Interactive Media Management (IMMT) is a one-year graduate certificate program that emphasizes designing interactive digital experiences, including key concepts such as digital strategy, UX design, digital project management, and more. During the final semester, students get the opportunity within their Career Networking course to prepare and present their work in a personalized trade show that is run entirely by the cohort of students. Within the course, Pamela Kostur, Program Coordinator, says she is able to take students through the entire process of figuring out what should be in their portfolios, as well as assisting in the design elements to ensure a positive user experience. The course ends with the trade show to show of their amazing work in their portfolio, as well as their innovative senior projects that they worked on in the previous semester. “Students come up with an idea for an interactive media project of their own and they take it from concept all the way to a functioning, high-fidelity prototype. That’s a really valuable portfolio piece for them to have, along with their Storyworks projects,” Pamela says.
Over the years, the trade show was always a big hit for everyone involved. “In the past, we held it in a big classroom and all of the tables would be set up around the room and every student was responsible for setting up their own booth, decorating it, and thinking of ways to engage people who came to the show. The last time we held it in person we had Dr. Craig Stephenson and Dr. Marilyn Herie out to the show, and it was just so much fun,” Pamela says.
The plan for this year’s cohort was no different, as a trade show was still on the horizon. However, with COVID-19 restrictions, things had to continue a little differently. With Pamela still wanting to give students the opportunity to participate in a trade show, rather than just uploading the students’ work to a website, she started researching ways to hold a trade show in a virtual environment. That’s when the platform Whova – an online event management software, came to the rescue. Chetan Premjee, Broadcast and Digital Media Technologist at Centennial, worked to find an option that would be able to house this trade show. With three options on the table, Whova reigned supreme with its ability to offer constant support and educational pricing. He says, “Everything worked out. They were very proactive about providing service and support and were just there all the time when we called.” Although there was a bit of a learning curve, Chetan says it ran smoothly and there were “no complaints or negative comments from anyone.”
In terms of the event’s structure, Pamela says students were able to set up a speaker page with a live video stream, links to their portfolio, and links to handouts all within the Whova platform. The event was a span of two days (August 5th and 6th) and students were able to send out invitations that included links to the Whova Web app. Once registered, guests could sign in to see the full list of students and be able to go into each individual session and talk directly to the student and check out their work. Pamela was able to check in with each student during their sessions and she says that everyone was really pumped up. “Students were really happy to have the opportunity to at least connect with people on a virtual platform. They could also invite their friends and family from other countries to participate, which is something they haven’t been able to do before," she says.
The buzz of the trade show was always something that stood out to both Pamela and the students. She says students would get dressed up and really made an effort to decorate their booth, which made having it online this year a bit bittersweet. That time of year is usually always one of the last times the cohort will be able to be in class together, so not being able to be there physically was sorely missed. However, there were many benefits to the virtual trade show that Pamela will continue to implement, even when classes are back to in-person lectures. As a result of being able to send trade show invitations to applicants from other counties, Pamela says, “In the future, when we’re back in the classroom, I would like to hold both a physical trade show, as well as a virtual one. I’d like to find a way to do both so that we can continue to connect with the physical audience, but also open it up to people who can’t be with us physically.”
Here are the thoughts from some of the students who participated in the trade show:
I’m Nilu Seneviratne, Lead UX Designer of MO. MO is a movie recommendation app that recommends a movie to a user based on their current mood, and I had the privilege of presenting my project at Interact2020. Doing the tradeshow online was unexpected this year, but the online structure was surprisingly more interactive than I had expected! The technologies and platforms available to us allowed us to present around the world, with people visiting my booth from Vancouver and even Brazil! My best advice for anyone interested in doing online tradeshows is to try to remove any expectations you may have from traditional tradeshows. An online tradeshow has its own tone and structure to it, allowing you to reach a wider audience. You may not be able to include things like posters or free giveaways, but you can include videos and interactive online games to enhance your booth! If you utilize the technologies well, you can get creative with it and make it as interactive as possible!
- Nilu Seneviratne
I want to thank the Interactive Media Management faculty members very much for the extra help they gave us so we could virtually present our final projects at the program trade show. I know how busy they were, so I appreciated the time they spent with us and researching for a platform to host the event. I enjoyed presenting my project remotely because I was able to talk with future students and answer their questions, in particular international students. After all, they were in their home countries, and they were my target audience. My project is CAN-do which is a platform that helps international students to plan their Canadian immigration permits because I have seen how they struggle on how to do their paperwork. I would have preferred to be in person with all the assistants, however, having the show virtually made me think that there is a big room to explore in the interactive media.
- Diego Palacios
The IMMT Virtual Trade Show was a great opportunity to interact with students, professors and professionals. The advantage of presenting online was that I could invite friends and family from other countries. Overall, I could follow my schedule starting with the presentation I designed to show my senior project process, including the research and design phases. The successful experience will help me to feel more confident while presenting case studies for employers. My project is betterYou, an artificial intelligence mobile app that will "learn" from users' responses to generate reports. They can also monitor their mood and receive exciting challenges to make them feel better. Besides, the platform has a mascot to guide and motivate. It can be placed in the real world using augmented reality technology. During the event, participants could see the digital prototype and ask me questions. We had a good time!
- Mariana Rocha
The senior projects by IMMT students tie together the learning from the program, the life experiences of the students, and a shared vision to create a better digital world. These projects presented in the annual trade show are not just about designing trendy interfaces, it’s about solving real-life problems. Despite the limitations brought by COVID-19, Interact 2020 has been a successful virtual event as it brought together the designers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, strategists, and visionaries. As a graduating student of IMMT, I showcased my project Kaia at Interact 2020 event. Kaia is a mobile app for promoting women’s mental well-being by tracking the menstrual cycle. During the event, I had the opportunity to share my ideas on Kaia as a product with UX designers, policymakers, businessmen, and future students from all over the world! Even though the trade show had to go virtual this year, it allowed the event to reach the likeminded beyond the borders and became a get together of beautiful minds.
- Fariha Fairuz
Overall, the virtual event went extremely well and the work that the students accomplished is outstanding! If you would like to see everyone’s projects, you can check out the Centennial onDemand page full of further details.
By: Alexandra Few