SEP Alumni

Posts from former team members who’ve moved on to new opportunities. While they may have left, their insights and experiences from their time here are still worth sharing.

SEP Alumni

Posts by SEP Alumni

picture of a schoolboy with Lee's face excited about a thing
Artificial Intelligence | 12 min read

Terraform: Creatine for Your AI-Assistant

I love software engineering because it lets me create new things every single day. As a programmer, I get to conjure novel solutions to problems I’ve never encountered before – manipulating chaos is my jam. For months, I stubbornly resisted tools like Cursor, Cline and Windsurf. Why? Because I’m passionate about programming and worried these […]

A photograph of the outside of the Vancouver Convention center taken in the evening. The building is lit from the outside. It is on the water.
Artificial Intelligence | 6 min read

NeurIPS 2024 Developer Tools You Can Deploy & Use Today!

I learned about these open source and commercially licensed tools for developers at NeurIPS 2024. Most of the tools on this list are new to me, but not new to the world. You can deploy and use them today! …pssst – if your manager or your client would rather you make something from scratch instead […]

General Info | 9 min read

Why We Critique: How to Make Peace with Your Fear of Design Critique

Designers, no matter their practice, have gone through some form of design critique in the past. Someone had to critically point out how the work needed to improve during the educational years. University programs are specifically structured with formal critiques in their curriculum; these help students get critical feedback to expand their thinking and learn […]

two women review content on a computer screen
Product Design & UX | 10 min read

Types of Design Research: 8 Ways to Get to Know Your Users

Research is a critical step in the product development process. It ensures we’re solving the right problems for users and finding the right, viable product opportunity for a business. Understanding the humans who will use the product and the business’s investing needs is critical to a successful product outcome. And it will come as no surprise […]

laptop with name tag attached that says "HELLO MY NAME IS" and a blank line
SEP Tips | 4 min read

Naming Your Computer: How to Do It & Why It Matters

One of the tools you will be using daily at work is your computer, and that’s why one of your first onboarding assignments is usually naming your computer. Your computer is an extension of you, your interests, and your work! At SEP, we like to give our computers a unique name that feels meaningful to […]

A DALL·E 2-generated image that used the following prompt: An open text-book that has human hands that are holding a brain in a jar
Artificial Intelligence | 8 min read

Curious About How to Get Started with LLM App Dev? Let’s Go!

LLM app dev sounds scarier than it is. Luckily, open source frameworks exist with excellent guides, great documentation, and active communities. Find below a series of toys, tasks, and videos that will take you from “aware that LLMs exist” to “building an LLM-based app”. Wait, what are LLMs? Some of this article can be practiced […]