#extremebluecan

The past 4 months have been a journey and a half. Looking back to day 1; meeting each other, then realizing we just pitched our project in Armonk, it hard to grasp how quickly the summer has passed by. Through the internship we’ve learned to really appreciate the diverse education and background that comes into play when developing a new offering. From the get go we hit the ground running, and appropriately so we coined ourselves and the project - Formula0 (faster and better than Formula One).

 Introducing the team:

 Meet Harit:

A Software Engineering & Management student at McMaster University, his expertise include bridging the gap between development of Software and the process of impacting the bottom line. His thirst for new technology and their vast applications has brought him to Extreme Blue. He thrives to be a well rounded software developer by applying theoretical knowledge to personal and practical projects. Lastly, he is a Sci-fi and Fantasy novel enthusiast - and always up for a coffee chat if it involves anything on his GoodReads profile.

Meet Oruj:

I am Oruj, finishing soon my undergraduate degree in Computer Engineering from McGill university. I have gained lots of experience in all areas of software engineering through courses at school and internships. I have done 4 term of coops with working in automation of tests, front end development, backend development and web development using Agile methodology. I am familiar with most technologies used today in software engineering. I have a huge passion to Machine Learning, particularly to Data Science. My passion comes from my math background. I love math and always studied hard to improve myself. I want to balance science with engineering in my future career. I am taking online courses and planning to do Masters in the future in data science.

 When I am not coding late in office, I am either at gym or reading my favourite articles.

 Meet Shayla:

Shayla is currently finishing her honors specialization in business and computer science minor at Western University. Prior to studying at Western she played professional beach volleyball, this passion ultimately inspired her to build a training facility and start her first venture. She previously worked at Front Row Insurance in Vancouver BC where she lead the digital transition of four products. It was during this internship that she discovered her passion for technology and enrolled in a computer science minor at Western immediately. Aside from her day job, she is the CEO of Kappa Alpha Theta at Western and is inclined to encourage other young women to pursue STEMs.

   Meet Yazan:

Yazan is a systems design engineering student from the University of Waterloo and is deeply interested in getting machines to think. He has received publication for data science applied to improving radiation therapy, built high-frequency trading algorithms using Q-Learning, applied deep learning to identify drivers from GPS, and this summer designed and developed the back end of Formula0, a cognitive recommendation and automation service. He is the past Team Captain of Waterloop, a student design team representing Canada at the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competitions where he introduced one of the first pneumatic based Hyperloop pods to Elon Musk.

It’s hard to think that in less than a month we’ll be in Armonk New York presenting our project to senior executives, something we’ve been prepping for all summer. The following is a depiction of team Axis’ (Business Analytics, Ottawa) summer adventures at IBM’s Extreme Blue program and all the shenanigans we’ve been up to along the way.

Meet our team:

Marc (far right - 4th year Computer Science Student – McGill University) 

Unbeknownst to him, Marc is the comedian in the team. Without even realizing it, Marc is constantly making everybody laugh with his absurd remarks and hilarious mannerisms. Apart from being the funniest person ever, Marc is also very smart and passionate about technology and all things machine learning. He even created his own ML algorithm at glamping to count cards and it actually worked, it had everyone in hysterics. 

Rivu (second from left - 3rd year Computer Science Student – McGill University) 

Rivu holds the record in eating the most number of chicken fingers in IBM Ottawa. He is also the inquisitive in the team, constantly asking questions and looking to find out more about everything and anything. Rivu is also passionate about Machine Learning and NLP and loves research and questioning things so much that he hopes to have a future in research. 

Varsha (second from right - MBA Candidate – Rotman School of Management) 

Varsha is the rock (and the brains) of the team, she keeps the team together during the good and the bad.  Varsha is currently completing her MBA at Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. If that isn’t impressive enough, she also has an undergrad in computer science as well as a Masters from Penn (told you she’s smart). 

Joyce (far left - 4th year Computer Science Student – University of Ottawa) 

Finally, there is me, Joyce. My passions include entrepreneurship, dystopian novels and helping promote Women in Tech. I don’t exactly know what my team would say about me (probably that I'm the crazy one) but I’d like to think that without me the team just wouldn’t be as cool as it is. 

This is our story: 

The Extreme Blue (EB) program is unlike any other internship. You work closely in a team of four in a fast-paced environment. Every week, you could be swamped with meetings and workshops and you still need to finish your project tasks on schedule. It is all about stepping out of your comfort zone and collaborating tightly within a team. This internship does not just train your technical skills, but also your soft skills, such as effectively communicating your ideas. Finally, we are even paid to attend some fun team bonding events such as glamping and Future Blue day where we get to relieve some stress by attacking each other with paint balls. #Splat 

The mystery that is IBM room numbers: 

[7:21]  

In all our weeks here, there remains one unsolved mystery - how are rooms numbered?! Our true and time honoured tradition is to arrive to meetings one by one, losing team members on the journey to room discovery. We have used this to empathize with the user we hope to target with our project. Discovering relevant external data for your business is as emotionally taxing as discovering a room on any given floor in the office! 

Bonding at Glamping:

Glamping was the time when we truly bonded as a team. One fine clear night, we set out to the docks. The stars were out in their full glory and they seemed to paint the sky with their bright lights. Fireflies gleamed in the distance and we were surrounded by silence, save for the occasional burst of laughter from the other EBs. Marc and Varsha went out to swim with Sami from Team <<<<Prescription Passport>>>> and made a huge spectacle of trying to avoid the chill of the lake water by jumping in, screaming and immediately clambering out! 

Rivu, Marc and Joyce, played some great rounds of Bluff which sent Marc, our resident astronaut, on his way to Pluto. Joyce chugged down pineapple juice like water and left Rivu in hysterics, Marc’s co-pilot on his mission to the outer reaches of the solar system. Rivu and Varsha could be seen jamming in a corner to a random set of songs, forgetting the words at most places and replacing them with their favourite food items.

Jamming with Axis:

Music is essential to Axis. Every Thursday (after 5pm…), our office space turns into a coffee house, and we start jamming with our really talented mentors. Kas (business mentor)  becomes Slash to play some crazy guitar solos and Steven (tech mentor) turns into Kendrick Lamar to freestyle for the evening. Spending a lot of time with each other certainly allowed us to understand each other’s preferences in pop songs and personalities. 

At least once a week, you can hear Axis performing the following songs in order: 

Problem (Ariana Grande) 

I knew you were trouble (Taylor Swift) 

What do you mean (Justin Bieber) 

I’m the one (DJ Khaled) 

We don’t talk any more (Charlie Puth) 

Sorry (Justin Bieber) 

Closer (Chain Smokers)

If you were wondering, the set list and the order in which it is performed most certainly represent our journey in becoming the Axis as you all know today. 

Conclusion: 

At a month and a half in, things have definitely heated up in the Extreme Blue arena. After familiarizing ourselves with our teammates, company policies and standards of excellence, we have finally started coming into our own. Our business/technical mentors, managers, sponsors and program coordinators have been incredible guides along the way thus far and are an ever-flowing source of wisdom and experience at IBM.

Following a collective sigh of relief by all the EB teams after our first dragon’s den, our team ventured back to the drawing board to re-work, re-tool and re-imagine our proposition.

Presenting the Prescription Passport Team

Starting from the right, Adi is one of our two technical interns from University of Toronto, and is truly one of a kind. He studies Computer Engineering and has a strong business sense as well, having sold his first start-up at the age of 18. Adi dresses to impress wherever he is, wearing Hugo Boss shirts and dress pants on his first day glamping. He even wore a shower cap to the lake as to not mess his hair. An avid guitarist, Adi takes the music with him wherever he goes, always ready to jam. He has a knack for making people laugh and a head with gears constantly turning. His passions include Indian food, machine learning, entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence.

Alex is a Software Engineering student at McGill University who has previously interned at Nuance Communications. Exuberant and open by nature, he prides himself on teamwork and team chemistry, singing Despacito, by Justin Bieber, in front of his teammates to bring the team closer. As a member of McGill’s tennis team, Alex is a huge sports fan and is always looking for his next opponent. This summer he will be taking part in the esteemed ROGERS Cup this August.

Sami is our business intern. An MBA student at McGill University conducting a double concentration in Global Strategy and Data Analytics with varying experience in the IT solutions market for healthcare, Sami brings a unique approach and expertise to this role within the team. Years of experience negotiating with C-level executives and below have given Sami a thick skin and an extroverted edge. He enjoys debating ideas, current events, and business strategies. His goal in this internship is to follow a project through from the point of inception and siphon as much software knowledge as he can from the amazing people around him at IBM. Sami is also the team’s resident poutine enthusiast and would have it for every meal if it wasn’t for those pesky arteries!

Lastly, Akshay is a Computer Science major at the University of Toronto (which Adi loves bringing up time to time). He is infatuated with learning new things and applying his knowledge of theory in novel ways, whether it's teaching them to younger students, or using them to solve real world problems at work. After hours, he works out with the rest of the team and follows his carefully crafted work and diet schedules. While he's often the most behaved and quiet one of the group, his mannerisms and gestures are enough to make his entire team burst into laughter. Secretly on the inside, he's more adventurous and open to new experiences than he'd have you assume. His passions include current events, emerging green technology and artificial intelligence.

If there’s one thing to note about our team it’s that we are cordially competitive. We win together. This creates an incredibly vibrant environment where ideas are shared and debated. We will rip the meat off any idea to analyze its bare bones, providing an objective verdict on its utility. The energy of our team is electric.

Work-Play Balance

At it’s core, Extreme Blue is all about getting you out of your comfort zone. This applies to both the various deliverables of the internship as well as the dynamic among the entire Future Blue community. Our program directors have worked very hard to put together events such as Future Blue Day and Glamping with the goal of building a sense of comradery among members from different teams.

During Future Blue Day, we were assigned to random groups competing for prizes and bragging rights. The events ranged from competitive sports such as soccer and ultimate Frisbee to group activities such as charades and even a scavenger hunt. The weather was beautiful; the events were lots of fun and the interns were awesome. Towards the end of the day we were treated to an ice cream truck. It was the best way to cool down.

While Glamping, we had the opportunity to stay at Algonquin Park. Teams from Toronto and Ottawa gathered around fires, lakes and meals bonding outside the confines of technology. Our program director Jan Napeñas and other chaperones arranged various activities including team games, canoe trips and campfires. During our free time, we played music together (Wonderwall, by Oasis was a favorite), shared our projects, swam in the lake, gazed at the stars and defended ourselves from nature’s various critters.

After both events, we all walked away happy, full, exhausted and with enough friends to make FACEBOOK jealous.

Looking Ahead

I'd like to introduce to you, Team Nimbus!

From left to right:

Eduardo: Eduardo's a fourth year in Software Engineering at McGill University. He likes the entrepreneurial side of projects and Extreme Blue really gives him that, by building a project from A to Z.

Mackenzie: I'm a fourth year Cognitive Science undergrad from Carleton University where I have a focus in Computation and Cognition. I am interested in creating interdisciplinary and cognitive solutions for the technology side of the medical industry. Tahsim: He just finished his second year of BBA at the Schulich School of Business at York University. He's the youngest member of our team, and possibly the youngest Business Intern hire! Aiming to pursue Marketing & Strategic Management, Tahsim brings a whole lot to the team with all his case competition wins (seriously check out his LinkedIn) and work experience. A lot of the bigger picture stuff is through him! Peter: He's a third year Computer Engineering undergrad from University of Waterloo.  He's got lots of experience in front end development, but constantly pushes limits and expands his knowledge base, in backend development and the business side of product development.

It's been incredibly exciting so far this summer! Team Nimbus is based out of the Warden Lab in Toronto, Canada.  One of the best parts of working in the Warden Lab, is being surrounded by tons of innovation and exciting technologies! There are two Extreme Blue teams at the Warden location, and our team (as you may have inferred from our name) is building an exciting new approach to cloud solutions!

Nimbus is a hybrid cloud solution that combines a vibrant service portfolio along with industry leading devOps experience of Bluemix with the diagonal scalability, security, performance and reliability of LinuxONE. It's an incredibly exciting project to be a part of and we think it will be a revolutionary addition to the IBM's Cloud and Systems portfolio - being the first true best fit hybrid cloud solution. With Nimbus, cloud customers will no longer have to choose between quick innovation potential and reduced time to market of the public cloud versus the security of on-prem private infrastructure! With Nimbus - you can have your cake and eat it too!

Extreme Blue is a fast-paced internship and everyday is an exciting & new experience! You get lots of opportunity to hone your skills as a team player. Not a day goes by where you don't have to work as a team to come to an important decision. Although moments can get tense between passionate people with different ideas, I'm so lucky to be on a team with such supportive and intelligent individuals.  It's called Extreme Blue, not Mediocre Blue (as posters greeting us in our war room on day 1 so cheerfully reminded us). There is a lot to learn and to build, and not a lot of time before the fast approaching trip to New York.  Where we will pitch our project to the C-Suite executives. Extreme Blue is all about pushing your limits and trying new things. It's a time to get outside of your comfort zone and do your best to learn fast and to succeed. IBM is an amazing place to do just that. With the mentorship program and the workshops, you are never very far from someone who is happy to help or give advice. It's shocking to think we are already nearing the half way point of this internship. It feels both like I've known my team forever, and like our first day was only yesterday. When you're working on such a close team it's hard not to become great friends with the people you work with. Whether it's watching the basketball game (way to go Raptors!!) or grabbing lunch and getting some fresh air, time spent together as a team is always a good time.