Samsung launches projects with UTM

Adam Erb | November 28, 2011 

 

UTM and Samsung will partner on upcoming media projects that bring something new and exciting in social media.

UTM and Samsung embarked on two different projects: “Design Jam” and “Sharing Possibilities for Apps in Research and Knowledge” (SPARK). The aim of these projects is to give students the opportunity to be part of shaping the future of social media and also to create a paradigm shift in the way we think about accessible technology. Samsung provided smart TVs, smartphones, and tablets to the students for each project.

Design Jam set out to redefine and reimagine what it would be like to take a family game night and put it in an electronic media format. Four groups of UTM students brainstormed what that would look like and produced a video daily journal of their day, a multiplayer karaoke game, and a family scavenger hunt called “Augmented Reality”.

“We are excited to work with Samsung Canada on these projects that will benefit our students, our graduates, and, ultimately, our society,” said professor Anthony Wensley, the director of UTM’s Institute of Communication, Culture, and Information Technology. “Through our partnership, we are focussing on the skills our digital design students will need when they enter the workforce and the innovative applications that will best meet the needs of our wired and networked community.”

SPARK, set to begin in 2012, will challenge UTM students to design new concepts for applications that revolve around education, business innovation, and social responsibility.