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BUILDING REAL FUTURES TOGETHER Your gifts at workOki, Âba wathtech, Danit'ada, Tawnshi, Hello. SAIT is located on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of Treaty 7 which includes the Siksika, the Piikani, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda of Bearspaw, Chiniki and Goodstoney. We are situated in an area the Blackfoot tribes traditionally called Moh’kinsstis, where the Bow River meets the Elbow River. We now call it the city of Calgary, which is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta. “ I give because SAIT opened doors for me — to mentors, community, and the confidence to build my own future. Now, I want to ensure more students have that same chance to grow, adapt, and shape the industries of tomorrow." Gursh Bal, OYA '19, AELP '16 Real Futures Campaign Cabinet Co-Founder and Head of Strategic Projects, Zeno Renewables “ Tonya Fleming Real Futures Campaign Cabinet Former Member, SAIT Board of Governors, Manager, Private Markets & Innovation Alberta Securities Commission I give because I’ve seen firsthand how SAIT shapes students, families, and communities, including my own. By supporting the Real Futures campaign, I’m helping ensure Alberta has the adaptable, skilled talent we need to thrive in a changing world." I give because SAIT’s Real Futures campaign is about more than education — it’s about preparing people to thrive through disruption and change. In financial services and beyond, resilience, adaptability, and hands-on learning are the keys to building a workforce that’s ready for tomorrow.” “ Kirk Muise Real Futures Campaign Cabinet Regional President, Alberta and Territories, RBC REAL FUTURES CAMPAIGN CABINET The WhySAIT Campaign Report | 1 THANK YOU With the right training today, tomorrow’s leaders will be ready to channel constant change into new possibilities, all thanks to YOU. The Real Futures campaign represents our belief that the best is yet to come — for SAIT, for our province, and for countless students and graduates alike. Publicly launched in February 2025, the Real Futures campaign is our chance to be bold, to seek inventive solutions to shared problems, and to position our city and province to thrive in a world defined by constant change. Together, we will enable SAIT to deliver on the promise to transform who, how and what we teach in response to the shifts unfolding across our communities, technologies and economies. Your commitment to this campaign is helping shape a future worth celebrating — not only today, but for generations to come. While there’s still more work ahead, we pause to celebrate the milestones and achievements already made possible because of you. 2 | REAL FUTURES I'm proud to be sharing this proposal with you - a true friend and generous donor - because you share our commitment to igniting careers and changing lives. Ask anyone navigating a career today and they’ll tell you: Alberta looks different than it did five years ago. In fact, the speed and velocity of change is accelerating exponentially every year. This change not only impacts how we work and learn, but is transforming every element of our lives and communications, fostering new forms of human-machine collaboration, and providing unprecedented access to information. At Manpower, we see firsthand how rapidly the world of work is revolutionizing and how essential it is for our workforce to adapt to change, rapidly gain new skills and apply critical thinking. Technology is the major driver of transformation, but it will never replace what makes people invaluable — our ability to connect, innovate and thrive together. That’s what makes the Real Futures campaign timely and critically important. It’s about giving SAIT students an opportunity to leap into their future career, rapidly learn and acquire skills, and be prepared and flexible to continue learning in the rapidly evolving world of work — a place where human connection and technology work hand in hand. As industry continues to grapple with skills mismatches, at SAIT we are both powering the workforce of today and preparing them for the challenge of tomorrow. We have witnessed remarkable momentum through this campaign: new programs taking shape, multiple new spaces under construction and new partnerships unlocking incredible opportunity. It bears repeating, this campaign is not simply about reacting to change – it’s about empowering our students to be the leaders of that change, realizing vibrant, meaningful lives that contribute to our increasingly complex economy. Thank you for standing with us and believing in the power of education at SAIT. Our students don’t study the future – they shape it. Randy Upright Chair, Real Futures Campaign Cabinet CEO, Manpower Alberta THANK YOUfor your support of SAIT’s Real Futures campaign and to so many of you for engaging in meaningful discussions about how, who and what we teach.SAIT Campaign Report | 34 | REAL FUTURES THE BISSETT EFFECT Seeding a digital revolution at SAIT When Calgary businessman and philanthropist David Bissett made his landmark $30-million gift to SAIT in 2019, he wasn’t just funding a new building. His transformational gift was an affirmation of his belief in the power of people. In providing the critical funds to launch SAIT’s School for Advanced Digital Technology (SADT), Bissett helped ignite a collective revolution in our city, driving greater awareness around the need for critical digital skills to ensure Calgary’s workforce could thrive in an increasingly digital world. At the time, Bissett understood something others were just beginning to grasp: technology’s transformation of work was not slowing down and the need for digitally fluent talent would only accelerate. In the short years since, that prediction has proven true and the pace of the change defining our lives today has only accelerated. From the global shift to remote and hybrid work, to the rapid rise of generative AI, to the transformation of industries like energy, finance, healthcare and logistics, these changes have surpassed what many thought possible. Bissett's inspiration also kickstarted SAIT's Real Futures campaign and planted the seeds for what is now becoming a hub for digital skills development in the heart of downtown Calgary. SAIT's Cyber Range, which launched in October 2025, is part of our broader push to create pathways for people of all backgrounds to succeed in the modern economy through digital skills training in Calgary’s core. To understand the incredible tech-driven changes that have occurred over the last six years, we spoke to SADT Instructor Jaspreet Gill, an expert in artificial intelligence, to share her thoughts around how AI has made significant strides since 2019. "The leap from GPT-2 to today's multimodal and even agentic AI is like going from a typewriter to a supercomputer within just six years," says Gill. "No one working hands-on back then could ignore how quickly the ground was shifting. People worry AI will replace them, but the real risk is being replaced by someone who knows how to use it.” Thanks to David Bissett, SAIT is at the forefront of progress through our downtown School for Advanced Digital Technology and the cyber range.SAIT Campaign Report | 5 TO ACCELERATION FROM VISION 2024 ● AI + Human Skills Focus: Global conversations shift to balancing AI productivity with human- centric skills. ● Downtown SADT Campus Breaks Ground: SAIT’s visible investment in Calgary’s downtown revitalization. 2022 ● Web3 and Blockchain Boom: Crypto markets and blockchain-based applications go mainstream. ● SADT Downtown Campus Planning Begins: SAIT commits to a downtown presence to bring digital skills training closer to Calgary’s business core. 2021 ● AI and Automation Surge: Companies globally ramp up automation to address labour shortages post-pandemic. ● SAIT Expands Digital Pathways: New micro- credentials and upskilling programs launched targeting mid-career professionals. 2020 ● COVID-19 Pandemic Begins: Global shift to remote work accelerates digital adoption overnight. ● SAIT Launches SADT: programs in data analytics, cybersecurity, and software development launch and expand. 2023 ● AI Explosion: Generative AI enters the mainstream (ChatGPT, DALL·E), transforming sectors from marketing to healthcare. ● SAIT announces major tech-focused gifts like RBC’s electric vehicle readiness and Spartan Controls Ltd. industrial automation transformation. 2019 ● Bissett’s $30M Gift Announced: SAIT’s largest philanthropic gift launches the SAIT School for Advanced Digital Technology (SADT). ● AI Milestone: GPT-2 released by OpenAI; early signals of generative AI potential. ● Calgary Context: Downtown vacancies climbing, early conversations about economic diversification intensify. 2025 ● Talent Crisis Deepens: Employers across sectors report record digital talent shortages. ● Real Futures Momentum Builds: SADT downtown campus nearing completion; Real Futures exceeds halfway fundraising milestone. ● A historic gift from Imperial enables SAIT to establish an industry ready lab bridging students, applied researchers and real world emission reduction tech challenges ● Bissett’s Legacy: A gift that continues to shape Calgary’s workforce, creating opportunity in the face of rapid change.6 | REAL FUTURES REAL PROGRESS THANKS TO REAL SUPPORT Since its public launch in early 2025, SAIT’s Real Futures campaign has made incredible strides when it comes to meeting milestones in the overall fundraising effort. Not just a straightforward campaign, Real Futures is driving SAIT’s transformation of how, who and what we teach across each of our schools. Thanks to donors and partners like you, we’re embracing this exciting moment fueled by people who believe in the power of practical education, hands-on learning and accessible pathways to real opportunity. A City-Building Campaign, Powered by People Since the initial $30-million gift from David Bissett, the Real Futures campaign has raised more than $125 million toward its ambitious $150-million goal. Behind this total are countless individual contributions — from those leading with transformational generosity to partners strengthening our shared success, to individuals whose kindness paves the way for future generations — every contribution matters. Together, we’re shaping a future filled with promise and opportunity, and we are grateful. 70 new student awards through the campaign 1,200+ donors and counting have helped make new programs and pathways possible 75 student awards supported by the campaignSAIT Campaign Report | 7 ALUMNI SUPPORT Giving back to pay it forward Unlocking potential and enabling the success of SAIT students is the foundation of Real Futures. The impact of donor support and a SAIT education is something the SAIT alumni family understands personally, and our alumni community has rallied behind Real Futures in a big way. As a graduate, Jinki Lee understands the benefits of both a SAIT education and the impact of donor support. Receiving student awards enabled him to succeed in his studies and he is now out in the work force making a difference in industry and back at SAIT. Lee represents a foundational community of advocates for the Real Futures campaign. 193 alumni donors have supported the campaign “ I believe it’s incredibly valuable to give back to the school you attended because it helps strengthen the same community that once supported you. It matters to me because I know how impactful those opportunities were in shaping my journey. Being able to contribute to SAIT’s ongoing legacy of student success makes me proud to be an alumnus.” Jinki Lee Software Development 2024Next >