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IT World Canada
- Kavita Gosyne

Vancouver, B.C., July 7, 2008 – SQWhere art thou? Another Accelerate program breakthrough came from pairing, David Humphrey, a Master of Applied Arts Student at the Emily Carr Institute in Vancouver with Elastic Entertainment, an interactive and design company based in the same city. Elastic thought of creating a novel online social networking portal called SQWhere that would revive the “town square” concept for today. SQWhere was originally conceived as a digital-to-real world forum for interaction among Vancouver’s diverse neighbourhoods and communities, said Elastic Entertainment president, Jennifer Ouano…

The opportunity to apply academic theory in real-world industry situations, was the most exciting part of the program, says Humphrey – the intern who worked on the project. He dubbed the project “amazingly fun and wickedly engaging.”

Humphrey said the SQWhere team was highly creative and open to non-linear thinking and problem solving. The technology is currently still conceptual, Humphrey said, as the internship was mainly focused on research and development. But he said potential uses for the SQWhere application are many.

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Backbone Magazine

Vancouver, B.C., June 11, 2008 – From designing a user-friendly interface for a new social networking program for cell phones, to developing revolutionary software to help roofing companies provide more accurate estimates, to analyzing recently uncovered First Nations artifacts, B.C. graduate students are making a tangible difference to companies and communities province-wide thanks to the ACCELERATE BC internship program launched one year ago…

The program has also had an impact in the new media industry as evidenced by Emily Carr Master of Applied Arts student, David Humphrey’s internship with Elastic Entertainment, a Vancouver-based technology, interactive and design company. Elastic had conceived the idea of creating a cutting-edge social networking platform called SQWhere that would revive the essence of the town square for the 21st century. SQWhere would turn the average cell phone into a customizable information and media exchange tool, enabling people in the same network to exchange information about upcoming music performances, a party at a friend’s house, historical information on the surrounding area and much more using video, images and blogs.

“In my internship, I designed a user-friendly interface for SQWhere which meant I designed the look and feel of the program from the point of view of the cell phone user,” said David.

Collaborating with David and Emily Carr through ACCELERATE BC helped Elastic Entertainment to further the development of SQWhere. Said Jennifer Ouano, president of Elastic: “Dave has been an integral part of our team and was instrumental in research and development, conceptual and creative visioning, interface development and design.”

The internship also helped Elastic weather many of the classic challenges experienced by technology start-ups. “We’ve had to deal with scalability and go-to-market issues pertaining to SQWhere and Dave worked closely with the team to re-tool and re-think our approach as well as participate in meeting with investors, partners and stakeholders. His contributions have helped shape the project and push it forward towards market readiness.”

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Government of Canada
by Megan Airton

Vancouver, B.C., May 16, 2008- The MITACS internship program was founded in 2004 as a two-year pilot project focused on mathematical science thanks in part to funding from the Government of Canada. ACCELERATE B.C. expands upon the original program, helping more students undertake internships focussed on a broader variety of disciplines and adds an emphasis on the participation of graduate students from rural areas and First Nations communities.

Since inception, the success of the program has garnered additional funding from the federal government, the Province of B.C., as well as private industry, and is a model for linking graduate students to applied research and business.

This funding from Western Economic Diversification Canada will enable ACCELERATE B.C. to provide the internship experience to even more of B.C.’s graduate students,” said Dr. Arvind Gupta, Scientific Director of MITACS, a research network based at Simon Fraser University which manages the program. “The resulting industry-academia connections will definitely enhance the competitiveness of companies in the province.”

“With this government funding I felt privileged and excited to have the opportunity to apply my academic knowledge to real life industry situations,” said graduate student David Humphrey. Humphrey’s internship at Emily Carr University, in partnership with an industry partner, has him developing a user-friendly interface for an exciting new social software application.

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Lecture
September 27, 2007

Storytelling on a world scale

TAA Canada is an organization of companies and individuals working in the themed attractions industry. The business of members carries them all over the world and encompasses a broad range of disciplines.

TAA Canada was formed by companies that had worked together at Expo 86 in Vancouver. Members have become involved in every World Exposition, as well as providing international services at a high level to every imaginable type of themed attraction, Olympic, cultural and trade show event.

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