Waterloo Innovation Summit: Hacking the innovation challenge by shaking things up
At the recently-held Waterloo Innovation Summit, co-hosted at the University of Waterloo and the Centre for International Governance Innovation, leading experts on disruptive technology, adaptation, and the policy imperative gathered amidst the backdrop of Canada’s leading tech ecosystem to lead courageous conversation on the flourishing innovation potential in Canada.
Co-chaired by broadcaster and author Amanda Lang and serial entrepreneur Michael Serbinis, the Waterloo Innovation Summit was packed with engaging keynotes, provocative discussions, and tours of innovation centres in the region. From the welcome reception to the networking breaks, there was also ample opportunity to collide ideas with participants and build links across businesses and institutions from our nation and overseas.
Speakers among a diverse gamut of sectors shared forward-thinking ideas on the disruptive and defining trends that drive innovation. Jarred Cohen’s (Founder of Google Ideas and President, Jigsaw) synopsis on the extraordinary pace of innovation glimpsed into the future of data — assigning emotional parameters to machine learning, to language, and to keeping society healthy through digital hygiene.
Thomas Dolby, an innovator in the music and recording scene, took to stage and widely entertained the crowd with a tech-inspired rendition infused with the comedy of She Blinded Me with Science. JB. Straubel’s (co-founder and CTO, Tesla) keynote address on how Tesla came to be was nothing short of inspirational, but in particular the unwavering emphasis of a global urgency to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy left the audience with ample ‘fuel’ for thought.
There was no shortage of influential speakers. The exceptional roster also included Mike Lazaridis (founder, Blackberry), Amber Case (Cyborg anthropologist and Fellow, Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society), Ted Livingston (CEO, Kik), Tom Waller (Senior Vice President, Whitespace at Lululemon Athletica Inc), and Amy Swenson (head of Business, Ontario’s Digital Service).
During the tour of the Waterloo-Kitchener innovation ecosystem, an exclusive group of conference participants went inside world-class companies established in the various incubators and research hubs across the region. The University of Waterloo’s Sedra Student Design Centre — a 20,000+ square-foot facility where student-led teams create everything from aerial robots to human-powered submarines — was one of the most interesting. It is a gathering place for students to design, innovate and build projects in multidisciplinary teams. From canoes and toboggans made of concrete (a heavy idea to float), to a solar vehicle aptly named “Midnight Sun,” the exceptional talent behind these projects overpowered the room with a resounding belief that the next global innovation disruptions are being distilled across Canada’s post-secondary institutions.
The Perimeter Institute (PI) for Theoretical Physics — another of the stops along the ecosystem tour — was also among my favorites. PI is the world’s largest resident-based research institute at the highest level of international excellence in foundational theoretical physics. It is a place for 180 scientists to conduct foundational research that inevitably transforms our understanding of the world. Funding for the PI is innovative in its own right, established under one of Canada’s most successful public-private partnership ventures between government, individuals, corporations, and foundations.
In essence, attending this summit reassured my belief that innovation doesn’t happen by accident, but above all, that organizations across Canada are full of smart people who know what to do. But innovation has to have purpose and we must continuously adapt to avoid becoming complacent. We have to work on problems that really matter to the world, and for this we need people to come together. And I believe Universities play a vital duty in leading this movement. So let’s get together. Empower people to try things, and to figure out how to create solutions. Shake things up. And let us make it amazing.
