SAIT

A few snapshots from a milestone worth celebrating. Congratulations grads and welcome to the SAIT Alumni Family! 🎓👏

P.S. All photos from convocation will be available on the SAIT Alumni page. 📸

Staff, students and members of the community gathered to raise SAIT’s tipi in honour of National Indigenous History Month, National Indigenous Peoples Day and SAIT’s Indigenous graduation ceremony — all celebrated this June. The event began with a prayer led by Knowledge Keeper Jaron Weaselbear from Piikani Nation, who then explained how the tipi is constructed, as well as the significance and history of its design.

At the centre of our campus, the tipi demonstrates our collective commitment to create a culturally safe and welcoming space for the unique identities, spirituality and traditions of the First Peoples.

🎓 It’s convocation week here at SAIT! Before the ceremonies, meet our Spring 2026 valedictorians, who will reflect on their achievements before crossing the stage with their classmates.

Patrick Creery: Culinary Arts Diploma, School of Hospitality and Tourism

Lyndsay Greenwood: Integrated Water Management Diploma, MacPhail School of Energy

Felix Gabriel Montanez: Software Development Diploma, School for Advanced Digital Technology

Al Kim Lutao: Bachelor of Applied Business Administration (Accounting), School of Business

Sitti Rania Azra Alisangco: Journalism – Print and Online Diploma, School of Business

More: https://bit.ly/4uD9tic

Meet Dani Taylor, SAIT's Neurodiversity Specialist. 👋

Q: What was a major turning point in your life that got you here?

A: I was an elementary school teacher in the Calgary Board of Education for about seven years. I specialized in teaching Grades 4 through 6. There I developed a love of working with neurodivergent students. I got firsthand experience working with different neurotypes and people.

It was fulfilling work, but it felt like my purpose wasn’t just as an educator. It was to be more specialized in working with individuals who are neurodivergent. That’s how I made the switch. I saw a listing for an accessibility advisor here at SAIT, and I thought it would be a good fit.

It was and I loved it. While working here, I saw an opportunity for us to have a more proactive approach to supporting neurodiverse students, so I wrote a proposal for this position and then two weeks later had a new job. Now I’ve been SAIT’s neurodiversity specialist for more than a year.

Q: How does your work support the SAIT brand?

A: The first message I want to share is that it’s estimated about 20% of the population is neurodivergent, which is a huge chunk of our population.
We’re all here in the business of student success. Being educated on neurodivergence and the best ways to support neurodivergent students is not only going to support that 20%, but research has shown that methodologies used to support neurodivergent students is beneficial for all students. Inclusive learning models help all learners.

Really, a lot of my work is about empowerment. To me, that means becoming stronger and more confident in your life.

To support student success every day, I do a lot of one-on-one work — both with students and with faculty. I’ve been creating a lot of new and innovative programs and supports for neurodivergent students like peer support groups, our neurodiversity lending library, our body-doubling sessions and neurodiversity coaching. We need to prepare students with the soft skills required to succeed in the work world, as well as the actual academic and training pieces that we’re providing here. My programs focus on supporting students developing those skills, in particular their executive functioning skills like planning and organization and emotional regulation. It’s essential to their success at SAIT and in the working world.

I also lead the Neurodiversity Strategic Planning Committee. We decided to develop a strategic plan with a very lofty vision: SAIT will be a leader in inclusive education, with Universal Design for Learning integrated into all classrooms and service areas to support the success of every learner. It’s ambitious, but SAIT is already positioned for it. We have a three-pronged approach of training, awareness and leveraging technology to help us achieve that.

Real-world ideas are seeding a new generation of tech founders .

During a business competition, three student teams from the School for Advanced Digital Technology (SADT) secured funding to bring their entrepreneurial ideas to life.

The 2026 showcase, is made possible by a $1-million gift from local philanthropist David Bissett through the Bissett Seed Fund.👏

"This win is huge and gives us an incredible opportunity to grow," says Ethan Bayarsaikhan, Co-Founder of BEATT and a second-year Software Development student.

Team BAETT, the $100,000-winning project, is an infrastructure software that automates traffic accommodation planning.

Eight teams presented their projects in front of business leaders, CEOs, venture capitalists and industry pros.

Team Relay Ops received $50,000 and a scheduling management contract with Zeno Renewables. Team Kavyo also received $10,000 and a residency with Calgary’s J5 Design.

Along with capital funding, the teams will engage in mentorship with startups, investors and key ecosystem partners.

Find out more:➡️ https://bit.ly/4ecfTPa