Alice in Wonderland - a programming adventure!

Computer programming is a misunderstood art form, even though it exists in almost every area of our lives. With the help of "Alice" you will learn how to build your own animated story, 3D video game or music video just by interacting with objects in a virtual 3D world. Playing games is fun, but programming games allows you to express yourself and watch others have fun with your creation.

Design and Program a Lego Robot

Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to design a robust robot which can detect the edge of a field and efficiently clear that field of landmines. Join the Engineers in the Engineering Design Lab to build the robot minesweeper and then program its “Brick” to perform the movements needed to clear the field.

Environmental Mysteries

Here is a chance to learn who makes sure the air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat and the stuff you buy won't hurt you. A whirlwind tour of the university's facilities will give you a chance to understand what environmental actions are taken every day to ensure your health and safety. You may want to check the radiation levels from your cell phone or the sound levels from your iPod. We'd love to help you explore the fascinating world of the environment. Welcome aboard.

Gene Hunter

Ever wondered how DNA stores biological information as a long molecule? Participants will extract DNA from strawberries, and then examine how DNA is used to store cellular instructions. Explore the software used by molecular biologists when they need to determine the identity or function of a piece of DNA, and then write "secret messages" as a gene!

How do they get all that music into your iPod?

Have you ever wondered how you can store 2000 songs on your iPod? We will explore how music is digitized, and then spend time creating and editing our own digital music.

I’ve Got a Secret: An Introduction to the Science of Secrecy

For centuries there has been an ongoing battle between people who study how to send secrets in private (by practicing cryptography) and people trying to steal these secrets (using cryptanalysis).  Join us for an interactive and historical look at the science of secrecy!

Plant-inspired Solar Energy

We will start by examining some cool examples of Biomimicry. This new field is an approach to technological innovation that draws on ideas from Nature to solve challenges in human technology and design. It involves learning from, and then adapting Nature’s best ideas to create a healthier, more sustainable planet. Next, your team will practice Biomimicry by constructing a dye-sensitized solar cell (a “Blackberry” solar cell). After constructing your solar cell, we will explore how solar can be integrated with other renewable energy systems on a miniature scale. Finally, we will look at some of the world’s best examples of large-scale solar installations.

Postcard Art - Create and Share Your Design Electronically!

Discover the world of Electronic Publishing where creativity merges with technology. You will use industry-standard software and technology to design a postcard that communicates what inspires you and/or expresses something about yourself, using photos, illustrations, and type. You will then learn how to share your postcard with others electronically. Please bring some of the following to the session: photos of people who inspire you; photos of places you enjoy; a small keep sake such as a piece of jewelry or a wrist band; a favourite book, poem or phrase; lyrics from a favourite song.

Seeing the Invisible

Have you ever thought about or wished to be invisible? Is there really such thing as being invisible? Come and join us in learning and exploring how to see things that we might have thought to be invisible like your breath, a cough or even the rays coming out of your remote control.

Symmetry: the fascinating world of art, computing and mathematics.
Math + Photoshop = Art

In this session you’ll use a few concepts from mathematics and Adobe Photoshop to create a tessellation from your choice of pictures. A tessellation is a tiling with all tiles the same shape and no gaps between tiles. Our end result is a neat design you can save to show your friends. Do you enjoy art as well as computing and mathematics? Then do come and join us for a fun event filled with explorations into the symmetries in paintings or carpet designs. Did you know there are only 17 fundamental symmetries for carpet patterns?

The Beauty of Chemistry and the Chemistry of Beauty

Chemistry is at the center of your life. It is involved in how your body absorbs nutrients from the food you eat, and how your cell phone works; it explains why you use shampoo to wash your hair, and is important in the color, texture, and scent of make-up and perfume. Have you ever wondered what goes into your makeup? What are all those crazy names on the back of the shampoo bottle? Learn how to design make-up with the aid of a computer, and then enter the lab to make your own beauty products to take home with you.

The Ultimate Video Game

Test your skills in a life-size aviation simulator. Experience the thrill of the take-off and the excitement of the landing that YOU control. Master this, The Ultimate Video Game, and imagine yourself as the Chief Pilot flying Pink in a private jet to her next concert! Meet flight instructors, who fly every day from the MRU hangar, training tomorrow's captains. Learn how you could be one of them!

Up to Scratch

Feeling creative? Try Scratch, a visual programming language that lets you create projects including interactive animations, stories and games. Use the characters that come with the program or create your own drawings and animate them. Disk to take home included.

Where IS that Hidden Treasure?

Geocaching is the latest game around: 'geo' for 'geography', and 'cache' for 'hidden stash'. We use a GPS to find hidden treasure, and in the process learn about map reading, and the use of Global Positioning Systems for locating and navigating. We are outdoors, so appropriate clothing is required!

Are you the next Television Superstar?

Behind the scenes or on-camera, television offers exciting work in a wide variety of positions to suit your personality and creativity. Join us in SAIT’s state-of-the-art studio and explore the roles of camera, audio, and computer graphics operators, video switcher, lighting director, news, sports, and weather anchors. Come to this session and produce your very own “Action Central News!”

Are you the next Great Robot Inventor?

Robotic devices are the wave of the future (think pool cleaners, lawnmowers, etc.). The possibilities are endless. At the Build a Robotic Device session, you will use simple electronic fabrication skills including component identification and soldering to create a robotic device that you can take home and show off to your friends and family!

Are you the next Big Shot Architect?

It's a beautiful day in YOUR neighbourhood! At Builder's Tech: Computer Home Design, you will learn about the field of residential architectural technology and design your very own house using 3D CADD (Computer-Aided Drafting and Design) software, and you get to take home a replica of your own house design too!

Are you the next Networking Mastermind?

What is a computer network? Only the backbone of every corporation or business in the entire world! Using a collection of interconnected computers and devices allows for communication among users and sharing resources. Learn how to create a simple network, how to connect computers with a hub, how to use IP addresses, and how to make sure your network is working properly at Computer Networking.

Are you the next Programming Visionary?

Computer programming can be fun, and profitable! Take a note from Microsoft creator Bill Gates who wrote his first software program at the age of 13. At Computer Programming, learn all about Graphical User Interface (GUI); a program that takes advantage of the computer's graphics capabilities to make it easier to use without complex command languages.

Are you the next Website-Creating Billionaire?

Ok, so the creator of Facebook is a genius from Harvard, but designing a website isn’t that complicated! You don`t have to be a techie to learn any type of complicated code either. At How to Create a Website, you’ll learn how to plan, design, and build a simple website. Once you know the basics, you are limited only by your imagination.

Are you the next Cover-designing Artist Extraordinaire?

Using digital photography and Desktop Publishing software, learn how to apply them to create magazine covers that can stand out and compete for attention in How to Design a Magazine Cover. Learn all about the camera and how to compose the perfect picture. Then, using your very own photo, and the latest in Adobe design software, learn how to lay out an eye-catching magazine cover that will seriously impress.

Are you the next IT Superhero?

Take IT Troubleshooting 101 and come to the rescue of your friends and family who are ready to throw their computers out the window! First, discover what to do if your computer won’t start. Also, learn how to fine tune your computer and get trained on the basic knowledge of what to look for and how to fix it when you run into problems, which everybody does!

Are you the next Amazing Website Makeover-er?

Well it’s just another boring website... we see them all the time. So how would you like to Jazz Up Your Website? Learn how to ‘mashup’ content from powerful sites like Google Maps and YouTube into your homepage, and also use image rollovers to make your pages more interesting. Build pages that you can upload onto your own website using a collection of the latest web programming languages.

Are you the next Mobile App Designer?

How cool are mobile apps? Join us for an adventure into the world of Mobile app development. Through hands-on activity or by following along you will gain a stronger understanding of the skills required to create mobile applications. Students will experience an introduction to the world of programming, completing a customizable mobile app in this session!

Are you the next Social Networking Guru?

If you like mingling and sharing with your friends online and want to know more about platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, come to Social Networking: Interacting Online. You will discover some new helpful applications, and also find out how to be more secure when using these platforms. If you are new to social interacting online, you will learn what to do and what to watch out for.

Are you the next Computer Forensic Expert?

There are a lot of computer threats out there. Learn how to detect them and protect your computer from the nasty bugs that can infect your system. Become skilled at IT Security and understand what viruses, Malware and Trojan Horses are all about, and what you can do to minimize or stop the damage they may cause to your IT system.

Are you the next Super Awesome Game Developer?

Get your future career started now in the world of 2D Game Design! Use your artistic, technical, and writing skills and your creativity to design a fun interactive animated game with the coolest software around – Adobe Flash. This is a great hands-on opportunity to develop your very own computer game that you’ll want to share with all your friends!

Computer Guts!

Ever wonder what happens inside your computer when you view a YouTube video? Why it takes so long for some things to work some of the time? Or maybe you just want to understand what all these funny names are that seem so important when buying a computer. To learn about this and more, we'll shrink down to the size of an electron and travel through the parts of a computer to see just what is going on!

Dealing with Lots (and Lots) of Biological Data

Modern biology creates A LOT of data by conducting A LOT of experiments! So much data that it is almost impossible to manually inspect the information. The advancements in the tools (microarray technology) and computational methods (bioinformatics) used in biology are amazing! We will look at data from real microarray experiments and use bioinformatics to analyze what it all means.

Discover the Magic of Web Design

Feeling creative? Using the coolest graphic design effects found on the web today, this session will teach you how to create and edit designs with image manipulation and retouching techniques, and show you how to transform a basic web page to an innovative, artistic site with interactive functions! You’ll also learn how to hand-code html, add creative text effects, and customize graphics.

Electronic Gizmos

Do you like creating things with your hands? Well, here is an exciting opportunity to learn and practice the skills you need to construct (and take home with you) your very own "electronic gizmo". You will assemble a simple circuit board with electronic components and even use a soldering iron!

Find your way with GPS!

You have just discovered an old map of the University of Calgary with a strange X on it! Your curiosity is awakened! Is it treasure? Discover how GPS can help you find what is hidden behind the X and if X really marks the spot. We will spend some time outside so please dress appropriately for the Calgary weather.

How Do You Move?

Every day we move; we walk, we run, we skip and we jump! Learning how the body moves is important in many careers. Whether you are a coach training the next Olympic medalist or a doctor treating an injured person, computers and video can help us understand how people move. See demonstrations of and even try out the tools our Olympic athletes use.

Human-robot interaction (HRI)

Learn more about the new and exciting field of human-robot interaction (HRI)! You learn about humanoids, androids, robotics tools, and sociable robots. Participants will interact with four modern domestic (household) robots and learn about the robots' sensors, actuators, hardware and software and discuss the uses and limitations of these robots as household entities. In this fun, innovative session, you will meet three Sony AIBO ERS-7 robot dogs and one iRobot Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, all part of the University of Calgary's uTouch research group at the Interactions Lab.

Robotics 101: An Introduction

The use of robots in society is fascinating and becoming more and more widespread. In this introduction to robotics session, you will learn how to program a computer controlled robotic car! Computer programs are a sequence of instructions. You will create programs to turn Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and motors on and off, and learn about the notion of "state" and conditional branches to create a computer program that operates a robotic "car". No prior computer programming experience is required.

The Internet and the Wireless Web

The Internet is a massive network connecting millions of computers together globally. The World Wide Web is a way of getting this information to your computer. Learn more about the Internet, the World Wide Web, Web proxies, firewalls, wireless networks, email spam, and other security vulnerabilities on today's Internet. After an introductory presentation, you will work on a laptop to configure your own Web proxy and even do some simple interactive wireless video streaming!

Donna Wittmann,
Vice President, Partner Organization, Cisco Systems Canada

Ms. Wittmann joined Cisco Canada as the vice-president of the Partner Organization in April, 2009. In this role, Donna leads a diverse organization with responsibilities for channel partners, distribution, and the Small and Medium business segment in Canada. Her team works to ensure that all channel partners have the necessary programs, tools, training, and support resources to create demand and preference for Cisco products in the marketplace. In 2010, she was named the #7 Newsmaker of the Year by CDN Magazine and was named a Top 25 Women in the Channel.

Donna previously served as the vice-president of Software for Dell where she was responsible for all elements of the marketing mix and vendor management for Dell’s $5B software business in the Americas (US, Canada, and Latin America). Prior to that, she had full profit & loss responsibility for Dell’s $650M Software and Peripherals business in Canada and Latin America with responsibility for software, imaging, displays, and peripherals.

Prior to joining Dell in 2006, Donna spent 15 years with Xerox Corporation where she held a variety of senior-level sales and marketing positions, most notably as the vice-president of Small and Medium Business for North America. She also served as Xerox Canada’s vice-president of Channels. Donna’s experiences have spanned four major geographies, including the U.S., Canada, Latin America, and Western Europe and four unique sales channels having led direct, agent, dealer, and VAR channels during the course of her career.

Donna is on the board of the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance whose mission is to attract foreign investment into the Greater Toronto Area. She is also active in the community, currently serving on the fundraising committee for Future Possibilities for Kids – an Ontario-wide organization that provides mentoring to underserved children and promotes leadership and community involvement.

Donna holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She lives in downtown Toronto and enjoys tennis, golf, music, art, and travel.