Academy UP: SQL Foundations (3/4)
2025-01-20 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Halifax) | Goldberg Computer Science Building, 6050 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 1W5, Canada
Excited to share that we’re launching a new certification program in SQL in January! Led by Vishwa Patel, this program offers you the chance to learn the basics of SQL and get hands-on experience.
This free certification program is offered through ShiftKey Academy Up, generously supported by Cognizant.
📅 Dates: January 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th
⏰ Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
📌 Location: Goldberg Computer Science Building, Room 134
💰 Cost: FREE!
Register now: http://bit.ly/4iIQluo
Note: Attendance is required for all sessions to earn certification, as well as successful completion of assessment.

GGJ Workshop: Figures in Motion
2025-01-21 17:00 - 18:30 | Goldberg Computer Science Building, 6050 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 1W5, Canada
In this beginner figure drawing workshop, learn how to capture gestures, still poses, and movement. With step-by-step direction from Artist Sage Sidley, participants will learn how to sketch the human form from a live figure model (in fun costumes). This workshop will help Game Jam contestants draw accurate renderings of figures for character development.
📅 Date: January 21, 2025
⏰ Time: 5:00PM-6:30PM
📌 Location: Goldberg Computer Science Building, Room 430
✍️ Register Here: https://bit.ly/shiftkey-events

Please note: This workshop is available to everyone, whether they have signed up for Global Game Jam or not! If you haven’t signed up for the Jam but you want to, follow this link: https://bit.ly/40b5QTt

GGJ Workshop: Jamming with Unreal Engine 5
2025-01-22 17:00 - 18:30 | Nova Scotia
In this workshop, you will be guided on some of the main components you need to understand to make a game in Unreal Engine 5 in the context of a game jam. How to set up a level, what is a game mode, what is a player controller, how to work with blueprints (especially in a team context), how to work with materials, how to make UI components, and more! We will be explore the basics of the engine and understand why things are designed the way they are because it can be a bit confusing to get into for the first time. Game Developer, Rose Dufresne, understands that a lot of tutorials try to cover everything (e.g. lumen, Niagara, nanites… what even are these, and do we really even need this information to make a silly game?). They can come off as overwhelming and much of the knowledge can get lost quite quickly. So, she wants to present you with information that will hopefully stick with you from one game jam to another!
📅 Date: January 22, 2025
⏰ Time: 5:00PM-6:30PM
📌 Location: Virtual (Teams link will be sent out)
✍️ Register Here: https://bit.ly/shiftkey-events

Please note: This workshop is available to everyone, whether they have signed up for Global Game Jam or not! If you haven’t signed up for the Jam but you want to, follow this link: https://bit.ly/40b5QTt

GGJ Workshop: Virtual Reality with Unreal Engine 5
2025-01-23 17:00 - 18:30 | Nova Scotia
Get started on setting up VR in Unreal Engine and designing your game with VR-specific interactions to immerse your players into your worlds. Your workshop leader will be Pedram Safari, many-time Game Jam winner and developer at local game studio, Maritime Digital Art & Design.
📅 Date: January 23, 2025
⏰ Time: 5:00PM-6:30PM
📌 Location: Mona Campbell, Room 1201 (Hybrid: Teams link will be sent out)
✍️ Register Here: https://bit.ly/shiftkey-events

Please note: This workshop is available to everyone, whether they have signed up for Global Game Jam or not! If you haven’t signed up for the Jam but you want to, follow this link: https://bit.ly/40b5QTt

Academy UP: SQL Foundations (4/4)
2025-01-27 18:00 - 20:00 | Goldberg Computer Science Building, 6050 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 1W5, Canada

Prompt Engineering
2025-01-29 18:00 - 19:00 | Virtual
UPDATE: This event is now virtual due to the weather forecast for January 29th.

Dive into the world of prompt engineering in this beginner-friendly workshop with ShiftKey’s Tobi Onibudo! We’ll explore key techniques for crafting effective prompts that shape AI responses and discuss the evolving future of this critical skill. Whether you’re new to prompt engineering or eager to learn how it’s driving advancements in AI, this session offers the perfect introduction to techniques and trends shaping tomorrow’s AI interactions. Sign Up Here: https://lnkd.in/e3ftEFaR

📅 Date: January 29th, 2025
⏰ Time: 6:00PM to 7:00PM
📌 Location: Virtual

Agile/Scrum Workshop
2025-01-30 17:30 - 19:30 | Virtual
UPDATE: This event is now virtual due to the weather forecast for January 30th.
On January 30th, come to our Scrum/Agile Workshop with Brenda Fay! In this two-hour session, we will discuss what Agile and Scrum mean in today’s technology environment. Specifically, we will discuss:

What Agile means and how it can benefit you both as a student and at work
How Scrum works and how to use it

Sign up Here: linktr.ee/shiftkeylabs

📅 Date: January 30th, 2025
⏰ Time: 5:30PM to 7:30PM
📌 Location:Virtual

LeetCode Challenge
2025-02-05 17:00 - 20:30 | Goldberg Computer Science Building, 6050 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 1W5, Canada
(Now starting at 5:00 pm!)
The LeetCode Challenge invites students from across Nova Scotia to hone and test their coding skills, while making valuable industry connections and learning about technical interviews. This event will take place in the Goldberg Computer Science building, hosted in collaboration by the Faculty of Computer Science, ShiftKey Labs and CIBC.
The event is scheduled to take place on February 5th, 2025. It will start with a CIBC meet-and-greet with students over a light dinner, followed by a presentation from Kewoba Carter on Preparing for Technical Interviews. The challenge itself will take place in the final two hours, where participants are invited to solve as many LeetCode problems as possible, with the chance to win great prizes.
This event is generously supported by CIBC.
Sign up here: https://bit.ly/shiftkey-events

📅 Date: February 5th, 2025
⏰ Time: 5:00PM to 8:30PM
📌 Location: The Goldberg Computer Science Building

Finding Product-Market Fit Workshop
2025-02-28 17:00 - 18:30 | Goldberg Computer Science Building, 6050 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 1W5, Canada
Get a crash course in product marketing and how to take your idea from 0 to 1. This workshop will help you clearly define your market and start building the foundation of your marketing strategy.

Facilitator Bio: Kate Orchard has over a decade of experience in B2B and B2C marketing, working on advertising campaigns for national brands like Discovery Channel, Virgin Radio, and CTV News. Now a Product Marketer at Dash Social, Kate specializes in crafting user-first go-to-market strategies that drive adoption and revenue growth for tech products.

Sign up here: https://bit.ly/shiftkey-events

📅 Date: February 28th, 2025
⏰ Time: 5:00PM to 6:30PM
📌 Location: The Goldberg Computer Science Building

Consulting 101 Workshop with Cognizant
2025-03-22 13:00 - 17:00 | Nova Scotia
Ever wondered what a career in consulting looks like? Or the skills you need to break into the industry?
Join us for an engaging workshop with Cognizant, one of the largest consulting firms in the world! By the end of the workshop, you’ll gain a better understanding of the consulting world and develop some fundamental consulting skills. And did we mention there’ll be some door prizes and lunch? 🙌
Take a well-deserved break from your studies on March 22.
Sign up here: https://bit.ly/shiftkey-events

Build Fast / Ship Fast Workshop
2025-05-30 17:30 - 19:00 | Goldberg Computer Science Building, 6050 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 1W5, Canada
Want to turn ideas into real projects in hours, not weeks? At the Build Fast / Ship Fast Workshop, you’ll learn how to quickly set up everything your app needs, from auth to analytics, so you can focus on building features and getting feedback fast.
This workshop is all about adopting a modern, lean approach to software development: validating ideas early 💡, iterating quickly 🔁, and using automation and AI 🤖 to move faster without sacrificing quality. Whether you’re hacking on a side project or launching a startup, this is your guide to building smart and shipping with confidence.
You will learn:
NextJS,
Shadcn,
Clerk,
Supabase,
Resend,
Posthog,
Cursor,
Github CoPilot
📍 Room 134, Goldberg Computer Science Building
🕠 5:30 to 7:00 PM
Registration open now: https://bit.ly/shiftkey-events

Intro to Data Engineering
2025-07-09 18:00 - 19:00 | Goldberg Computer Science Building, 6050 University Avenue, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 1W5, Canada
Come find out at our Intro to Data Engineering Workshop⚙️📊!
Whether it’s making product decisions, tracking user behavior, or powering internal tools, data engineers play a key role in designing the systems that move, clean, and structure data at scale 🌐📈.
In this beginner-friendly session, we’ll walk through the core components of the modern data stack and explore how data engineering fits into the broader world of software development 🧑‍💻.
No experience required. All you need is curiosity and an interest in how real-world systems are built.

📅 Date: July 9th
⏰ Time: 6:00PM – 7:00 PM
📌 Location: Goldberg Computer Science Building Room 143
💰 Cost: FREE!

Register Here: https://bit.ly/shiftkey-events
