Research

The AC Human-Centred Design Lab collaborates with Dominica State College

Staff and students pose in front of a Dominic State College podium.

Image: From left to right, Professor Jed Looker (HCDL), Gilmar Joseph (DSC), J’Quan Lecointe (DSC), Luna Liu (HCDL), Jaimon Orlé (DSC), Dr. Hermancia S. Eugene-Zamore (DSC), and Jane Wang (HCDL) at Dominica State College.

Jed Looker, Research Chair of the Human-Centred Design Lab (HCDL), along with student interns Jane Wang and Luna Liu of the Interdisciplinary Studies in Human-Centred Design postgraduate program, participated in a mission to the Commonwealth of Dominica in support of the Skills to Access Green Economy Program (SAGE) applied research project.

The mission took place from Oct. 17 to 28 and was managed by Julita Palka, Senior Regional Manager, International Education Centre, responsible for the implementation of SAGE initiatives.

The applied research project is funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and administered by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan). The goal of the project is to increase economic opportunities for graduates of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions in Dominica with a particular focus on climate-smart construction/carpentry skills for the green economy.
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Smart Tenant wins first place at RE/ACTION Showcase

Smart Tenant earned first place at Friday’s RE/ACTION: Applied Research Showcase. The mobile app provides a platform for tenants to connect with the local community, buy and sell good in an online marketplace and correspond with their shared property management company.

The members of the student team that designed the app — including leader Kiet Vuong, mobile app developer Evan Liko, web developer Son Tran and UI/UX designer Kseniia Chornokondratenko — each brought their own expertise to achieve the client’s vision. Features of the app include private messaging between tenants, landlord/tenant correspondence through cloud functions, as well as moderation of not safe for work content on the newsfeed and marketplace screens through the use of AI.

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Smart Tenant wins top prize at RE/ACTION Showcase

The winner of Friday’s virtual RE/ACTION: Applied Research Showcase is Smart Tenant, a mobile app for a property management company in Ottawa to engage in better and continuous communication with their tenants.

Hosted by the Office of Applied Research, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, the goal of RE/ACTION is to create a platform for students to showcase their hard work to an audience of their peers, faculty and community partners. Five project finalists were chosen out of 43 submissions to present to a panel of industry professionals during the live Zoom event.

Created by Mobile Application Design and Development students Karim Shaloh, Eric Shantz, J-C Castagne, Mohsen Qaddoura, Evan Liko and Sandeep Saini, Smart Tenant is a social platform for tenants in their client’s properties to communicate with one another. Team lead Shaloh detailed the team’s work over the past four months in creating an app that would help increase tenant retention, satisfaction and overall customer experience.

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