John Fedoruk // submitted photo by Samantha Adamson
U of M staff wins Canada’s Developer 30 Under 30 Award
John Fedoruk on what the award means to him
Last month, John Fedoruk flew to Toronto to receive a 30 Under 30 Developer Award that recognizes the stars behind information technology (IT) infrastructure at Canadian companies. The list of winners include employees from startups like the acclaimed small business accounting website, Wave, to major enterprises like Google, to the University of Manitoba — which was also the sole educational institution recognized.
“The best thing about the award ceremony was meeting people and sharing ideas,” says Fedoruk, application developer, information services and technology (IST). “I’m so passionate about my work; I’m so in love with my work, and it’s great to talk about it with others.”
A graduate of computer science at the U of M, Fedoruk [BSc/16] started an IT company while he was still a student. He then worked for a year at an IT company in London, England. There, he realized he wanted to plant his feet back home, so while overseas, he bought a house in Winnipeg. Now, he considers himself lucky to live in the city and work at the U of M.
“I’ve come at a good time — IST is embarking on some progressive and innovative projects,” says Fedoruk. “It’s inspiring to work with supportive people, brainstorm new ideas and build on each other’s work and initiatives.”
One of the projects Fedoruk worked on was the IBM Watson’s Machine Learning (AI) proof of technology pilot. Led by Mario Lebar, chief information officer, IST, the pilot examined how AI could be used as a chat agent to assist students with common enrollment questions at the U of M. The pilot was supported by an integrated development team that included members from IST, Academic Learning Centre and Libraries. Fedoruk’s main role on the pilot was to be the sole developer and technical designer for the chat interface, administrative management interface and server implementation. This pilot was a business and technical success, and IST is expecting to move forward with further research on how to use this platform this fall.
“The award means a lot, but also the recognition from my manager, John Dalke,” adds Fedoruk. “He gave a glowing reference for me for the finalist process of the award. I owe him a great deal of appreciation!”
For more information about the award, visit the Developer 30 Under 30 website.
General information on IST projects can be found on their website.