ASHLEIGH MATTERN
Editor-in-Chief
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   The first-ever university iPhone application class in Canada has earned more than credits for three University of Saskatchewan students.
   The class that made nation wide headlines in fall 2009 wrapped up last term, and two of the apps have found investors. Ph03nix New Media is investing in Jennifer Geddes’ app through their iPhoenix Fund — the first Canadian iPhone app fund — and Robots and Pencils is investing in Ryan Ukrainetz and Fred Buschau’s app. And it’s all thanks to investor and businessman Michael Sikorsky, who has ties to Ph03nix and owns Robots and Pencils.
   While in Calgary, a mutual friend introduced class instructor Chad Jones to Sikorsky.
   Sikorsky said the draw for him was that it is the first university-accredited iPhone app class in Canada.
   “It’s easy to get on the plane and fly for an hour and find like 50 apps,” he explained. “Chad’s obviously done a really good job. You’re getting quantity and quality at the same time.”
   Besides providing expertise and funding, Sikorsky said investing is also about building a company around the product and crafting it into a business.
   “Most people don’t know how to run a product company,” he said. “It’s not about packaging or refining but an explicit process to make sure it wins for sure.
   “It’s pretty cool that these kids are going to get thousands of bucks and a partnership deal that pays for a year of school,” said Sikorsky.
   The investors will share the profits with the students.
   Ukrainetz and Buschau are U of S computer science graduates who came back to school to take the app class. Their app is a tool designed to assist doctors in bedside diagnoses.
“It’s a quick way that a doctor can assess a patient based off of particular symptoms,” explained Buschau.
   A doctor at the university hospital came to them with the idea, saying he wanted something that would allow students and doctors to quickly and easily reference common data. The application provides statistical information about the disease, information the doctor will need to reference anyway. Buschau also pointed out that it would be a good tool for doctors in residence who are learning the material.Â
   They are also currently in talks with another company out of the States that might be interested in investing in the app or partnering with Ukrainetz and Buschau. Â
   “From our perspective, as strange as it sounds, this is just the beginning,” said Buschau. “Right now we basically have an application that we constructed as a class project. So now it’s taking the next step and completing that to a professional level that we can actually turn around and sell it.”
   Geddes is a second-year computer sciences major. She describes her application as “a point and click adventure game.” Called Spinks Quest, the game takes place at the U of S and models the Spinks Building.
   “You’re a student who has to hand in an assignment and all these weird things like Spock and stuff are preventing you from getting there directly so you have to do all these weird mini games,” explained Geddes. She said its humour is its main appeal.
   Due to her use of celebrities and copyrighted characters — like My Little Pony and Johnny Depp — and the limited audience of a game based out of the Spinks Building, the final game will look very different, but will follow the same model.
   She sees her application as a stepping stone to a different career.
   “My interest is games but I figured I probably wouldn’t get in there because it’s kind of hard to, but this will definitely help,” she said.
   Jones, the course instructor, explained that the investment in her game will allow them to hire professional graphic designers to help give the game a more polished look.
   Any of the apps created in class can be sold for profit through the iTunes App Store, the process of which was also covered in the class, but the skills learned aren’t limited to creating and selling applications. Â
   “This is a very unique opportunity for students,” said Jones. “They’re learning stuff that is cutting edge and first in Canada and that’s good job skills for them.”
   The class will run again in fall 2010, but whether it will create the same interest from investors remains to be seen. Students must have taken computer science 115.3 or received the permission of the instructor to take the course.
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photo: Tannara Yelland