TKS Toronto MasterGuide
At TKS, we have a vision.
Accelerate the trajectories of many brilliant youths who want and crave to change the world, and help them on their quest to impact billions.
This is our way to showcase the inspiring content, the world-changing projects, and exponential growth we and our peers have gone through over the year.
Because at TKS, we don’t just build dreamers, we build innovators.
As TKS students, we know the value of this program and what it has helped us become. This guide is structured to share the same thing with all of you reading, to help give you a glimpse into our world.
We’re gonna go over a few things in this guide, each section symbolic of the main pillars of growth we have experienced.
- Mindset: Change your mind to change your life.
- Technology: Solving problems with emerging tech.
- Moonshots: Thinking how to build 10x for a better future.
- Global Challenges: Consulting with big companies to help solve even bigger problems.
- Bossladies: Building a seat at the table, because you can do anything you want.
- Activate: Solving the world’s biggest problems, one step at a time.
1) Mindset
Change your mind to change your life
Whether it be Marcus Aurelius, Plato, Carl Jung, or Navid Nathoo, this is the finest content on mindsets right from the students of TKS. Learn about how to be stoic, how to train anti-fragility, and how to be successful by clicking on the links in the section below.
Mayank Jain
Mayank Jain is a 17-year-old on a journey to drive innovation in the neurotech industry. He’s a skilled emerging tech developer with experience in brain-computer interfaces, deep learning, augmented reality, autonomous robots, and more. He’s currently building an EEG system from scratch in the hopes of creating the first wide-spread BCI wearable. He’s spoken about his work at multiple conferences, won countless hackathon awards, and used technology to drive innovation at various tech companies.
Nyla Pyrani
Heyyy:) I’m Nyla, a 14 y/o in training to solve the world's biggest problems. Over the last few years, I have been going super deep into AI / ML, Nanotechnology, Human Longevity, and Agriculture! I have developed cancer detection systems using AI, deep dived into industries such as Legal and Pharma, researched senescent cells, collaborated with companies such as Wealth Simple and Kidogo, and written tons of blogs! I am also the Co-Founder of Carbovore where we are on a mission to create carbon-neutral protein production by 2050! For more information on all the super cool things I’ve worked on check me out here. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn as well, I would love to chat with you:)
-Nyla ✌️
ps. Click on the underlined words for more information on that project!
Article: https://link.medium.com/I296jntkU6
Isabella Grandic
Isabella Grandic is a 16-year-old working on building better female healthcare. She’s currently executing on endmaternalmortality.com, a project aimed to distribute life-saving maternal health medication in rural areas in Africa. Previously, she keynoted at top conferences and companies like IKEA, Websummit and Microsoft. Collectively, she’s spoken in 5+ countries, written 75+ articles, and worked on 5 large consulting projects.
Rishi Mehta
I’m a 14-year-old who loves absolutely anything that has to do with technology. I’ve been building a lot of different projects in AI specifically. I’ve been making things from YOLO Object Detection to an algorithm that decides how much water plants need (which you can check out here). Aside from that I love documenting some of my learnings in my blog. If you ever want to nerd out about AI or anything that has to do with impacting billions, definitely hit me up on Linkedin.
Article: https://medium.com/@rishi30.mehta/stop-overthinking-everything-de972f9f107c
Michael Ye
Relentlessly Self-Improving, Aspiring Rationalist, ENTJ, & Passionate about changing Education — quickest way to describe me :)
I founded my first SaaS business @ age 14 where I learned coding, marketing, hiring a team, & PM. From that point on I knew I wanted to build a unicorn startup one day & change the world. Learn more about my work here. On my free time, I run a YouTube channel where I share productivity hacks & challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone. I also love talking with brilliant people (hit me up realmichaelye@gmail.com😉 or LinkedIn).
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnvBTtUt5YI&feature=youtu.be
Victoria Dmitruczyk
Victoria is a 17 year old alternative energy and sustainability enthusiast. She’s worked in projects and helped about with research concerning vertical farming, alternative protein, nuclear fusion, solar energy, and sustainable/smart-city design. She is currently working on using Artificial Intelligence to optimize energy flow throughout buildings.
Article: https://blog.usejournal.com/learning-to-be-authentic-2781914940ca
Kiran Kumar
Hi! I’m Kiran, currently studying biotechnology engineering at UC San Diego! Obviously, I adore everything biotechnology, especially areas working toward anti aging. In my free time, I study the yogic sciences and women’s issues. I’m sure that biotechnology is the tool that will help me move the world forward in not only health, but gender equality. Curious? Check me out on kirankumar.ca!
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKl5EIjY55Q&feature=youtu.be
Valmik Rao
I’m a 16 year trying to solve problems, from how can we use deterministic reprogramming methods to achieve higher efficiences with stem cells to global issues like affordable housing and COVID. Looking forward to spending my summer, going deep into problems that I care about, building stuff, and chilling with friends. You can check out my blog, or my updates on my website here.
Article: https://medium.com/@valmikrao/complacency-safety-or-laziness-af59c3cf1d0c
Hana Ahmad
Article: https://medium.com/@hanamahmad4/the-stoicism-mindset-cd2d8c46215e
Ronit Taleti
Hi! I’m Ronit, I’m 14 years old and I’m super passionate about Artificial Intelligence, as well as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Brain Computer Interfaces! I’ve been focusing on AI and I’ve been learning as much as I can about it this year, and a lot of cool projects and ideas have come out of that journey! I’ve created a simulation of a car teaching itself to drive (think autonomous vehicles!), a program which can turn any image into art using neural networks, another program using neural networks to detect and label objects in a picture or video, and I am currently working on a big project which is using AI to detect Alzheimer’s Disease in the brain from an MRI Scan. If you want to learn more about me or check out other things I have done, see my website! I’m also happy to connect on my LinkedIn!
Article: https://medium.com/@ronittaleti05/lessons-from-paypal-founder-peter-thiel-8e0980f56901
Christina Vadivelu
Hey there! I’m Christina, and I love anything synthetic biology-related! Currently I’ve been going into engineering gene-knockouts, and how we can cure certain diseases with this method. I’ve worked on solving problems that companies such as Sidewalk Labs and Kidogo are currently facing as well! In the past two months, I co-founded ESCA with two other friends, which uses both algae and fungi to create capsules filled with the daily dosages of nutrients, for areas where food storage is a problem. I’m also a music fanatic, and do opera/musical theatre and write songs for fun :) I also write articles on various topics I’m passionate about changing! You can see my portfolio here. Connect with me on Linkedin! Hope to hear from you :)
Article: https://medium.com/@christina.a.vadivelu/grading-life-the-story-behind-satisfactory-4a198170c2df
Vedaant Varshney
Hi there, I’m Vedaant! I love AI, Robotics, and I just started learning about Augmented Reality. In the past, I’ve worked on projects ranging from creating an application to take my notes for me to solving problems with Sidewalk Labs and Kidogo. Recently, I co-founded Saga with a few of my friends, and it’s a personalized education company that uses Machine Learning to deliver a curriculum that matches the needs of each of its students. I’m always working on a new project or new content, so to stay up to date on what I’ve been working on, check out my website or portfolio! If you want to contact me directly, feel free to shoot me a message on LinkedIn!
Devanshi Upadhay
Devanshi Upadhyay is a 15-year-old currently working on helping the research industry by targeting the reproducibility crisis. She has looked and worked with technologies like AI and is now looking into longevity and trying to use AI to help reverse/slow down aging. She has worked with companies like CryptoChicks to help women and girls around the world learn more about emerging tech like blockchain and Artificial Intelligence.
Article: https://medium.com/@deviupadyay18/you-can-live-a-hard-life-but-still-be-happy-7c3fc833f58d
Adam Omarali
Hey, I’m Adam — a 14 year old who is currently working on AI + Genetics. My mission is to allow everyone to reach their full potential. If that’s by curing diseases so everyone can live a full life, or making resources accessible worldwide, I’ll be working on it. I have spoken at Collision, worked on plenty of projects, and love learning about new tech, perspectives, performing magic, playing music and impacting billions! We should totally chat.
https://medium.com/@pokeninjawhiz/3-mindsets-that-changed-my-life-6f8b4201245a
This section was compiled by Lina Nayvelt. Click here to check out her work!
2) Technology
Solving Problems With Emerging Tech
How do we make a long-lasting impact on the world? Emerging technology could be our answer. Check out what disruptive technology TKS Students have been working with this past year! 👩💻👨💻
Adara Hagman
👋🏼I’m Adara. A 17y/o with a passion for the environment and exploration (marine, space, and terrestrial). 🌎 I’m a part-time researcher, explorer-at-heart, scientist-in-training, writer, activist, and futurist. My mission is to help address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) starting with SDG #13 — Climate Action with the project Photome Labs and SDG #2 — Zero Hunger with the project Carbovore. Outside of technology, I enjoy adventuring in the outdoors, dabble in fashion design, and love Disney. I aspire to become an astronaut one day and help design closed-loop cities on Earth & in space.
Astronauts 2.0 (Ft. Tardigrades + Gene-Editing)🚀
Lana Bozanic
Hey! I’m Lana and I’m a 17-year-old super passionate about all things quantum! This year, I took a deep dive into the world of quantum computing, and did a ton of cool projects+research within the field! My most recent project (down below) included exploring a new optization algorithm for the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE), which can find the groundstate energies of molecules much more efficiently, which is super key when attempting to simulate new drugs! Check out more of my work at lanabozanic.com and connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter if you wanna hit me up!
Quantum Natural Gradient From the Ground Up
William Law
Hey, I’m William and I’m going to be starting my fall at the University of Waterloo for computer science! I’ve spent most of these past 10 months at TKS building SaaS and ML projects ranging from building a universal collaboration tool to performing edge-case object detection for self-driving cars. My team and I recently finished top 5 of 28,000 contestants in America for Microsoft’s Imagine Cup Challenge. (I also like sharing my thoughts on Twitter :) and you can learn more about my work here 😃.
I’m currently learning distributed systems 🌐 as I’ve been fascinated by platforms like Twitch and Zoom in how they deliver low-latency streaming in real-time.
Check out my article on Capsule Neural Networks!
Dron Hazra
Hi! I’m Dron, and I’m a passionate young innovator here at The Knowledge Society. I’m super interested in artificial intelligence and its applications, especially in music ^-^. I’ve helped solve problems for Sidewalk Labs — an Alphabet company working on urban innovation — and Kidogo, a social enterprise providing low-cost childcare for Early Childhood Development (ECD) in the slums of Nairobi.
Luke Piette
I’m a 17-year-old student who’s into brain-computer interfaces, machine learning, and building meaningful side projects. I’m not convinced technology will give rise to a singularity within the next 10 years, but I do think tech has extreme potential for meaningful impact. Through whatever I can get my hands on, whether it be blockchain, quantum computing, gene editing, ML, I’m attempting to utilize tech to create value on a global scale. The vision right now is to build and scale a technologically intensive company, but that could change at any time based on what route aligns best with my vision.
Maggie Li
Hey! I’m Maggie — 17 year old passionate about all things quantum and bio! For the past year at TKS, I’ve taken a deep dive into quantum machine learning (QML) and its applications within the realm of optimization algorithms. I’ve built a variety of QML / QC projects, ranging from the max clique problem to quantum natural gradient! You can see more of my work here and connect with me on Linkedin or Twitter.
Rethinking Gradient Descent with Quantum Natural Gradient
Nyla Pirani
Heyyy:) I’m Nyla, a 14 y/o in training to solve the world's biggest problems. Over the last few years, I have been going super deep into AI / ML, Nanotechnology, Human Longevity, and Agriculture! I have developed cancer detection systems using AI, deep dived into industries such as Legal and Pharma, researched senescent cells, collaborated with companies such as Wealth Simple and Kidogo and written tons of blogs! I am also the Co — Founder of Carbovore where we are on a mission to create carbon — neutral protein production by 2050! For more information on all the super cool things I’ve worked on check me out here. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn as well, I would love to chat with you:)
-Nyla ✌️
ps. Click on the underlined words for more information on that project!
Michael Ye
Relentlessly Self-Improving, Aspiring Rationalist, ENTJ, & Passionate about changing Education — quickest way to describe me :)
I founded my first SaaS business @ age 14 where I learned coding, marketing, hiring a team, & PM. From that point on I knew I wanted to build a unicorn startup one day & change the world. Learn more about my work here. On my free time, I run a YouTube channel where I share productivity hacks & challenge myself to get out of my comfort zone. I also love talking with brilliant people (hit me up realmichaelye@gmail.com😉 or LinkedIn).
16-year-old makes Brain-Computer Interface to MIND-CONTROL someone else’s arm | LIVE DEMO @IBM
Rishi Mehta
Builder | Learner | Relentless | On A Mission
I’m a 14-year-old who loves absolutely anything that has to do with technology. I’ve been building a lot of different projects in AI specifically. I’ve been making things from YOLO Object Detection to an algorithm that decides how much water plants need (which you can check out here). Aside from that I love documenting some of my learnings in my blog. If you ever want to nerd out about AI or anything that has to do with impacting billions, definitely hit me up on Linkedin.
How a 13-year-old told a Computer to Detect Lane Lines
Valmik Rao
I’m a 16 year trying to solve problems, from how can we use deterministic reprogramming methods to achieve higher efficiencies with stem cells to global issues like affordable housing and COVID. Looking forward to spending my summer, going deep into problems that I care about, building stuff, and chilling with friends. You can check out my blog, or my updates on my website here.
that’s it from me, I’m out 👋
Joey Mach
Hey 👋! I’m Joey, a 16-year-old who’s on a mission to solve some of the world’s most impactful problems using exponential technologies. I’m super interested and passionate about how the intersection between artificial intelligence and biology will lead the next paradigm shift in medicine. I’ve worked on applying machine learning algorithms for rational pharmaceutical drug design, generating medical-imaging datasets, and skin cancer diagnosis. I occasionally speak at conferences, enjoys building interesting projects, and developing my personal philosophy. I always knew that I wanted to make an impact in the world and I want to spend the rest of my life embarking on a mission to impact billions. I would really love to connect!
Learn more about me :) https://nextgenhq.com/spotlights/joeymach
💻 Medium
Tanya Yousofi
Hola! I’m Tanya and I love music! What better way than to intersect my passion with emerging tech? Aside from recording songs on my YouTube channel, I taught myself how to code. This ability led me to unleash incredible superpowers! — learning about Artificial Intelligence. Recently, I’ve been working on projects with Magenta and Jukebox to get a better understanding on the applications of AI in music and learning about my other interests as well. I love to learn about space and robotics! You can check out my projects here → https://tks.life/profile/tanya.yousofi
Beating Cancer With Two Words: Artificial Intelligence
Adam Omarali
Hey, I’m Adam — a 14-year-old who is currently working on AI + Genetics. My mission is to allow everyone to reach their full potential. If that’s by curing diseases so everyone can live a full life, or making resources accessible worldwide, I’ll be working on it. I have spoken at Collision, worked on plenty of projects, and love learning about new tech, perspectives, performing magic, playing music and impacting billions! We should totally chat.
Predicting Diseases Before they Happen
Arnav Paruthi
Hey! I’m a 16-year-old from Toronto, passionate about technology and using it to solve big problems. I have made multiple projects with AI, including one where I used the AlphaZero algorithm to train an agent to play ultimate tic-tac-toe. Last summer I interned at fleetops.ai, a company making the highly fragmented logistics space more efficient by connecting truck drivers with truck loads. This coming summer I’ll be working at Bounce, a company based in Bengaluru backed by Sequoia capital which is working on making it easier to get around dense urban areas. I’ve also worked on multiple consulting projects with companies like Walmart, SideWalk Labs, and Kidogo. Right now I’m working on helping smallholder farmers get access to grain storage solutions so they can reduce post-harvest losses.
How I used the AlphaZero algorithm to play Ultimate tic-tac-toe
Mayank Jain
Mayank Jain is a 17-year-old on a journey to drive innovation in the neurotech industry. He’s a skilled emerging tech developer with experience in brain-computer interfaces, deep learning, augmented reality, autonomous robots and more. He’s currently building an EEG system from scratch in the hopes of creating the first wide-spread BCI wearable. He’s spoken about his work at multiple conferences, won countless hackathon awards, and used technology to drive innovation at various tech companies.
Mayank Jain — NLP: From Watermelon Boxes to Word Embeddings
Brain Controlled Fireboy and Watergirl
Suraj Bansal
Hey! I’m Suraj- 16 y/o student developer (Junior @ Bayview Secondary) interested in public health and autonomous vehicles. My most definitive experience was my Grade 8 summer teaching computational literary to cognitively challenged kids in the Spastic Society of Karnataka. I Internalized entitlement and developed an obsession to solve accessibility of education/healthcare around the world. I’m currently developing my personal toolbox of skills and mindsets to expedite this vision. Check out my portfolio which encapsulates the products of these efforts. I’m an avid enthusiast for student representation too and the current Chairman of the York Region Presidents’ Council. My interests include guitar, hockey, and cuisine!
Polyp Detection with Convolutional Neural Networks Explained
Seyone Chithrananda
Hey, I’m Seyone, a curious 16-year-old aspiring ML and biology researcher. Currently, I work on researching cutting-edge applications for drug discovery using machine learning, as an ML research intern at the Matter Lab at the University of Toronto. Alongside my work there, I’m on the open-source developer team for DeepChem, a project aiming to build a framework for understanding chemistry and biology using machine learning based out of Stanford University. My work is supported by the Emergent Ventures Fellowship Grant. In the past, I’ve worked at Integrate.ai, building out SaaS AI products for Fortune 500 companies. One big highlight this year has been working on building COVID small-molecule therapeutics with my lab at UofT alongside MIT. Check out my twitter to hear more updates on how that’s going!
Ahash Ganeshamoorthy
Hi there! I’m Ahash, a 16 year-old bio enthusiast! Over the past few months, I dove into genomics and understanding how fundamental biological interactions translate into the health sciences! I’m really interested in learning more about science, philosophy and anything interesting; feel free to hit me up on Linkedin and checkout my personal website!
SIRT1 + CRISPR-Cas9: A New Approach to Reversing T-1 Diabetes
Jatin Mehta
Jatin Mehta is a 16-year-old super passionate about emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence/quantum computing and their potential to change the world. Throughout the year, Jatin took a deep dive into artificial intelligence, consulted for organizations such as Kidogo, and even co-founded a moonshot a quantum cryptography startup called Enqryptd! Check out more of Jatin’s work and learn more about me at jatinmehta.ca and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to chat!
Pong DQN: Building An Unbeatable Bot
Zenia Rangwala
Hey, I am Zenia and am a 16-year-old student passionate about next-gen technologies, especially Genomics and Mixed Reality. Over the past few months, I got a chance to consult companies such as Sidewalk Labs and Kidogo and dig deep into the world of Artificial Intelligence, and it’s applications. I am currently working on creating cool Virtual Reality projects while also working on my company Nanobility To learn more about me, reach me at zeniarangwala@gmail.com
Can AI compose better music than humans?
Sumeet Pathania
Hey! I’m Sumeet and a 17-year-old passionate about using emerging technologies to create a better future. I’ve spent the past couple of months creating many cool projects using ML and reinforcement learning. Check out my website sumeetpathania.com to learn more about me!
Introduction to the World of AI
Angad Khattra
Hi. My name is Angad Khattra. I am currently in grade 8, enrolled in the University of Toronto Schools. There, I take Advanced Math and Science, along with a whole host of other classes, including Latin, Spanish, and Human Geography. Outside of the demanding schoolwork that we receive there, I am in clubs such as Model UN, Debate, Reach for the Top, Neuroscience Club, Dissection Club, and History Bowl, just to name a few. I am passionate about the intersection between emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, and medicine. I have even briefly entered the field of Artificial Intelligence, more specifically, creating a basic Convolutional Neural Network with Tensorflow and the Fashion-MNIST database that is able to differentiate between different articles of clothing. Along with that, I am in John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth(CTY), where I am finishing up a course on python, and have done Honors Algebra 1. I enjoy math, sciences, and technology. I hope to eventually impact billions through the journey that I am taking with TKS, my family, my school, and my friends.
Building a Basic Convolutional Neural Network.
Avery Moorhead
Avery Moorhead is a 16-year-old high school student who is deeply passionate about the Internet of Things and its applications. She has developed numerous IoT projects that can be used to increase efficiency and sustainability within our communities. She is also passionate about Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning and its applications in various sectors. In her free time, Avery plays competitive ice hockey.
Using Arduino to automatically notify you when your products have run out
Ruhani Walia
Hey I’m Ruhani, 17 years old, love economics, emerging technology and am passionate about social justice and social good. I’ve always been keen on trying to extrapolate what my future looks like. Learning about different types of emerging tech threw a wrench in that machine. Being exposed to how quickly and crazily our scope of knowledge is increasing has been such an eye opener. I’ve learned to be okay with ambiguity and to plan for it — to think in moonshots and be excited by the gaps in tech and knowledge that exist. I really want to use my knowledge of tech to make positive social change. For one of my projects, I looked at using blockchain to give women more economic autonomy. I’ve delved into how we can use nanotechnology to turn nuclear energy into clean energy and recently, I’ve started looking at using wireless energy transfer for positive environmental change too. I’ve collaborated with companies like Kidogo and Interac on challenges surrounding scaling at quality and using open banking to improve financial literacy. For more info on the work I’ve done, you can check out my personal website https://ruhaniwalia.com or my TKS portfolio. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and shoot me a message!
Wireless Power Transfer for Subsea Exploration
Joshua Payne
For the past year, I’ve been building projects in fields like data visualization, machine learning, and more. I’ve also looked into some really cool technologies (bioprinting, insect cellag, etc) and wrote about how they could help us revolutionize the planet! I’m interested in anything related to data, technology, or the world’s biggest problems.
Check out my work here!
Joshua Payne — Innovator — The Knowledge Society (TKS) | LinkedIn
How we’re building computers out of DNA and proteins
Zaki Rangwala
Hey, I am Zaki and am a 16-year-old student passionate about next-gen technologies, especially Artificial Intelligence. Over the past few months, I got a chance to consult companies such as Sidewalk Labs and Kidogo and dig deep into the world of regenerative medicine, and it’s applications. I am currently working on leveraging machine learning models to solve problems in healthcare while also working on my company Reson8. To learn more about me, reach me at zakirangwala.com
Regenerative Medicine: One Step Closer to Immortality?🧬
Aahil Samnani
Hey, I’m Aahil, an ambitious 16-year-old Machine Learning Developer and AI Enthusiast. This year, I’ve worked with companies such as Sidewalk Labs and Kidogo to develop moonshot ideas using exponential technologies. A huge highlight this year was co-founding Alva Energy — a company that aims to completely power airplanes and rocket ships using electrical energy. Currently, I’m developing machine learning models to solve large-scale issues in the finance and healthcare industries. Check out my personal website to see what I’ve been up to!
Fraud Detection at Banks with Self-Organizing Maps
Andy Zhu
Hey! I’m Andy and I’m a 17-year-old super passionate about emerging tech such as artificial intelligence and their potential to change the world. Through out the year, I took a deep dive into artificial intelligence, consulted for organizations such as Kidogo, and even co-founded a moonshot blockchain startup called Unidem! Check out more of my work at andyz.ca and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want to chat!
Convolution Neural Networks (CNN’s) and Image Recognition
Ariel Liu
🙌 Hey I’m Ariel, a curious 15y/o that’s really passionate about solving relevant problems by leveraging exponential technologies, in particular artificial intelligence, IoT (Internet of things), and edge computing. One of my recent AI projects was identifying COVID induced pneumonia!👩💻
I aim to create a world where AI is used to benefit all of humanity! 🧠
🍵 Aside from technological pursuits I enjoy art (especially watercolor), swimming, cooking (macarons…yum), and reading! 😋
Identifying COVID-19 induced Pneumonia With AI
Eshan Rasul
What’s up! I’m Eshan, a 15 (almost 16) year old, and over the past few months I’ve been going deep into some super dope technologies that range from using lipid (fat) based nanoparticles to 10x the way we treat cancer to building an LSTM to predict stocks. I love talking to people and over the next few months I’m gonna be focusing on breaking down big problems and if you’re interested check out my website here!
Vitamins VS Nanoparticles — An Introduction to Oxidative Stress Prevention
Kiran Kumar
Hi! I’m Kiran, currently studying biotechnology engineering at UC San Diego! Obviously, I adore everything biotechnology, especially areas working toward anti aging. In my free time, I study the yogic sciences and women’s issues. I’m sure that biotechnology is the tool that will help me move the world forward in not only health, but gender equality. Curious? Check me out on kirankumar.ca!
Location, Location, Location: Longevity Pathways to Target with Gene Therapy
Mehar Chatha
Hi! I’m Mehar, a 15-year old avid learner, interested in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Cryopreservation (more specifically it’s implications in space travel). I am super passionate about developing innovative solutions for problems which impact billions! I’m a part of The Knowledge Society (TKS) — a human accelerator program which was recently recognised as one of the sixteen schools of the future, by the World Economic Forum. Recently, three students from The Knowledge Society and myself pitched an idea for our moonshot company called
. Pharmabit is a Biomed engineering company which uses Quantum computing to accelerate the process of finding potential vaccines for infectious diseases worldwide.
How “Cryosleep” may open doors to space travel
Navya Riju
I’m a 17-year old who is working on projects in stem cells, regenerative medicine, and using exponential technologies in the health field. Over the last couple of years, I have been fortunate enough to attend and participate in many events including the stem cell debate hosted by UofT, the Regenerative Medicine Expo, and many tech conferences like Elevate Tech Fest.
I’ve worked on projects in fields such as regenerative medicine, artificial intelligence, sustainable housing, solar energyand areas such as t-cells & drug delivery. Last year, I build a moonshot company called Neurogen, aiming to use brain-computer interfaces to track stem cells in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
Over the last few months, I started looking at global issues specifically in the health field and researched the root causes as well as possible solutions with a team. I’ve been working on ending maternal mortality for specifically developing countries. There are 303k preventable maternal deaths globally, 201,000 (66%) are in Sub-Saharan Africa (58k in Nigeria). Here’s an article on our solution.
More of my projects can be found here.
Navya Riju — Leveraging 3D Bioprinting to Cure Heart Disease | Oakville Innovation Hub
Arqish Minhas
I am a 13-year-old passionate innovator at The Knowledge Society (TKS). I am really interested in new cool technologies like AI, BCI, NanoTechnology, Gene Editing, Haptic Technology, Quantum Computing, and many more!
I was recently introduced to a program called TKS and the whole idea was to work on problems and find solutions to the world’s biggest problems using these emerging technologies. It was something I fell in love with as soon as I thought of the idea of being able to do this at such a young age. I got deep into it and worked with companies like Sidewalk Labs to find a solution to housing in Toronto ON. I also got really deep into Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). I worked on projects in which I looked at how you can control anybody’s arm with your brain! Also how BCI can help a paralyzed person walk again! I made articles and videos on these to help people get a better understanding of the concept. I really enjoy doing all of this and TKS has provided me a phenomenal platform to do that and I really look forward to doing a lot more with this unique opportunity!
BCI To Help A Paralyzed Person Walk Again! | Arqish Minhas
Saanvi Dixit
Hey! I’m Saanvi and I’m a 14-year-old super passionate about phage therapy and gene editing! This year, I explored a ton of applications of genetics and phages, in the medical and food industries especially, and explored many other types of emerging tech! Check out my articles at https://link.medium.com/LGC9jBP6F6 and connect with me on LinkedIn if you wanna get in touch!
Can Gene-Editing Really Stop HIV Before the Damage is Done?
Shivang Mistry
Hey! I’m a 16 year old Machine Learning developer who is passionate about Deep Learning, Brain-Computational Interfaces, and Genomics. Right now I am focusing on using Deep learning for finding abnormalities in X-rays. I’ve worked on some cool projects, and written some more articles, which you can check out at shivangm.tech
AI + Genomics = Custom Made Medicine?!?!
Yazan Qwasmi
Taira Mehta
Hi! I’m Taira, and my life is kinda crazy. I’m a 15-year-old machine learning developer and aspiring Astronomer working on ways to revolutionize the way we look at the stars through machines. I began her journey when I was 6, learning everything I could about the world outside of our own, and delving into astrophysics. At 14, I started learning about Artificial Intelligence and I’m currently working to integrate it with the world of astronomy and astrophysics, for which she has spoken at the “Spark Hackathon”. Her mentors and advisors represent some of the leading companies in the AI space through the AI Socratic Circle.
This section was compiled by Lana Bozanic. Click here to check out some of her work!
3) Moonshots
Thinking how to build 10x, for a better future.
Most of the innovations around us are incremental improvements 10% changes. But why aren’t we thinking 10x? Innovators at TKS created their own companies of tomorrow. Check them out!
Carbovore
On a mission to create a carbon-neutral future for protein production. Our plan to do this entails creating protein products out of insects a.k.a. bugriculture. To offset remaining carbon our plan is to capture it and use hydrogenotrophic bacteria to transform it into protein products
Adara
👋🏼I’m Adara. A 17y/o with a passion for the environment and exploration (marine, space, and terrestrial). 🌎 I’m a part-time researcher, explorer-at-heart, scientist-in-training, writer, activist, and futurist. My mission is to help address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) starting with SDG #13 — Climate Action with the project Photome Labs and SDG #2 — Zero Hunger with the project Carbovore. Outside of technology, I enjoy adventuring in the outdoors, dabble in fashion design, and love Disney. I aspire to become an astronaut one day and help design closed-loop cities on Earth & in space.
Nyla
Heyyy:) I’m Nyla, a 14 y/o in training to solve the worlds biggest problems. Over the last few years I have been going super deep into AI / ML, Nanotechnology, Human Longevity and Agriculture! I have developed cancer detection systems using AI, deep dived into industries such as Legal and Pharma, researched senescent cells, collaborated with companies such as Wealth Simple and Kidogo and written tons of blogs! I am also the Co — Founder of Carbovore where we are on a mission to create carbon — neutral protein production by 2050! For more information on all the super cool things I’ve worked on check me out here. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn as well, I would love to chat with you:)
Article: Our current protein production process sucks — the food crisis
Video: An Introduction To Carbovore
ESCA
As pioneers and disruptors, ESCA aims to optimize off of the nutrients of fungi and algae to create personalized nutritional capsules for all of humankind with the ultimate goal of creating a future without food
Christina
Hey there! I’m Christina, and I love anything synthetic biology-related! Currently I’ve been going into engineering gene-knockouts, and how we can cure certain diseases with this method. I’ve worked on solving problems that companies such as Sidewalk Labs and Kidogo are currently facing as well! In the past two months, I co-founded ESCA with two other friends, which uses both algae and fungi to create capsules filled with the daily dosages of nutrients, for areas where food storage is a problem. I’m also a music fanatic, and do opera/musical theatre and write songs for fun :) I also write articles on various topics I’m passionate about changing! You can see my portfolio here. Connect with me on Linkedin! Hope to hear from you :)
Victoria
Victoria is a 17 year old alternative energy and sustainability enthusiast. She’s worked in projects and helped about with research concerning vertical farming, alternative protein, nuclear fusion, solar energy, and sustainable/smart-city design. She is currently working on using Artificial Intelligence to optimize energy flow throughout buildings.
Video: ESCA
Video: An Intro To ESCA
Article: What if we Didn’t Need Food to Survive? — Introducing ESCA
BUGBAR
Joshua
I’ve been building projects in fields like data visualization, machine learning, and more. I’ve also looked into some really cool technologies
Neuroqa
Create effective, personalized probiotic treatments for all neurological disorders. Currently, we’re focusing on patients with depression.
Christina Wang
Lana Bozanic
Hey! I’m Lana and I’m a 17-year-old super passionate about all things quantum! This year, I took a deep dive into the world of quantum computing, and did a ton of cool projects+research within the field! Check out more of my work at lanabozanic.com and connect with me on LinkedIn if you wanna hit me up!
Video: We Need To Do Something
Article: Introducing: Neuroqa
UNIDEM
Providing people with secure control and autonomy over their identities through a universal ID storage platform leveraging blockchain and biometrics
Xenetics
Riya
Riya is a researcher/CO OP student under the Hospital for Sick Children, where she is exploring different ways of applying technologies to solve different diseases. Currently developing the fields of VR, she is integrating virtual reality experiences for developing countries by reinventing telemedical models, and creating Virtual Hospitals. This has been her own personal moonshot ever since she was young, figuring out how we can equate everyone around the globe with healthcare & medical resources.
Website: riyam.me
Portfolio: https://tks.life/profile/riya.mehta
Maggie
Article: Xenetics-Pioneering Microbial Tools To Rid Antibiotic Resistance
Airidis
Ronit
Hi! I’m Ronit, I’m 14 years old and I’m super passionate about Artificial Intelligence, as well as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Brain Computer Interfaces! I’ve been focusing on AI and I’ve been learning as much as I can about it this year, and a lot of cool projects and ideas have come out of that journey! I’ve created a simulation of a car teaching itself to drive (think autonomous vehicles!), a program which can turn any image into art using neural networks, another program using neural networks to detect and label objects in a picture or video, and I am currently working on a big project which is using AI to detect Alzheimer’s Disease in the brain from an MRI Scan. If you want to learn more about me or check out other things I have done, see my website! I’m also happy to connect on my LinkedIn!
Video: What is our company, Airidis?
Article: How Our Company Airidis Plans To Solve Blindness with BCI.
Quaré
we aim to eradicate foodborne illnesses through cutting-edge pathogen detection technology- using phage-based biosensors.
Saanvi
Hey! I’m Saanvi and I’m a 14-year-old super passionate about phage therapy and gene editing! This year, I explored a ton of applications of genetics and phages, in the medical and food industries especially, and explored many other types of emerging tech! Check out my articles at https://link.medium.com/LGC9jBP6F6 and connect with me on LinkedIn if you wanna get in touch!
Article: The Future of Pathogen-Detection Technology — Quaré
Video: Quaré — Revolutionizing Pathogen-Detection Technology
Reboot
Utilizing electric impulses produced by the human body to propel the next generation of personalized medicine
Tejvir
Hey, how are you? I am Tejvir Multani, a 16-year-old Brain-computer interface and stem cell researcher. I began my journey by developing BCI systems to treat heart attack patients and an idea to improve the lives of diabetic patients. I have founded Reboot, a biotechnology company that is utilizing electric impulses to treat various diseases such as diabetes and cancer. I am a strong advocate of using biotechnology to enhance human capabilities in medicine and have worked with companies such as Sidewalk Labs and Kidigo to optimize housing in Toronto and improve early childhood education in Kenya.
Video: Reboot
Solarum
Significantly reducing our water consumption in agriculture using AI, IoT and Autonomous Vehicle systems.
Rishi
I’m a 14-year-old who loves absolutely anything that has to do with technology. I’ve been building a lot of different projects in AI specifically. I’ve been making things from YOLO Object Detection to an algorithm that decides how much water plants need (which you can check out here). Aside from that I love documenting some of my learnings in my blog. If you ever want to nerd out about AI or anything that has to do with impacting billions, definitely hit me up on Linkedin.
Builder | Learner | Relentless | On A Mission
Video: Solarum — Bringing In A New Era Of Automated Farming.
Article: How To Save 70% Of Global Freshwater
This section was compiled by Eesha Ulhaq. Click here to check out some of her work!
4) Global Challenges
Consulting with big companies to help solve even bigger problems
Global Challenges are a way for TKS students to train their “Figure it out” mindset, allowing them to make recommendation decks to help solve real-life problems big multi-national companies run into.
Aayan
How We Planned to Help with Affordable Housing in Toronto — TKS x Sidewalk Labs
Adara
👋🏼I’m Adara. A 17y/o with a passion for the environment and exploration (marine, space, and terrestrial). 🌎 I’m a part-time researcher, explorer-at-heart, scientist-in-training, writer, activist, and futurist. My mission is to help address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) starting with SDG #13 — Climate Action with the project Photome Labs and SDG #2 — Zero Hunger with the project Carbovore. Outside of technology, I enjoy adventuring in the outdoors, dabble in fashion design, and love Disney. I aspire to become an astronaut one day and help design closed-loop cities on Earth & in space.
Content — Scaling Masterplan
Dev
Content- My Experience Solving the Lack of Income for Mamapreneurs
Nick
Content — My experience tackling Toronto housing affordability
Tanya
Content — My experience tackling Toronto housing affordability
This section was compiled by Sofia Qureshi. Click here to check out some of her work!
5) Bossladies
Building a seat at the table, because you can do anything you want.
Bossladies is a growing community of strong and brilliant wxmen determined to change stereotypes and help create a helpful community that takes action to change the world.
Ariel
🙌 Hey I’m Ariel, a curious 15y/o that’s really passionate about solving relevant problems by leveraging exponential technologies, in particular artificial intelligence, IoT (Internet of things), and edge computing. One of my recent AI projects was identifying COVID induced pneumonia!👩💻
I aim to create a world where AI is used to benefit all of humanity! 🧠
🍵 Aside from technological pursuits I enjoy art (especially watercolor), swimming, cooking (macarons…yum), and reading! 😋
Click to read my article on Internal barriers holding women back from success!
Christina
Hey there! I’m Christina, and I love anything synthetic biology-related! Currently I’ve been going into engineering gene-knockouts, and how we can cure certain diseases with this method. I’ve worked on solving problems that companies such as Sidewalk Labs and Kidogo are currently facing as well! In the past two months, I co-founded ESCA with two other friends, which uses both algae and fungi to create capsules filled with the daily dosages of nutrients, for areas where food storage is a problem. I’m also a music fanatic, and do opera/musical theatre and write songs for fun :) I also write articles on various topics I’m passionate about changing! You can see my portfolio here. Connect with me on Linkedin! Hope to hear from you :)
Click to read my article on best practices from boss people.
Riya
Riya is a researcher/CO OP student under the Hospital for Sick Children, where she is exploring different ways of applying technologies to solve different diseases. Currently developing the fields of VR, she is integrating virtual reality experiences for developing countries by reinventing telemedical models, and creating Virtual Hospitals. This has been her own personal moonshot ever since she was young, figuring out how we can equate everyone around the globe with healthcare & medical resources.
Website: riyam.me
Portfolio: https://tks.life/profile/riya.mehta
Click here to read my article on changing the status quo for women.
Ruhani
Hey I’m Ruhani, 17 years old, love economics, emerging technology and am passionate about social justice and social good. For one of my projects, I looked at using blockchain to give women more economic autonomy. I’ve delved into how we can use nanotechnology to turn nuclear energy into clean energy and recently, I’ve started looking at using wireless energy transfer for positive environmental change too. I’ve collaborated with companies like Kidogo and Interac on challenges surrounding scaling at quality and using open banking to improve financial literacy. For more info on the work I’ve done, you can check out my personal website https://ruhaniwalia.com or my TKS portfolio. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn and shoot me a message!
Adara
👋🏼I’m Adara. A 17y/o with a passion for the environment and exploration (marine, space, and terrestrial). 🌎 I’m a part-time researcher, explorer-at-heart, scientist-in-training, writer, activist, and futurist. My mission is to help address the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) starting with SDG #13 — Climate Action with the project Photome Labs and SDG #2 — Zero Hunger with the project Carbovore. Outside of technology, I enjoy adventuring in the outdoors, dabble in fashion design, and love Disney. I aspire to become an astronaut one day and help design closed-loop cities on Earth & in space.
Click here to read my article on how to start a revolution, like Sheryl Sandberg.
Sara
Click here to read my article on death before representation.
This section was compiled by Adara Hagman. Click here to check out some of her work!
6) Activate
Solving the world’s biggest problems, one step at a time.
Activate is not just the second-year TKS program, but a method for changing the world. We tackle the world’s biggest problems, break them down, and solve them. Hear from the Activates themselves on what they’ve done this year, and how they have gotten one step closer to impacting billions.
Shifra
Shifra Khan is a 17 year old who’s controlled 3D-printed RC-cars and online games with her brainwaves. Previously, she was at KPMG Cyber Canada, and then at CIBC Enterprise Analytics. Currently, she is wearing many hats at Zebra IQ, including everything from operations to content strategy. She is also working on EndMaternalMortality, a project that aims to scale crucial maternal health medication in Jigawa, Nigeria.
Check out my article on the whitewashing of western philosophy!
Adar
Check out my article on how I trained a neural network to write quotes like Aristotle!
Amsal
Check out my article on how we can stop death!
Anupra
Anupra Chandran is a 16 year old researcher, who’s excited about reversing aging, and food. She’s worked with researchers at the Krembil Institute to idenity biomarkers of neurodegeneration (specifically in Parkinson’s disease), created a proposal for an in-vivo nano-sized brain biosensor (like a Fitbit for brain proteins), and is currently working on Zea, a project to eliminate food waste in the storage stage, starting with maize farms in China. She’s also spoken about her journey at the SingularityU Canada summit, the ConnectIT IoT conference, and more.
Check out my video on reducing food waste through storage!
Devanshi
Devanshi Upadhyay is a 15-year-old currently working on helping the research industry by targeting the reproducibility crisis. She has looked and worked with technologies like AI and is now looking into longevity and trying to use AI to help reverse/slow down aging. She has worked with companies like CryptoChicks to help women and girls around the world learn more about emerging tech like blockchain and Artificial Intelligence.
Check out my article on human longevity!
Isabella
Isabella Grandic is a 16-year-old working on building better female healthcare. She’s currently executing on endmaternalmortality.com, a project aimed to distribute life-saving maternal health medication in rural areas in Africa. Previously, she keynoted at top conferences and companies like IKEA, Websummit and Microsoft. Collectively, she’s spoken in 5+ countries, written 75+ articles, and worked on 5 large consulting projects. More on my projects & experiences: isabellagrandic.com
Check out my article on reducing women’s mortality rates.
Luke
Check out my video on [Educating Small Businesses to Protect them from Threats!](Educating Small Businesses to Protect them from Threats)
Mishaal
Check out my article on food waste!
Liam
Check out my video on reducing food waste through storage!
Alishba
Check out my article on the New Testing of Energy Storage using Machine Learning!
This section was compiled by Taira Mehta. Click here to check out some of her work!
Ending Notes
TKS 2019–2020 MasterGuide
Students this year have laughed, built, and grown incredibly this year. Whether it be the variety of philosophers they learned from, the countless projects they have built, or the friends they have made, TKS 19'-20' was an adventure. Thanks for joining us!
