UOIT student chosen to represent Canada at global youth Scouting conference
February 2, 2010
David Millie will share research project with delegates from around the world
David Millie has delivered a resounding message with his selection as Scouts Canada's representative to the Fourth International Youth Gathering, being held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates: University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) students are leaders among their peers, not only here at home, but across the globe as well.
And the third-year Bachelor of Information Technology student, who will be in Sharjah from February 3 to 13, notes UOIT's commitment to providing undergraduate students with hands-on research opportunities has played a significant role in his being able to take the global stage and share the parental monitoring system he has developed to work with the Microsoft MSN messenger service. The system is housed on a parent's computer and monitors activity going out from MSN, looking for key phrases and common swear words.
"This is a great honour for me and I'm tremendously excited to be representing Canada and UOIT at the gathering," said Millie, who has spent the past 17 years in the Scouting movement and is a member of the 1st Durham College-UOIT Rover crew. "UOIT is the reason I have this chance because undergraduate students have opportunities to work on research projects, an opportunity that makes it unique when compared with other schools. If I had to wait until Graduate school for research opportunities, I would have been too old for this opportunity."
Following his first year of studies, Millie was working as a summer research student with his professor, Dr. Khalil El-Khatib, who shared the idea for the parental monitoring system and had Millie develop it. The 21-year-old is currently reworking the model so that the code is to a much higher standard. He notes this enhancement is a perfect example of UOIT's commitment to providing students with opportunities to put theory into practice, as he's applying the knowledge gained over the past year and a half in the classroom, to the latest model of the system.
Along with MSN, the system could be expanded for input from other instant messaging services and e-mail. Future plans include a contextual analyzer for finding words used out of place in sentences, a tool that could make it easy to identify new slang or code words. The system will allow a parent to supervise their child without total privacy invasion, as rankings are done automatically, allowing parents to only feel the need to read offensive conversations.
"All of us at UOIT are very proud of David and we would like to congratulate him on his selection to this global gathering," said Dr. Pamela Ritchie, dean, Faculty of Business and Information Technology. "David is an excellent example of what students can achieve at UOIT. We are committed to providing students with unique programs, opportunities to pursue groundbreaking research projects that impact society and a fulfilling student life - all of which helps prepare them for untold professional success."
Millie was chosen to represent Canada after presenting his project to Scouts Canada. One representative from each of the World Organization of the Scout Movement member countries is selected to attend the gathering, which includes a science fair exhibition, intellectual exchange, cultural night and plenty of opportunities to meet with likeminded 18- to 22-year-olds from around the world. Millie will present his work to his peers in the Communications category of the intellectual exchange.
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