michal Aibin, Neda Changizi, and Shravan Yedulla, the event was open to guests, sponsors, and other industry representatives.
Delivering software solutions
Through ISSP, student groups build and deliver IT or software development projects for their industry sponsor. Presented projects included “Things My Kids Do,” an activity management application promising more free time; “Hyper K,” which uses machine learning models to detect low-energy neutrinos; “MiTravel,” which simplifies travel planning with one multifunctional app; and “CEONS,” a complex elastic optical network simulator. CIT students are trained for a wide range of tech careers and are able to integrate into different industries by using information technology to support and enhance business operations.
Vancouver Persia’s winning project
The winning group of term 3 and 4 students, including Bakr Al-Humaimidi, Vaishnavi Gandhi, David Magno, Wai-Kit Ng, Alasdair Rothnie, and Solmaz Talebipour Ghoshehbolagh, redesigned VancouverPersia.com using the WordPress platform. The website is an online community that facilitates exploring, discovering, and promoting the rich Persian history, foods, arts, culture, and traditions in and around Metro Vancouver. The overhaul included Farsi translation, an improved events calendar, and an enhanced Persian restaurants section.
According to faculty member Neda Changizi, the projects covered a wide range of application and technology. “They all gave our students a taste of how working with real clients is different from student projects. Students practiced their technical skills, and had the chance to develop their teamwork and communication skills as well as their abilities to collaborate.”
“They all gave our students a taste of how working with real clients is different from student projects.”
The advantage of ISSP
ISSP projects enable sponsor organizations to work with CIT students in term 3 and 4 when they already possess a wide range of technical knowledge.
“They have passed UI/UX design courses, front-end and back-end programming, database management, and are familiar with the Agile approach,” explains Neda.
“This is an excellent opportunity for the industry to recognize the technical knowledge of our students and potentially hire them for a co-op or a permanent position. For our students, this is an invaluable opportunity – it gives them the chance to work on real-world industry projects even before they graduate.”
Dr. Michal Aibin agrees, “It is amazing to see students taking on various software development and integration challenges and delivering high-quality solutions.”
“When I started to teach in this program, I did expect nice products with some ‘typical’ student bugs. What I found is that they follow the entire process of developing, testing, and deploying products. Clients get their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in three months that may be ready to be shown to customers. This is the very big advantage in ISSP at BCIT in comparison to other student related projects. You can bring any type of business idea, either with existing solutions or just on paper and we’ll help you succeed with it.”
The ISSP program runs every September, January and April. Find out more.