Side Projects¶
Recruiters can't tell much from "CMPUT 301: A-". A project you can demo and explain in depth gives them something to look at and you something to talk about in interviews. Generic advice on what to build and how to write a README is a search away; this page covers the UofA-specific ways to end up with projects worth showing.
Use the Courses That Already Make You Build Things¶
Several courses produce real, team-built software. Treat them as portfolio pieces, not just assignments:
| Course | What you build | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CMPUT 301 | A Java/Android team app with design, testing, and revision control | Fall 2026 outline |
| CMPUT 401 | A group project managed as a software product | Catalogue |
| CMPUT 404 | A distributed social network in Django (or Flask) that talks to other teams' nodes | Project spec |
| CMPUT 469 | AI Capstone: a team project on a real-world AI/ML task | Catalogue |
Two things make a course project count on a resume: you can explain the parts you built, and you take it further after the term (deploy it, clean it up, add the feature you ran out of time for). Check your course outline's policy before making the repo public.
For what each course covers, see the Curriculum Map.
Hackathons and Game Jams¶
UofA has a beginner-friendly hackathon each term, plus an AI hackathon and game jams through the year. Dates, organizers, and links are in the Clubs and Organizations events calendar; off-campus demo nights (where you can show a project to working engineers) are on Networking.
Scope small: one working feature you can demo beats an ambitious idea that doesn't run at judging time.
Research and Design Teams¶
- Research: a CMPUT 399/499 individual study or a paid summer project (USRA, URI Stipend) produces something you can describe in depth, with a professor's reference attached. See Getting Into Research.
- Engineering design teams (ARVP, AlbertaSat, UAARG) need software people for embedded and autonomy work, and Ada's Team runs an open-source dev team. See Clubs and Organizations.
Hosting for Free¶
The GitHub Student Developer Pack covers most of what a student project needs (cloud credit, a free domain, Codespaces). What's in it as of October 2026 is listed on Tools and Setup.
Built something at UofA worth showing?
The most useful thing on this page would be real examples: a 301 or 404 project someone kept working on, a HackED project that turned into an internship talking point. Open an issue and sign it with your term.
Last verified: October 2026.