#49: Mike LeBlanc on innovative tech for good

Mike LeBlanc has been building and growing tech and tech consulting companies in New Brunswick over the last 25 years, including Blue Spurs, which he sold to Deloitte Canada in 2019 to help the company advance its global technology capability and put New Brunswick on the map. His latest startup is BlueKit, a first-of-its-kind hands-on innovation-creation platform thoughtfully designed from the ground up for all learners - including non-technical educators - to explore the art of the possible with technology. Designed for middle and high school students, it empowers learners across all disciplines to unlock the limitless potential of technology by tackling real-world problems. 

In our current environment where tech – and the people behind tech companies – are perhaps not living up to using technology for the good of society, hosts Kayla Ossachuk (BA’15) and Andrew Martel (BCS’15) chat with Mike about doing innovative work in the tech space that positively impacts industry, businesses, communities and individuals. 

Highlights from the episode:   

• The idea and technology behind BlueKit, and the need for tech education to keep up with advancements. 

• The value of early exposure to and education in technology 

• The ups and downs of entrepreneurship and innovating 

• The importance of diverse voices and ethics when developing technology and new capabilities 

• AI needs a wide variety of voices, as well as transparency 

• What tech for good means, and the future of guidelines for companies when using technology 

• How computer scientists are using problem solving skills to make the world better 

• The future of AI and studying so that we can guide how to use it 

Links and resources:   

• Mike’s LinkedIn 

• BlueKit 

Thanks to:   

• Our alumni hosts Kayla Ossachuk (BA’15) and Andrew Martel (BCS’15) 

• Music by alumni artist, Beats of Burden  

• Our alumni Affinity Partners, TD Insurance and Manulife

To listen to past episodes of UNBeknownst and for more info on the podcast, the hosts and how to subscribe to new episode alerts, visit our website.