On May 2, as part of Journée Technosciences hosted by Cap Campus at the Université de Montréal, STIM@CGI brought together 36 high school and CEGEP students to tackle a practical challenge with real impact: reimagining the user experience of carapace.ca, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC)’s platform for reporting and learning about endangered turtles.

Divided into 11 teams, participants had just three hours to design innovative, accessible digital solutions tailored to users’ needs.

Before developing their prototypes, the students took part in a crash course design thinking—an approach that puts users at the centre of the creative process—followed by an introductory session on “vibe coding,” an emerging way of building applications using artificial intelligence and natural language.

The teams could then choose from a variety of creation platforms and tools, including Thunkable, Base44, Bolt.new, Lovable, Replit and Figma.

From there, it was a race against the clock: 110 minutes—and not a minute more—to build their solutions.

The volunteer mentors and judges from CGI and Cap Campus were particularly impressed by the discipline and maturity shown by the participants throughout the process.

Rather than jumping straight into coding, the teams took the time to think through the user experience:

  • Who will use the platform?
  • In what context?
  • What barriers could users encounter?

The students outlined user journeys, explored ways to make information more accessible and developed practical solutions before beginning the prototyping phase.

The results exceeded expectations.

The teams presented well-designed, functional prototypes, demonstrating how technology can become a powerful driver of innovation when applied to a real-world objective.

During a meeting held one week later with the NCC, the organization’s representatives expressed how impressed they were by the quality of the solutions developed in only 110 minutes.

Some of the ideas that captured their attention included:

  • A highly visible quick-report feature on the homepage to facilitate rapid response in emergency situations.
  • A post-report follow-up mechanism to keep citizens informed about rescue progress.
  • An AI assistant trained on NCC documentation to answer users’ questions.
  • A simplified site architecture designed to make all information accessible within three clicks or fewer.

The three winning teams will have the opportunity to visit CGI’s offices this summer with Cap Campus, and all prototypes were shared with the NCC to help shape future enhancements to carapace.ca.

Seeing young people use design, artificial intelligence and technology to contribute to a real environmental cause is an inspiring reminder of the potential of Quebec’s next generation.

As World Turtle Day approaches on May 23, we at CGI are proud of the contribution these students made to turtle conservation and biodiversity. We look forward to continuing to support initiatives that empower young people develop their skills while making a positive impact in their communities.

Thank you to Cap Campus, the Nature Conservancy of Canada, our volunteers and all participants for their engagement, creativity and vision.