Campus to AI Job Market SIP-A-THON

The AI-enabled job market is changing fast — how people get hired, build skills, and grow their careers. That creates real opportunities, but also real challenges: for students and grads building a career, employers seeking talent, educators preparing the next generation, and organizations adapting to a changing world of work. The Campus to AI Job Market SIP-A-THON is a one-day collaborative innovation experience bringing together: 🎓 Students & recent graduates 💼 Employers & recruiters 🤖 AI & technology experts 🏫 Educators 🚀 Innovators 🌱 Community organizations Together, we're tackling one big question: How might Montréal's communities better support recent graduates thriving in an AI-enabled job market? Here's what the day looks like: 🕘 9:00 Welcome, breakfast & networking 🚩 9:30 Kickoff & agenda 🧩 10:00 Team formation by theme 🍽️ 12:00 Lunch & networking 🎤 12:30 Expert panel 🛠️ 1:00 Prototype development & mentoring 📣 3:15 Team presentations 🏆 4:30 Closing & networking This year, teams will create prototypes from five concrete challenges, heard directly from recent grads and backed by research: Bridging Education and Employment - schools are teaching and employers expecting different things: technical skills, yes, but also soft skills and AI fluency. AI is Transforming Recruitment - candidates apply at scale, employers screen at scale, creating an opaque filter no one fully controls. Relationships and Networking as Strategy - a real, human connection still beats a resume. AI Literacy is Expected - fluency with AI is becoming table stakes. The Entry-Level Access Paradox - as AI takes over junior tasks, entry-level jobs are changing fast. This is a co-creation event, not a lecture. Guided by an experienced team of facilitators from The Sustainability Incubator Program (The SIP), teams move from understanding a challenge to building a real prototype by day's end. Who's coming: organizers, facilitators, mentors, panelists, and jury will guide and support your team all day, including: Facilitators : a dedicated team from The SIP, co-led by Zaida Mangones (career & professional coaching & trainer and leadership development advisor) and Isabelle Therrien (agile coaching, team facilitation & collaboration) Mentors : Charlotte Pivot (EdTech strategy), Hassan Mansur (applied AI engineering, agentic AI & LLM integration), Justin Penney (UX design & product Strategy), Julien Beaulieu (machine learning engineering),Sana Iftikhar (machine learning researcher) Panelists & Judges : Afua Boateng (executive search & talent strategy), Ben de Tarade-Bentinck (data & AI business architecture/governance), Michael Labelle (innovation & industry, academia pathways), Simon Langevin (AI product strategy). Organizing team : Niloufar Pilghoush (Montréal Third Place founder; also on the jury), Joanne Stone (The SIP founder), Yu-Ju Lin (SIPster), Ann-Marie Kong (SIPster) Beyond the solutions you build, you'll learn from AI and job-market experts, hear perspectives from outside your sector, connect with new talent or new opportunities, and strengthen future-ready skills — collaboration, creative problem-solving, systems thinking, and design thinking. At the end of the day, a multidisciplinary jury will select 2–3 promising prototypes for post-event follow-up and the top prototype will receive a $500 Team Prize. Bring your experience. Bring your questions. Bring your perspective. Prepare for the future of work by helping shape it, together. Co-organized by Montréal Third Place and The Sustainability Incubator Program (The SIP) , with the support of Academos , ALPFA Montréal , Women in Agile , Mitacs , YES Employment and Entrepreneurship and The Information and Communications Technology Council. PRIZE NOTICE — $500 TEAM PRIZE One (1) prize of CAD $500, split equally among eligible winning team members. Winner determined by merit by an independent panel — no element of chance. Facilitators, mentors, judges, organizers, and their immediate family are not eligible. The independent panel of experts evaluates prototypes at the end of the event for viability, impact, originality, and clarity. Judges apply their professional discretion. All decisions are final. Full rules · Questions:[email protected] By registering, you agree to the Official Prize Rules.