ACE Spotlight Series

This is the first in a series of spotlight articles, presented by Applied Computer Education (ACE), where we feature members and projects from the ACE department.

Introducing Al McLeod

Al McLeod is an honorary member of the ACE department, we met with Al to ask some questions about himself.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a proud graduate of the Red River College Polytechnic’s Computer Analyst/Programmer (CA/P) Program. I had a rewarding 40-year career spanning many roles, companies and industries. I retired in 2019 and started a consulting company focused on helping a variety of organizations with innovation capabilities and projects. After experimenting with a mixture of for-fee and pro-bono services for over a year, I decided to focus entirely on volunteering.

I support a number of Startup’s, non-profits, and corporations as an advisor and enjoy collaborating with other Innovators on projects as well.

But the main role I’m focused on now is working with Red River College Polytechnic in support of its innovation agenda. I took on the role of Chair, ACE Project Space Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) Advisory Board in 2020. We help the ACE program prioritize projects for the space.

And finally, I work with ACE Chair Karen Kabel and the ACE team to develop and deliver innovation training and programs within the ACE Program.

For example, one interesting project I’ve worked on with Karen and team is the Sprint to Innovate (STI) Challenge. This is a 48-hour student innovation challenge in cooperation with industry partners, the University of Manitoba and Tech Manitoba.

In the STI Challenge, industry partners provide real businesses challenges and student teams work with Mentors to develop innovative business solutions over a weekend, then pitch to a panel of judges. There are cash prizes for the top three pitches. We provide Design Thinking and pitch training at the start of the event. It’s an excellent event. We’re in the processes of preparing for our second event on April 8-10, 2022.

Why did you choose to be an instructor/mentor at this point in your career?

After trying a number of different experiments to see what would interest me and allow me to give back in retirement, I got the opportunity to collaborate with the ACE team. I quickly figured out that the ACE leadership, instructors and students were really great to work with. Everyone is bright, creative and fun to work with. Dean Kirk Johnson and ACE Chair Karen Kabel are very innovative and most importantly, they make things happen.

I’m also learning a lot from the ACE team and ACE students – especially about teaching. I have a much better appreciation for how difficult the job is now. I really appreciate the feedback I get from students on the training I provide as well.

Plus, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Red River College Polytechnic for preparing me for a challenging and fulfilling career in IT. Before I started in the CA/P program, I was definitely on a really bad career path.

And finally, I enjoy and believe strongly in the importance of mentoring, it allows me to both give back and pay it forward. Some of my mentees have become Startup founders, so I just naturally continued advising them as founders as well.

What do you love most about teaching?

It’s such a great opportunity to make a real impact every day.

It’s extremely rewarding to work with the great ACE team and have the opportunity to both share my knowledge with them and learn from them. It’s a truly collaborative relationship.

And most importantly, I enjoy working with the ACE students. It’s an honour to connect with them and do my best to broaden their expertise and influence them in critical areas such as the importance of creativity, innovation, continuous learning and other important non-IT skills which I know will benefit them regardless of their career path.

What inspires you about IT?

I had a 40-year career in IT that was extremely interesting and challenging. I loved it. I got to experience firsthand the tremendous value IT can bring to businesses. Especially those businesses that can get their heads around the potential value of IT.

Because every company uses IT to run their business, IT skills are very transportable between industries. This allowed me to move between companies and industries during my career, providing me with an incredible range of career options – which I took full advantage of. I worked in government, technology services, financial services, media, telecommunications and insurance.

I’m inspired by both the digital transformations innovative corporations have been able to achieve and even more inspired by the ability of tech-driven startups to disrupt many industries and create cool, innovative solutions that positively impact society.

And looking forward, I’m inspired by the fact that the amazing advances that are happening in fields as diverse as financial services, transportation and healthcare are being driven by IT. How cool is that? As investor Marc Andreessen said in 2011, “Software is eating the world”.

What advice do you have for new students starting an IT program?

Students enrol in an IT program to learn the technical disciplines required for a successful career in IT. That’s very important as technology skills are critical for the future in all industries.

But what’s just as important, both now and for the future, are the “soft” or non-technical skills such as creativity, critical thinking, complex problem resolution, empathy, communications, etc., and to understand the business and industry you’re working in.

Companies have started focusing their hiring more on soft skills because the ideal employees of the future will be the ones best able to deal with change. Also, these skills will provide you with the tools to best navigate your career, wherever it may lead you.

Secondly, once you graduate, always devote part of your energy to learning the business and industry you’re working in. Too many IT employees focus nearly 100% of their learning on purely technical subjects, while completely ignoring gaining business knowledge. IT employees who spend the time to understand the company they work for and the industry they work in are more well-rounded employees and will have significantly more opportunities in their career.

What advice do you have for prospective ACE employees?

Adopt a growth mindset as an Educator. Then encourage this mindset in your students. It will help both you and your students in your careers.

Be a continuous learner and encourage the same in your students. Technology is changing daily. And the rate of change is increasing due to the exponential impact of converged technology. Also encourage students to learn soft skills, business skills and to take a broad view of technology.

Find ways to make your teaching engaging and interactive. Put yourself in your student’s shoes and ask yourself “Am I teaching in a manner that’s as engaging as possible?”

Continue to network with external industry folks – don’t stay completely immersed in academia. A broad, diverse network can be of great benefit to you in a teaching career.

IT professionals are in high demand – both now and in the future. As an ACE Instructor you have the opportunity to prepare students for a fulfilling career in IT and help meet the demand for more IT professionals.

I find collaborating and engaging with ACE Instructors and students very fulfilling. In fact, I find it more fulfilling than many of the jobs I had during my career.

The ACE Project Space Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) Program is a terrific program. It provides students with the opportunity for a unique Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experience with additional training and valuable project experience. I also appreciate that the ACE Project Space EIR program supports local entrepreneurs.

What is something interesting about you that you would like to share?

I call myself an “Innovation Enthusiast” because there’s nothing, I’d rather be doing than collaborating with innovative people in creative environments.

My Wife Wendy and I are proud Manitobans… Although we had a lot of opportunities to leave Manitoba during my career, we always chose to stay in our hometown – even if it meant changing companies from time to time. Working with Red River College Polytechnic gives me an opportunity to pay it back to the College while helping develop the innovation community within Manitoba.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I wake up early every day. Then coffee, breakfast and an hour walk with my wife Wendy – regardless of the weather.

I plan my days and weeks carefully. Not too many meetings per day. Preferably no more than one or two. Then I fill the rest of the week with family and friends time, learning, creating, networking and mentoring.

I spend most days working with the various teams I support, interacting with the folks I mentor, networking with collaborators, and developing various innovation tools and training materials. And I’m always either preparing for or involved in an upcoming RRC Polytechnic event of some kind as well.

I also take time to learn every day – one of my most important goals. I journal throughout the day, it helps me stay organized and be as time efficient as possible, while also providing an opportunity for my mind to wander into ideas.

What do you wish you had known before you started this career (teaching or IT)?

If I’d known how much I would enjoy volunteering in the academic space, I would have never started my consulting company after I retired and I would have immediately engaged in working with RRC Polytech.