Humber Polytechnic students showcased their skills while working on a real, industry-relevant challenge with one team winning first place at the CICan National Skills for Success Hackathon.
At the hackathon, students were supported by mentors and facilitators as they built their skills in a team-oriented setting. The experience is designed to enhance personal and professional development through creativity, collaboration and applied learning.
Emma Martini, an Industry Specialist with Student Success and Engagement at Humber, served as a facilitator at the hackathon. One thing that jumped out to Martini was the wealth of creative ideas the students came up with and how, despite being from different Faculties and programs, they worked exceptionally well together.
The 11 Humber students in three teams who participated came from programs including User Experience Design, General Arts and Science - University Transfer, Bachelor of Science - Nursing, Carpentry and Renovation Techniques and many others.
Each team worked to design an innovative online tool aligned with the Skills for Success model a national framework that promotes key competencies such as communication, adaptability, collaboration and innovation. Martini said these same skills are central to the Humber Learning Outcomes, making the experience both relevant and rewarding.
The teams applied human-centred design thinking to solve real-world problems. Throughout a weekend, they gained valuable hands-on experience and received a certificate to enhance their resume while making meaningful contributions to a project that supports learners, educators and employers across Canada.
Advertising and Marketing Communications student Jona Espejo, Alternative Dispute Resolution student Arman Raza and Business Management student Christianson Tan were part of the EmpowerCAN team that won the hackathon.
They were tasked with coming up with an idea to integrate AI for learners to provide real-time, personalized guidance throughout their career journey.
The team's project was to create a website that generates enhanced user engagement through gamification. The website would include an interactive career quiz along with an experience point and badge system to encourage users to complete career-building tasks. There would be weekly challenges and leaderboard rankings to boost motivation and participation.
"We wanted to highlight how growing your career could be a fun adventure," said Espejo.
There would also be an AI career guide to offer resume feedback, interview preparation, tailored career tips and more. It would also suggest educational paths and activities that could help boost the user's career.
"Participating in the CICan National Skills for Success Hackathon was exciting and helped spark new ideas and ways of thinking about career growth through the development of a prototype for an innovative online tool," said Espejo adding, through the experience she refined both foundational and soft skills such as problem solving.
Raza said taking part in the hackathon helped with his communication and people skills and he feels strengthening those will have benefits for both his personal and professional life.
"It was truly a pleasure working alongside Jona and Arman," added Tan. "They're not only brilliant team members but also deeply passionate about their work. Jona brought impressive creativity and skill to the marketing visuals in our presentation along with exceptional storytelling ability while Arman demonstrated thoughtful research. Working with them has been an inspiring experience and I genuinely hope students will feel just as empowered and motivated."
Martini said the hackathon let the students showcase skills including creative thinking, teamwork, communication and problem-solving. As well, they had opportunities to network with peers, mentors and industry professionals while gaining confidence and working on a project they can include on their resumes.
"It felt unreal to win but the main thing is we came to learn, and we did," said Espejo. "It was a fun and rewarding experience to create this prototype for students and having a chance to represent Humber Polytechnic was very humbling and a proud moment."
Raza added he was extremely proud of what their team accomplished with just three members with other teams having several more.
