2019 FCAT Undergraduate Conference

At the 2019 FCAT Undergraduate Conference, students from the School of Communication, School of Interactive Arts and Technology, School for the Contemporary Arts, Publishing program and Semester in Alternate Realities came together to present 33 projects related to the theme of "emergent." This theme encouraged students to explore new ideas and situations and to imagine potential futures. Over 170 faculty, staff, students, friends, alumni and community members joined this interdisciplinary showcase of inspiring student work.

For detailed information on schedule, guest speakers and projects:  UGC 2019 Brochure


2019 conference submissions now closed.
 

  • Date: Friday, March 1, 2019
  • Time: 3:00 pm – 7:30 pm
  • Location: Surrey City Hall
  • RSVP: Eventbrite

  • Keynote Speaker: Carmen Aguirre

  • Aoife Mac Namara, Dean of FCAT, welcoming UGC.

  • Stuart Poyntz, FCAT Associate Dean.

  • Alumni Panel (left to right): Paul Juricic (CMNS), June Fukumura (SCA), Justin Liebregts (SIAT) and moderator David Murphy.

  • Team Kandinsky from Semester in Alternate Realities

  • Jasleen Bains from School of Communication presenting her project: Punjabi Media: The Link Between issues, Stakeholders and Citizenship in the Surrey Municipal Election

  • Fegor Obuwoma from School for Contemporary Art showcasing her film: Nollywood

  • Jenika Ebing from School of Communication presenting her project: Economy of the Healthcare Industry, 1860-1930

  • Nicholas Kenton Lui from School of Interactive Art and Technology presenting his design demo: The Night Pearl

  • Rachel Wong from School of Communication presenting her project: Voices in the Park: Decolonizing the History of Stanley Park

  • Student group from Publishing Program exhibiting their project: Sum of our Memories

What 2019 presenters had to say...

Nicholas Lui

Interactive Arts and Technology student

Describe the work that you presented at the UGC

The Night Pearl is a wall sconce design worked in a team in the course Materials In Design. However, I brought this wall light further by joining the FCAT Undergraduate Conference 2019, and created the final iterated prototype. This light inherits the Chinese culture into the contemporary light design, aiming to embrace the regional culture to a broader public.

What was the process like to prepare for your presentation?

To prepare for the presentation, I actually re-iterated my prototype by exploring more possibilities to enhance the cultural elements and the light pattern created with the wall sconce. Besides the product itself, I organized my presentation in a way that can be easily understood by the general public. Therefore, I would describe this experience as a product pitch too.

Describe your experience of presenting at the UGC

This was actually my second time joining the FCAT Undergraduate Conference. Internally, I think the conference allows me to connect with other presenters, exchanging our thoughts and ideas on what we have produced our project. Externally, I think the conference me to demonstrate my project to a larger group of public audiences.

Therefore, the projects we have done in classes are never just for academic, but actual projects or campaigns which may make a change to our community. In conclusion, I would say the conference empowers students to do something more, and definitely recommended you to be part of it.

Jenika Ebing

Communication student

Describe the work that you presented at the UGC

My presentation was on medicine and modernity, and the development of modern healthcare administration. Importantly it was highlighting the ways in which modern healthcare administration and architecture was influenced by modernism during the 18603 and 1930s, especially by scientific management, specialization, and rapid development in clinical science. It then analyzed these changes within a narrative of the development of Royal Columbian Hospital based in New Westminster, using primary archival sources.

What was the process like to prepare for your presentation?

Working with the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation and building the historical narrative with them, I was very comfortable with the content - I think the trickiest part was narrowing down my paper (which was 40 pages) into a 10 minute presentation that still broke down some of the heavy medical jargon and historical concepts.  I found I had to go through my content often to try and trim things out yet still keep a flow, I wanted to keep my audience interested and remind them of the importance of establishing a political economy narrative for the development of modern medicine.

Describe your experience of presenting at the UGC

Overall, I learned a lot presenting to an audience that may not be as well versed in your area of interest as you are when creating.  Another huge thing, the time goes by fast! I appreciated the supportive faculty, and I loved doing the panel, that's where I felt I could give more detail about the history.

Would you recommend that students participate in the UGC?

I would recommend that students participate in the UGC if they wish to do graduate studies, it is great to help you connect with the faculty and have the experience of a more intimate conference before going on to do other ones that may have larger audiences - I was able to take what I learned and apply it to my presentation on the same subject for the UGRS taking place a few weeks after.

Jasleen Bains

Communication student

Describe the work that you presented at the UGC

My research project was an exploration of the 2018 municipal election election in Surrey and the coverage undertaken by Punjabi media. Through media analysis, structured interviews, and research compilation, my project uncovered the diverse content produced by Punjabi media during an election period, and how it not only informed individuals through issue examination but acted as a space for citizenship building.

What was the process like to prepare for your presentation?

In preparation for my presentation I sought out advice from my professor, Dr. Daniel Ahadi, who oversaw my research. I thought about the meaning behind my project and why I chose to study Punjabi media. Through this process I really wanted to tell the unique story of the civic elections in Surrey and the coverage undertaken my Punjabi media.

Describe your experience of presenting at the UGC

The FCAT conference was an amazing experience. Not only was I able to showcase my work to my peers, but I was able to listen to others explain the dedication it took to prepare such interesting projects. It was truly a safe space, where students were able to share ideas and collaborate on ways to expand and scale up our projects.

Would you recommend that students participate in the UGC?

I would definitely recommend that others participate in the FCAT Undergraduate Conference. Often, when students put in their time and effort into their work, it is forgotten about as soon as it gets submitted. Here, students are able to explain the importance of their work to others and gain recognition for all that they have accomplished.

Rachel Wong

Communication student

Describe the work that you presented at the UGC

My presentation was entitled “Voices in the Park: Decolonizing the History of Stanley Park”. It compares Vancouver’s Stanley Park through constructed narratives by our society and compares that to the lesser known narratives about First Nations relations to the park. The goal is to challenge our perceptions of and what we know about popular places.

What was the process like to prepare for your presentation?

I started working on this project through the FCAT Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Fall 2018 with Dr. Alison Beale. The process included a lot of primary and secondary document research, talking to people about Stanley Park, and actually walking through the park to get a sense of how the park is portrayed to the public.

Describe your experience of presenting at the UGC

It was an amazing experience to present at the conference because it provided another opportunity to present in front of people and prepare a presentation based on the research that I worked on. It was great to see the research that I did on paper come to life through the presentation and have conversations with people about these topics afterwards.

Would you recommend that students participate in the UGC?

I think all students should participate at least once in their degree! It can strengthen presentation skills which we will all need at some point in our career. It also is the coolest feeling to share your work and have conversations about it with people at the conference after!