Project Term: Fall 2019

ioAirFlow was created to address climate control issues faced in virtually all commercial buildings with a focus on providing solutions to reduce high energy consumption. The startup approached the ACE Project Space for assistance in creating a solution that combines Internet-connected sensors with an application that analyses climate data measured throughout the target building to identify areas that may require fixing.

Working in scrum teams to build software

Our BIT and BTM students built web application features, including account and issue management, for the ioAirFlow application. In a future term, students will connect the application climate measurement sensors. During the term, the students learned how to work together within scrum teams to elicit and develop application features in an agile fashion.

Deliverables

The ioAirFlow team completed the following deliverables for the project during the fall term at the ACE Project Space:

• Login page
• Account creation
• Graphs feature
• Client page
• About my building page
• Issues page
• Issue filters
• Recommendations feature

What our students are saying

“Django Framework to make a website, Python and its readable syntax, refactoring code and documenting them, Database creation and management with SQLite, creating models and handling them in Django.” – Garret De Chavez

“I learn that how to solve the real-world problems in this project because I take this project as a job. I worked as an employee. I face some programming problems that I never faced before in my life. The biggest one is to do your work as the way your client wants because some time, he gives you the task that you never done before and that time you are learning and working together to fulfill client’s requirements.” – Mipandeep Bhathal

“As a Scrum master I have learned how to lead a team, how to run the Kanban board, doing stand-up meetings, communicating with client and being a team player, improved my presentation and communication skills. I have also learned to create technical document such as Project Charter, Communication plan, Business Requirement Document, Use case, Test case and creating wireframes.” – Ripunjay Borsiwala

Technologies used

• Django
• Python
• SQL lite
• Sensors

About my building screen

Client Page

Survey Page

Project Term: Fall 2019

The traditional tools personal trainers use to keep track of client sessions, dietary habits, workout activities, and goals are often outdated, cumbersome, and time-consuming. Our students developed a mobile application that combines all these features into a single web-based solution.

Soft skills are the key ingredient to project success

In building the health and fitness tracker, the students developed soft skills, including teamwork, communication, conflict resolution, and time management skills. These skills were essential in managing expectations for the project, eliciting requirements, and building an effective solution in a timely manner.

Deliverables

The development team completed the following section deliverables for the project during the fall term at the ACE Project Space:

• Schedule
• Workout programs
• Habits

Technologies used

• React
• Meteor
• Technical reporting
• Kanban board
• Story mapping
• Git
• MongoDB

Login Screen

Coach Appointments Screen

Scheduling Screen

Project Term: Fall 2019

ProCS came to the ACE Project Space with a vision to provide builders with a customized building information modeling (BIM) solution available from anywhere around the world that employees can use to work on and discuss building designs. The BIT and BTM students assigned to the project were able to transform the solution concept into a tangible product suitable for demonstration purposes.

Optimizing performance to build a quality product

The BIM project started last term at the ACE Project Space with a working demo on a local machine. The next stage was to deploy the solution to a cloud provider that client companies and their employees could access online.  The students learned how to test online performance and use their teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills to improve the BIM solution’s overall performance.

Deliverables

The ProCS team completed the following deliverables for the project during the fall term at the ACE Project Space:

• Online BIM viewer
• Administration page
• Bug fixes

What our students are saying

“Working with the team for this project, my duties revolved around the role of a Project Manager. Learning the way how the industry works was quite a new experience for me. I learned being professional and punctual. I learned how to keep up with targets and deadline and prioritizing the tasks according to the requirements of the client. Doing standup meeting, discussing the problems being faced by the team members and sorting them out by involving the client and project sponsor into it were some of the daily done tasks by me. Another important thing that I learned from the experience working here was how communication is the key to solving any problem being faced by any team member.” – Dilraj Marwah

“Working as a front-end developer in the BIM project, I got to learn and experience working with other team members and how the joint efforts of the team members get the project to the end point as the client wants it to be. To work as a front-end developer, I learned working using react and python languages. Also at parts of the project, I had to go and work on the back end to develop some of the functionalities that the client wanted to add to the viewer and learning how to work on code that has already been developed, analyzing, understanding it and working with the other back end developer was quite a great learning experience.” – Owen Beatty

Technologies used

• JavaScript
• React
• Python
• Django
• MongoDB
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Entrepreneurs and members of Red River College faculty enjoyed a catered lunch & learn presentation about the funding opportunities provided by Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization that builds partnerships between industry and post-secondary institutions to support industrial and social innovation in Canada with the ultimate goal of commercializing academic research.

Brent Wennekes, Director of Business Development (Manitoba) at Mitacs, described how their Accelerate program pairs entrepreneurs and companies working across all sectors of the economy with student research opportunities. Mr. Wennekes provided details about the funding model and the application process, which include a $7,500 contribution from a business in exchange for a $15,000 research award from Mitacs to support a research student intern for four months. Mitacs funding has spearheaded many of the four-month projects delivered at the ACE Project Space.

Mitacs funding recipient and CEO of ioAirFlow, Matt Schaubroeck, described his experience of having leveraged Mitacs funding while working a full-time job to kickstart his new venture. Mr. Schaubroek’s company is building an AI-supported solution using a network of temperature sensors to provide building owners and tenants with the data they need to increase energy efficiency. The research student embedded at the ACE Project Space as part of the ioAirFlow project was integral in building a marketable solution that won stage time at the Falling Walls Lab pitch contest in Berlin.

Stephen Lawrence, ACE Project Space Coordinator, shared the opportunity and process that lend to entrepreneurs the application development skills of fourth term students at the ACE Project Space with support from Mitacs. Mr. Lawrence described how the mutually beneficial relationship provides students with valuable real life project experience while providing entrepreneurs with the ability to bring their ideas to fruition.

To learn more about how to bring your business ideas to life at the ACE Project Space, please contact Stephen Lawrence, ACE Project Space Coordinator or visit our ACE Project Space web site.

The Information Security program from the Applied Computer Education department at Red River College is only in its second year, yet interest in the program and the field of information security has never been greater. And it shows. The Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) student group at Red River College hosted its first ever annual mini-conference on Halloween at the ACE Project Space and it was a full house with over 70 students in attendance. Part of this group included high-school students from Seven Oaks School Division Met School and Maples Met School. Students enjoyed presentations from industry experts and one of our own information security instructors.

Along with a free pizza lunch and Halloween themed treats, students were treated to the following presentations by Deloitte, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, Auditor General of Manitoba, and Red River College:

Introduction to ISACA (Certifications and Resources)

Presented by: Fraser McLean, CPA, CA, CISA, CRISC, Senior Manager, Risk Advisory at Deloitte Canada

Fraser described the information security landscape, the ISACA organization, career options available for students as well as key activities including penetration testing, incident response handling, and cybersecurity red team versus blue team scenarios. He also talked about the certifications and resources recognized by industry.

Fraser McLean, a senior manager for risk advisory at Deloitte Canada, discusses the career opportunities in information security

Internal Audit 101

Presented by: Catarina Sousa Machado, CPA, CGA, CISA, Senior Audit and Risk Management Professional at Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation

Catarina educated students on the internal audit profession from an accounting perspective and contrasted it with the technology focus of information security professionals. She described the roles comprising internal audit, the importance of internal auditing to organizations, as well as the certification paths that are available.

Catarina Sousa Machado, a senior audit and risk management professional at Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corporation, talks about the internal auditing profession

Social Engineering: Human Element of Information Security

Presented by: Ganesh Sharma, FCA(India), CISA, CISM, CISSP, CIA, SAP Certified, Principal, IT Performance Audits at Auditor General of Manitoba

Ganesh shared the financial impact of data breaches on organizations and how social engineering allows these breaches to occur. He provided details on the time required to resolve incidents and the types of social engineering attacks, their methods of delivery, as well as points of exploitation, including people, processes, and technology.

Ganesh Sharma, a principal IT performance auditor from the Auditor General of Manitoba, discusses the financial impact of data breaches

Forensic Analysis

Presented by: Stephen Jay, Information Security Instructor, Red River College

One of our instructors, Stephen Jay, walked students through various aspects of forensic analysis in information security. He used examples of image analysis and demonstrated a multitude of tools that can be used to perform forensic analysis.

Stephen Jay, a Red River College information security instructor, describes how image analysis is performed as part of forensic analysis

Interested in hosting a similar event for students?

For information about hosting an event at the ACE Project Space, please contact Stephen Lawrence, ACE Project Space Coordinator at (204) 224-2712.

Project Term: Summer 2019

TAIV enables business owners to create, schedule and play their own TV advertisements instead of the commercials that appear during the broadcast. This helps establishments create a targeted audience and drive sales. During the summer term at the ACE Project Space, a team of students completed a number of enhancements to improve the user experience. Read More →

Project Term: Summer 2019

The ACE Project Space required a robust and scalable application to better manage change and incident requests, assets and those using them. The system that was in use was clunky and did not provide the full range of functionality that the Change Advisory Board (CAB) was looking for. A student team at the ACE Project Space went about designing the application from scratch. The purpose was to deliver a working application with asset, user and change management functionality by the end of the four-month term. Completing the application was accomplished through extensive research and learning through Lynda, Code Academy and Udemy as well as collaboration with the RPI research group. Read More →

Project Term: Summer 2019

Red River Bookstore has been operating for decades and has amassed a huge inventory of used books, comics, music, movies, video games and other miscellaneous items. With such a large inventory and very little online presence, the bookstore staff could not meet the growing demands without integrating digital solutions. ACE Project Space students worked with the bookstore to gather their requirements, and then build viable solutions to help the business manage its inventory. Read More →

Project Term: Summer 2019

The Manitoba Genealogical Society (MGS) organizes and archives information about the lives of Manitobans and their family relationships. In a previous term at the ACE Project Space, students helped to build the consolidated Manitoba Name Index (MANI) service to provide a central source for searching genealogical data. During the summer term, a new team of students worked on improvements to the MANI codebase and delivered a number of enhancements to improve the user experience and create new revenue generation opportunities. Read More →

Project Term: Summer 2019

Equal Opportunities West is a Winnipeg-based non-profit organization that provides support services to adults with developmental disabilities, helping them to attain meaningful employment. The organization’s rapid growth in the past five years increased the burden of administering activities involving staff, students, and vehicle assets. Employees were using a paper-based system and board to set activities, track assets and communicate with staff. The system could not keep up with all the activities and associated changes happening simultaneously.  A team of students from the ACE Project Space built a comprehensive resource management system to digitize the organization’s current system and improve business processes. Read More →