Digital media students showcase the future

Stratford Beacon-Herald  Thu Jan 19 2012 

By: MIKE BEITZ STAFF REPORTER 

The QR code at the entrance of the University of Waterloo Stratford campus Wednesday was the first clue that the students there were doing something unique.

A quick scan with a smartphone triggered a self-guided tour of the Master of Digital Experience Innovation showcase, highlighting some of the clever, innovative and forward-thinking projects students have been working on in the program's inaugural year.

First up, a semiotic history of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, with video and still images flashing across a wall of Christie digital tiles, outlining how ancient Greek and 16th century Elizabethan theatres influenced and inspired the contemporary one here on the banks of the Avon.

"For me, it's a history lesson," said Kuo Yu Lu, one of several international students in the program still learning about some of the things that local residents take for granted. Coming from a background in game design, he said the MDEI program, with its combined focus on digital media, business and creativity, has helped him develop a new skillset that will pay off down the line.

"It fills in the gap between you and industry," agreed fellow student Sereen Masood.Next on the tour is Mobile Chef, billed as an interactive way to connect with Canada's food guide. Scan a QR code on tablet computers placed throughout a grocery store, and quick and easy video recipes appear on a shopper's smartphone, complete with ingredient lists, nutritional information and step-by-step instructions.

For student Sarah Barran, it's a concept that could fly with today's tech-savvy and health-conscious young people, using technology to transform the shopping and cooking experience. And that's the appeal of the MDEI program -- its emphasis on the practical, she said.

"A lot of the projects are applicable to the real world," said Barran, as a video played in the background showing partner Janice Zolf demonstrating the Mobile Chef program in a local grocery store. "They're not just hypothetical."

Similarly, an idea for an online resource that combines social media, analytics, website and advertising tools to help small businesses succeed online is just a few tweaks away from becoming a reality, said Shannon McCluskey as she explained her team's DigiTie project. "We designed it thinking that we're going to launch this," she said, as one interested spectator dropped off a business card.

A detailed marketing assessment of a local music business using a guitar-shaped mood board as a brainstorming and communication tool, a photo and video project tracing the transformation of The Tannery building in Waterloo into a hi-tech hub, recommendations for revitalizing the marketing strategy for Sunfest in London, and a pair of multimedia presentations portraying the diversity and complexity of modern-day Israel rounded out the projects on display at the well-attended showcase Wednesday.

Ginny Dybenko, executive director of the University of Waterloo Stratford campus, said she was "blown away" by the quality of the work produced by the graduate students. "It just goes way past our expectations," she said admiringly as she made her way from one demonstration to the next.

While she credited professors for encouraging critical thinking, Dybenko said the students also deserve praise for the synergy they've created as they tackle the coursework together. "They learn so much from each other," she said. And a good turnout at the showcase Wednesday is a sign of a growing partnership between the university and the community, suggested Dybenko.

With the permanent university building on St. Patrick St. expected to be completed by the end of the summer, and planning well underway for the undergraduate Bachelor of Global Business and Digital Arts program, that partnership will only get stronger in coming years, she added.

"This is just the beginning," said Dybenko.