At the Centre for Digital Media (CDM) in Vancouver, experiential learning is key. To develop their skills, students need opportunities to experiment and expand their knowledge. That's why the CDM focuses so much on industry projects. Student projects are the heart of the Master of Digital Media program — Canada's first graduate degree in digital media.

Each term, teams of three to six students work on focused projects to develop prototypes or applications — from concept to final product. Projects can either be proposed by students as independent team collaborations, or sponsored by external clients.

The learning objectives of these projects are to provide hands-on experience working with teammates from different backgrounds and disciplines, as well as gain valuable experience working with clients. All projects follow a 12-week development process modeled to industry standards.

Let's check out just a few of the many innovative projects from CDM students over the last year.

Venture Project: Learn 3D

Led by Dr. Dave Fracchia, a team of four students — Hai Ly (Rey) Do, Marcieb (Mars) Balisacan, Stanly Jeong, and Wilson Leung — developed Learn 3D, an interactive gamification learning app that helps students to understand, learn, and have fun while tackling a technical and complex subject: 3D animation.

Unlike other options like Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, and YouTube, which rely heavily on video tutorials, Learn 3D combines simplified UI, interactive feedback, and gamified interactive content to help students comprehend and create 3D content in an engaging, rewarding, and fun environment.

Check out the Learn 3D project.

IRD VR with the Justice Institute of British Columbia

A team of five students — Molly Duan, Mzwakithi Shongwe, Renee (Renying) Chen, Ulisses Nascimento D'Ávila, and Yichen Liu — led by Bill (Di) Zhao, is working with the Justice Institute of BC to explore the application of virtual reality technology in police training for immediate rapid deployment (IRD).

The aim is to produce a supplementary learning tool that will enhance the quality of training and preparation for police recruits should they be called to respond to an active shooter emergency.

This project is a continuation of the VR simulation project with JIBC from the Spring 2022 semester. For this term, the team's working on evolving the IRD VR prototype into a product that can be used at the JIBC. The emphasis will be on the refinement and polish of the core simulation mechanics and virtual world details produced in the first term. By the end of the term, the product should be ready for deployment as a learning tool at JIBC.

Learn more about the IRD VR project.

Shakespeare in the Metaverse with Departure Lounge Inc.

Led by Dr. Rachel Ralph, a team of six students — Brenda Medina Carmona, Carlos Fernandez, Emma Bousfield, Gabriel Kwong, Isabela Lopez, and Robert Fiker — is working with Departure Lounge Inc. to create an immersive experience leveraging next-generation volumetric capture technology and the latest real-time development software to create a first-of-its-kind Shakespearean experience in the Metaverse.

As part of creating this experience, the team must research and develop all of the elements that go into a volumetric production and its pipeline. This includes planning for a volumetric shoot, setting up required shoot tests, planning shoot days, and working with processed volumetric data.

The purpose of this project is to help better inform Departure Lounge Inc. of the pipeline challenges and hardware deployment options for a final completed project.

If some of these words make sense to you, take a look at the Shakespeare in the Metaverse project!

It's not just students who love these projects. Employers love them too! Check out some of these industry testimonials from impressed designers and project managers:

Interested in taking part in a project like these yourself? Check out the CDM Master of Digital Media FAQ page to get your questions answered!