À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ

2020 was a year we will never forget. It was not the year we expected, but in true Warrior spirit, our students and the team at Stratford showed their resiliency, ambition, courage, creativity, and ability to shape the future and overcome many challenges. Here are a few of the highlights we are celebratingÌýfrom this past year.

Student Highlights

ALOHA From New York, GBDA Student Helps Advance Conversational AI Systems

Julia Sprague (GBDA)Ìýand the Computation Health and Informatics Lab (CHIL) team presented their findings from their published paper "ALOHA: Artificial Learning of Human Attributes for Dialogue Agents" at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) conference in New York.

Stratford Resource Bins Founder Wins Arts Award for Excellence in Service

GBDA Students Received Second and Third place:ÌýMap the System Challenge 2020

• Second place  ($1000): Wasted: Global Environmental Impacts of Fast Fashion  – Jessica Bloom, JamieÌýDardarien, Komal Dhawan, Zinneerah Amir Memon, AllysaÌýMisolaÌý

• Third Place ($500): Food Waste: Environmental Impact of Supermarkets – BaileeÌýZiegenhagel, Graeme Robinson, Heidi Soper, Jessie Huang, Kelsey NgÌý

GBDA Selected as Valedictorian, Faculty of Arts

 SimÌýPurba,ÌýGBDA 2020 was selected by hisÌýpeers to recognize his social and academic contributions to the À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ community.ÌýJoining other GBDA alumniÌýAmandreoÌýCortes 2019, Komal Javed 2018, and AshnaÌýMankotiaÌý2017.

Rogers Partners with MDEI Students to Help Canadians Experience the Capabilities of 5G

MDEI students  partnered with Rogers Ìýto help Canadians experience and understand the capabilities of 5G in their capstone project. The University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ has become one of the first 5G smart campuses in Canada as part of a partnership with Rogers Communications that leverages the University’s global leadership in computing, engineering, creativity, and industry relationships.

GBDA Students Placed Second in uXperience | Think Privacy Design Jam

StudentsÌýVedant Patel, Disha Kanekar, Sherry He, Elyssa Smith,ÌýandÌýDaniel Hanick, placed secondÌýfor their app,Ìý in uXperience | Think Privacy.

Sportsnet Hockey Hack Powered by Rogers 5G

, Braden Hill (MDEI), Elyssa Smith (GBDA), Nathan Miller (MDEI), and Alyssa Pasek (MDEI). EightÌýStratfordÌýSchoolÌýstudents were selected from all of the University ofÌýÀ¶Ý®ÊÓƵ to participate.

Concept 5K Winner

Justin Wong (4A GBDA) and his team    were winners in the fall 2020 Ìý. Ìý

GBDA Alumni Pitched at Y Combinator Demo Day

·¡²Ô³Ù°ù±ð±è°ù±ð²Ô±ð³Ü°ùÌýTaylor Cooney pitched at Open Storage atÌý Y Combinator Demo DayÌý

Faculty and Staff Highlights

Professor Lennart Nacke received $195,000 inÌýMitacsÌýGrants to improve accessibility and business outcomes using gameful designsÌýandÌýdelivered  theÌýkeynote speech at Mensch und Computer 2020.

ProfessorsÌýLeah Zhang-Kennedy, Tobias Thielen, and Daniel Harley joinedÌýthe faculty, and Hazel Palmer and Lauren Kochanowski joined theÌýStratfordÌýSchool team.

Professor Kevin Harrigan obtainedÌýfunding from the Alberta Gaming Research Institute for a study titled: Giwii-nisidopanmin odaminowin: Gambling and Videogames in the Lives of Indigenous Youth in Northwestern Ontario.

Happy Holidays from the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ

A holiday message from the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ and President Feridun Hamdullahpur.