In the Middle of DigiCamp

Friday evening, and I am walking through the halls of the École de technologie supérieure with a piece of cardboard bouncing on my grey jacket. “Facilitator” is highlighted in yellow on my badge. That is the mysterious^title I have been given. It is not even 5 p.m., and I am sipping my second organic maple cola while a handful of people gather around tables. The Journal Métro representative unrolls a poster as tall as my six-foot-one frame, and students lean over sheets listing the weekend’s problems. “How can we offer a virtual-reality experience that is both immersive and collective?” asks Moment Factory. “How can we make it easier to^personalize public-transit routes?” asks STM. These were two of the five questions

the 47 participants in

the first DigiCamp tried to answer over the weekend of May 6, 7 and 8. In short, DigiCamp means 24 hours of work to prepare a five-minute pitch presenting a social, creative andinnovative solution. Students from software, mechanical and electronic engineering, design and HEC Montréal marketing took on challenges presented by emblematic Montréal organizations: Moment Factory, Desjardins, STM, Quartier des spectacles, Journal Métro and Ellicom. By bringing together different profiles, the activity encouraged communication, collaboration and open-mindedness so that teams could tackle concrete problems. And I was still there, my shoes squeaking, wondering what a facilitator was supposed to do. In doubt, I told myself, do PR. After 15 minutes and four conversations beginning with “Hi! What brings you to DigiCamp?”, the answers were already interesting. Participants had come because of the companies’ reputations, the chance to network and

challenged, alone or in

pairs, on a whim or because a friend had toldthem to come. In the end, curiosity was certainly what brought them together on the floor of the INGO spaces on Peel Street. At the end of the weekend, the jury awarded first prize to STM Live, a team formed at the last

minute. One member, initially planning 

to work with another group, chose the STMchallenge aftersome hesitation. Another agreed to separate^from the friend she came with for the weekend in order to work on the project. A third would only arrive the day after the event began. When I saw this unexpected team take off, I jumped at the chance to accompany them. After all, I had to live up to my facilitator title. There were pitch tips — “It is not clear enough!” — and invitations to revisit the problem, including a few teasing reminders that one could do the same thing with Google Maps. Working on this project, I had the privilege of taking part with these apprentice entrepreneurs in a particularly enriching adventure. After the bursts of energy brought on by exciting ideas came the hard return to reality: the team was proposing a solution that did not correspond to STM’s need. Once the drop in motivation had passed, enthusiasm had to be doubled, which is easier when three, four or even five different minds constantly bring new perspectives to the same idea. The moral of the story is that small

major turnarounds

and big surprises made the weekend an emotional roller coaster, but did not overcome the team’s determination. It was further proof that curiosity and hard work are decisive qualities for the success of any undertaking, whether

commercial, artistic or social.