College media students team up for Tecconnect Challenge
By Bobinec, Greg on February 26, 2020.
Lethbridge College Multimedia Production and Digital Communications and Media students work with a Tecconnect entrepreneur to come up with solutions to help push their business further, as part of the Tecconnect Challenge, Tuesday afternoon. Herald photo by Greg Bobinec @GBobinecHeraldGreg Bobinec
Lethbridge Herald
Two of Lethbridge College’s media programs featuring about 30 students joined forces with a local entrepreneur to gain real-life working experience and to help solve some industry problems.
Students from the Multimedia Production and Digital Communications and Media programs underwent a five-hour challenge, working in groups to create a marketing plan and collaterals to help solve challenges for the entrepreneur.
“Today we are at the Tecconnect Challenge, so there are students from both Multimedia Production and Digital Communications and Media and we are live on location at Tecconnect and they have provided a location and an entrepreneur from their technology incubator,” says Tanya Weber, LC Multimedia Production instructor. “The entrepreneur has met with our students, given them what the challenges to growing their business are and some ideas of the types of media that they could create, then our students use design thinking to make a whole bunch of solutions for that entrepreneur grow their business.”
Following a meeting with the entrepreneur a few weeks ago, student groups had to create a plan and collaterals that would include a logo update, motion graphics, animation, TV or radio commercials, social media accounts, virtual reality applications and more, before pitching their ideas to a panel of local entrepreneurs and marketers for feedback.
“They met with the entrepreneur three weeks ago, and they have been able to meet with their groups and come up with a strategy of how they are going to tackle those pain points or problems the entrepreneur has, but they don’t actually build anything until they get here today,” says Weber. “Between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. they are in an intensive creative process and then between 2 and 4 p.m., each group will present their products or solutions to a panel of judges, which is made up of other entrepreneurs from the Tecconnect incubator and then some marketing specialists.”
This year, the students worked with Sinmi Esense, CEO and co-founder of Daniola Corporation, which provides a new approach in the global exchange market through a software platform.
Through this experience, the college students were able to let their creativity flow freely, as they got one of their first opportunities to take on a project from a real client.
“They are collaborative groups of the two classes. We find that often in our industries that our graduates would often be working together, so we feel like this really mirrors what the teams would be like in the industry once they graduate,” says Weber. “We find that students usually say that this is one of their favourite learning experiences throughout their program because it gives them that real-world experience before they’re in the industry where their money and reputation is on the line, so it gets that experience of working with entrepreneurs and marketers, as well as building their confidence and capabilities to do that.”
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