Showcasing Student Innovation at CTRL+ALT+EXHIBIT

­This spring, the Computer Science Student Society (CSSS) teamed up with zu to host CTRL+ALT+EXHIBIT, a unique celebration of student work. 

Noel Doll shows off his group project, "Felt Knight", a top-down arcade-style video. (Photo: Submitted)

CTRL+ALT+EXHIBIT is an event conceived by computer science student Chi Vu. “As a student, I always see people in my classes working on all sorts of cool projects. I wanted to create an opportunity for them to showcase their hard work,” Vu explained.

After gaining support from the CSSS executive in February the team worked diligently to pull together the event in just under a month. The search for a modern event space conducive to networking led to a collaboration with zu. “Having interned with zu last year and knowing how wonderful they are, I reached out to them for a potential collaboration, and they were immediately on board,” said Vu.

Held on March 19 at zu’s headquarters in downtown Saskatoon, the event featured two parts: an open exhibition where students could explore different projects and chat with the presenters, and a design workshop led by zu to provide hands-on experience in UX/UI.

While the event focused on an in-person showcase, the organizers also created a virtual gallery to host submissions, making it easy for everyone to enjoy the students' work. 

The virtual gallery increased accessibility to the showcase and is available for a period of time after the in-person event.

Projects spanned various fields of computing, including UX/UI, game development, bioinformatics, and operating systems. Despite the diversity in topics, all projects showcased the students’ creativity, problem-solving, and technical skills.

The design workshop was led by three zu employees, including their Principal Designer. Participants were guided through a group design exercise to recreate a well-known interface from memory—on paper. After ideating their own UX improvements on the paper designs, they were shown how to turn them into digital prototypes with a Figma tutorial.

Vu describes the event as being well-received by all. “The students had a great time sharing their work, and zu was excited to connect with the up-and-coming tech talent from USask,” she said.  “For me, it was the perfect way to wrap up the term—bringing together the two groups that are near and dear to me for something truly special.”