karin schmidlin

Teaching

past & current

Sometimes you need to leave the classroom and take over the patio of a coffee shop. Here we are working at Nemesis Coffee, one of the loveliest coffee shops in Vancouver.

From left to right: Yan Wan, Diana Tu, Janicis Wong, Sydney Batters, Kathryn Barton.

I started teaching at Emily Carr University of Art + Design in the fall of 2021. This was a long-held dream of mine. The UI course I'm teaching is part of the full-time certificate program in user experience design (UX), part of the university's continuing education department. Since fall 2022, I'm back in a physical classroom, which I'm really excited about. Nothing can replace that sense of community in a physical classroom.

User Interface Design

CUXD 105: Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Taking over the walls to map out the customer journey.

I developed BET 350 with the main goal to provide all undergrad students at the University of Waterloo a course where they can sharpen their design and creative problem-solving skills. The course is offered through the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, part of the Faculty of Engineering. Initially the course was offered in the fall semester only, with a cap of 30 students. But I'm happy to say that the demand has steadily risen to today where the course is offered in the fall, winter and summer semesters with 100 students each. My apologies already for everyone who didn't get a seat, but hundred students is as many as I can take in as one instructor 🙂

Customer Experience Design

BET 350: University of Waterloo

BET 350 students, winter 2019

Good Bye #UWaterloo

After 9 wonderful years at the University of Waterloo, I will be moving back to Vancouver, BC to pursue my Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia. I'm interested in researching how artificial intelligence can support (rather than replace) teachers and improve the overall learning experience.

Digital Transformation Project

My company, Carbonlabs, was hired for a project with an Ontario educational institution to move their entire executive development program online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were lucky to be able to hire two recent graduates, former students of mine,  from the Global Business and Digital Arts program at the University of Waterloo's School of Interaction Design and Business.

#StayHome sticker contest

I wanted to start a sticker contest on the subject of Stay Home in the early days of the lockdown to help my students keep their spirits up. I let the crowd vote on the winner after receiving over 50 submissions, then had the stickers printed and mailed to everyone who wanted one. Rachel Xu, a second-year GBDA student, was the winner!