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A group of four students enrolled in Professional-in-Residence Adam Stephens’ Emerging Media and Technology (EMAT) Interdisciplinary Projects course recently gained valuable professional experience and public acknowledgement for developing a mobile progressive web application.  

The team worked together during the Fall 2021 semester to create an application for The project was conducted in partnership with IdeaBase, and Director Kristin Dowling helped mentor the team while they were working with the client.  

“Working on this project in a collaborative team environment drove the innovation we achieved with the project. We were able to quickly bounce ideas off each other and build on each other’s ideas to create a great product for the client,” said Ethan Hancock, an EMAT senior.

HCTV and the city of Hudson, Ohio launched the app publicly in January and honored the students at its February City Council meeting. A resolution honoring the team’s work was adopted, recognizing the city’s satisfaction with the team’s hard work and final application.  

At the February meeting, Hancock delivered remarks, saying, “It’s so important that student developers and designers are able to work on real world projects that get used by so many people. I hope this project serves as a shining example of our ability.” 

Also at the Council meeting, EMAT Director Michael Beam, Ph.D., a Hudson resident who has served on the HCTV Advisory Board noted the Board’s long-standing desire to make the app and programming more accessible on mobile devices.  

“It’s been a delight to work with the HCTV and city staff on this project. The HCTV Advisory Board gave wonderful feedback to our students,” he said. “I’d just like to acknowledge our students for the really polished and wonderful application they built. I’d encourage all residents of Hudson and HCTV viewers to check it out.” 

One of the most exciting parts about this project for the participating students was the opportunity to work in a professional environment and with a real client during their undergraduate career.  

“Working in a professional setting was a great experience to have. This was the only class I had that we got to engage and work with a client. I now feel more prepared to work with clients in the future,” senior Erica Hewitt said.  

Participating in this course and project gave the students a memorable experience and allowed them to further develop various skills such as problem solving.  

In reflecting on the project Hancock said, “As we worked, the project evolved naturally based on their needs and what technology was available for them, and that experience was a welcome deviation from the norm of academic projects where the requirements are laid out from the start. Being able to practice problem solving skills as these changes presented new challenges will help in the future while working in industry.”