Technology is changing at lightning speed, with leaders building and preparing for capabilities that don’t yet exist. Focusing on the next generation, and building transferrable skills to lead organizations into the future, is critical.
Amplify, RBC’s intensive summer innovation program, is one of the ways Canada’s biggest bank works to fuel an engineering culture and growth mindset in the leaders of tomorrow. Having just finished its sixth year virtually, Amplify is a four month internship that provides the next generation of talent the opportunity to make an impact, while acting as an innovation engine for the organization.
“You simply cannot bring an organization to new heights by sticking with the status quo. By welcoming the younger generation to help us solve real business problems, we are opening our eyes and broadening our views as an organization,” says Meagan Filion, Senior Director, Early Talent & Academic Relations, T&O. “The program also helps to fuel the innovation mindset, develop top technical talent and prepare ourselves, as an organization, for whatever the future of tech may hold.”
Through Amplify, students are assigned real tech and banking challenges brought forth by leaders across the organization. They work in teams of four to build new products from the ground up, disrupting the way RBC delivers value to the clients, employees and communities it serves.
Dave Simons, VP, Ventures Technology, was Executive Sponsor of an Amplify team this summer. By combining existing RBC capabilities with new technologies, his team set out to enhance the client experience for physicians, an especially relevant and pressing challenge given the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In the short span of three months, the Amplify healthcare product integration team was able to onboard onto RBC's existing tech stack and create a proof of concept that focuses on cross selling and customer acquisition via RBC's currently available medical billing platform, Dr. Bill,” says Simons. “The team created an easily deployable and scalable solution that integrates into Dr. Bill and the existing rewards ecosystem which presents exciting opportunities for this solution in the future.”
“I was exposed to all aspects of the Product Development Process, from engaging in in-depth conversations with senior executives, to conducting user interviews, concept testing, applying design thinking principles, and more. I always felt supported and learned skills that will transfer to my future roles" says Tala Buwadi, developer on the healthcare product integration team.
This product was just one of 18 developed throughout the 2021 season, with 9 provisional patent applications filed. Since Amplify’s inception in 2016, 99 minimum viable products and a number of machine learning and AI-based products have been produced. 130 Amplify alumni have become full time employees at RBC.
Click here to learn more about how RBC motivates and encourages the next generation of brilliant minds to grow their skills, make an impact, and Be What’s Next. To learn more about the Amplify program, click here.
