BrooksNet Sponsors Game Jam Event
About Game Jam
Galaxy Fibre’s valued partner, BrooksNet, sponsored the Game Jam event hosted by the Brooks Composite High School. Participants have twelve hours across two days to create a game within a specific set of parameters, and a panel of judges decide the winner(s) after playing the games. This year, students initially worked on initial coding with direction from computer science teacher David Brown before creating a video game that ultimately vies for the top prize.
Students also had the opportunity to speak with Hanif Joshaghani, a tech-entrepreneur and co-founder/CEO of Symend, based in Calgary. Joshaghani told his story about growing up in a refugee camp, immigrating to Canada, his rise through the tech world, and what type of tech skills he thinks will be in high demand in the near future. With demand for programmers, software engineers and coders increasing substantially, these events are particularly meaningful to foster a generation of tech talents.
Galaxy Fibre and BrooksNet have embarked on an endeavour to bring Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) internet to Brooks, guided by a vision to create a solid technology infrastructure for Brooks. Pure fibre opens the door for individuals looking to start a tech career path as it lays the groundwork for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. A robust internet connection is more than just a convenience–it gives aspiring technologists the tools to pursue STEM careers, which are undoubtedly the future of our economy. They also go beyond the relevant job roles that are often associated with STEM, as the skills learnt from STEM are invaluable to job fields in various industries.
Why STEM Education is Important
1. 21st-Century Skills
STEM-based education teaches concepts that are not just restricted to science and mathematics. They ingrain skills that are highly practical and relate to real-world applications, including what is dubbed as 21st-century skills.
21st-century skills are essentially what professionals would need to meet the minimum level of qualifications required to be on an equal level playing field in the 21st century. These skills include “media and technology literacy, productivity, social skills, communication, flexibility and initiative. Other skills attained through STEM education include problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, decision making, leadership, entrepreneurship, acceptance of failure and more.” Clearly, these skills are applicable to any field, and if there is no foundation to provide them, we are depriving a generation of what is arguably an educational right.
2. Gender Equality
A deep rooted issue that STEM education addresses is gender inequality when it comes to tech skills and jobs. A study that examined 424 startups and 70 Venture Capital (VC) funds found that women make up only 33% of tech employees. The gap is further widened as you move into the C-suite levels. This disappointing disparity can only get reformed if you make STEM education accessible, and that requires technology infrastructure to also be accessible and not an elusive amenity.
3. Meeting Market Demands
Simply put, STEM jobs are the future. With the way AI and algorithms are quickly taking over and completely flipping the script of how things work, one can imagine the need for technologists to further develop this technology in the future. This domain of tech also seeps into a multitude of verticals, such as oil and gas, finance and healthcare, further escalating the rising demand of these jobs in the coming years.
Game Jam showed what the next generation of Brooks is capable of, and highlighted what could possibly be forgone if these students don’t have the right tools. Fibre internet will make education more accessible, tech skills more attainable and will allow Brooks to be a breeding ground for businesses that can capitalize on this burgeoning talent.
