A conversation with Jim Gibson, Chief Catalyst, SAIT’s School of Advanced Digital Technology

At InceptionU, we know that learning is not linear. So, it only makes sense that your pathway into a tech-related career likely isn’t going to be linear either. There may be up days and down days, times when you’re on a developer ‘high’ and days when you’re having a learner ‘low’.

Here’s what we can tell you - if you can wholeheartedly embrace and make a personal investment in the following three areas, you’ll be well positioned to have a successful career in a constantly evolving digital world.

We asked a guy who should know! We recently sat down with Jim Gibson, the Chief Catalyst of SAIT’s new School for Advanced Digital Technology and a partner at Thin Air Labs, for his thoughts on tech education and where Alberta needs to go to build a successful innovation ecosystem and sustainable economy.

Awareness
So, you’re curious. You hear about the tech industry in the news, you likely have friends who work for some pretty intriguing new startups. But, you’re just not sure it’s for you? It’s time to do some research and figure out what might pique your interest and how you can transition your current skills into something new. Maybe you’re launching into your first ever career! Gibson recommends talking to people in the industry, making connections, virtual coffees and hitting up Google.

“For example, if I’m in the energy industry or geophysics, then I need to spend time making connections and finding out what digital energy looks like. Where are the new things that are changing because of transformation in the energy industry? You need to be aware of what’s coming,” he says.

Interestingly, that “awareness mindset” can begin young - even kids as young as 14 or 15 can start to show signs of curiosity, and parents and educators can help foster that.

“If we can get in front of young kids at that early age and give them a vision of where it’s going, what are some of the great things happening, what do jobs look like in the future and what do skills look like? At Thin Air and SAIT, we are getting in front of school boards and saying how can we support that on an active basis?”

Mindset 

Then, Gibson recommends, focusing on your mindset and your attitude towards learning. This is our “sweet spot” at InceptionU and we take pride in helping you to think about learning differently.  We encourage people to think about their education as lifelong learning, where they may never be future proof, but they can be future fit.

“I need to start thinking about the mindsets around systems and critical thinking that says this won’t be the last pivot I make. If I make one, I’m going to need to make another. To be aware of what’s coming and have the capacity as a learner to absorb new things. That’s where critical systems thinking comes in,” says Gibson.

Skills Training
Lastly, you can begin to acquire skills. There are many educational pathways you can take, whether it's a 6-month training program like InceptionU, courses at SAIT, internships with companies or a university degree. Most often, it’s transferring existing skills and adding on to the existing tools you already have in your tool box.

“What are the skills I can transfer from what I know today to something that is more relevant to something in the future? For example, if I know a little bit about data because I come from the field and do a lot of work in data, well perhaps understanding digital energy and data leads to a conversation about machine learning or maybe even data analytics.”

We believe it’s really important to put awareness and mindset before skills, as many learners jump too quickly into a program, without thinking of where they really want to go.

Gibson is a supporter of the InceptionU model where we prioritize essential skills before adding on the technical component. 

“I was well informed and connected into the thinking of essential competencies as a groundswell and framework before you add on skills. We tend to skip those steps, but Margo, Greg, and Jill (co-founders of InceptionU) have taught me that we need to lay down the framework first,” says Gibson.

The future of Calgary’s tech ecosystem

PHOTO BY NATALIIA KVITOVSKA ON UNSPLASH

Gibson is excited and optimistic about what he sees happening in Calgary’s tech ecosystem. He says there’s an incredible momentum building as Alberta just had recorded a 233% increase in the number of tech companies since 2012, according to Alberta Enterprise Corporation.

He says two things need to happen to keep the momentum building and for Calgary to meet its projected 45,000 jobs by 2031 - continued cooperation between the provincial government, private entities and post-secondary institutions about where and how funds for talent and skills training is invested.

“In the spirit of the Rainforest, this is about collaboration and trust...we have to work together, there’s too much work to be done.”

He also points to successful ecosystems elsewhere - Silicon Valley, London, New York and Beijing - where all it takes is a “starburst” company that explodes, raising all of the others with it.

“It's always centered around a big tech company that just explodes and goes IPO or gets to a billion-dollar stage and creates lots of wealthy and well-connected people who want to start what’s next. So, Calgary hasn’t quite had that yet - we’ve had a couple of very good successes but we need more of those so we have a grassroots set of entrepreneurs who come through the crucible of a scale-up and actually want to do or fund the next one.” 

After much doom and gloom in our province, with the crash of oil prices and the global pandemic, Gibson has great optimism for the future.

“The Alberta economy is the best-positioned economy in Canada, North America and even the world, for the digital transformation that has to happen on the planet. We have 90-trillion dollars that we’re about to spend in the next 15-20 years to re-shape the planet. There's no better place than Alberta, so let’s get busy.”

Some of Jim’s recommendations for those curious about tech:

Startup Calgary for the curious

 Platform Calgary - are you entrepreneurial?

Rainforest AB -  looking to connect and network?

Start Alberta - database of Alberta startups 

Tip of the Spear - Looking for a good read? Jim Gibson’s book. (He didn’t recommend it, but we will!)