Thursday, September 3, 2026

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• Waterloo ranked the top Canadian university for producing entrepreneurs
• From AI Strategy to Deployment: Inside WRHN’s First AI Scribe Implementation
• New course reserves platform now live

Waterloo ranked the top Canadian university for producing entrepreneurs

This is an excerpt from an article that was originally in Waterloo News.

The University of Waterloo has once again received international recognition for its strength in entrepreneurship, innovation and venture creation. The 2026 PitchBook University Rankings place Waterloo in its top 10 for producing successful entrepreneurs — the first time a Canadian school has achieved that mark. 

In the rankings for entrepreneurs with an undergraduate degree, Waterloo ranked seventh globally, making it the highest-ranked university outside the U.S. In the ranking for entrepreneurs with a graduate degree, Waterloo placed 54th in the world, tying the University of British Columbia for the second-highest rank in Canada.  

Waterloo was also recognized as the fastest riser in PitchBook’s rankings for female founders with an undergraduate degree. The University ranked 11th globally.  

“Breaking into PitchBook’s top 10 places our university where it belongs, among the world’s leading institutions for entrepreneurship,” says John Dick, Managing Director of Velocity, the University’s flagship incubator and entrepreneurship program. “More importantly, it reflects what our founders are accomplishing: turning their ambitious ideas into companies that attract investment, create opportunity and deliver meaningful impact. This achievement reflects the extraordinary success of our alumni founders and our university-wide commitment to entrepreneurship.” 

PitchBook's annual rankings measure universities based on the number of alumni founders whose companies have received venture capital investment in the last decade. The rankings are widely regarded as one of the most credible indicators of a university's ability to cultivate entrepreneurial talent because they focus on real-world business creation, venture funding and startup success. According to PitchBook’s reports, the top companies founded by Waterloo alumni include Databricks, Instacart, ContextLogic Holdings and Arctic Wolf.

Read the full story.

From AI Strategy to Deployment: Inside WRHN’s First AI Scribe Implementation

WRHN is moving AI from strategy into practice.

Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at WRHN’s first AI deployment through the implementation of AI scribes — an initiative designed to reduce documentation burden and support clinicians in delivering care.
The conversation will explore how WRHN moved from identifying the opportunity to selecting and implementing a solution, including the use of the Ontario Supply Chain Vendor of Record (VOR) to accelerate procurement and create a scalable pathway for adoption.

Bringing together clinical, digital, innovation, procurement, design and governance perspectives, the session will unpack what it actually takes to introduce AI responsibly into a complex health system — from clinical need and solution selection to privacy, governance, workflow integration, implementation and evaluation.

Joining Danina Kapetanovic, Vice President, Innovation & AI Strategy & Chief Health Innovation Officer, are:

• Dr. Payal Agarwal, Chief Medical Information & Innovation Officer
• Danielle Sanagan, Vice President, Digital & Chief Information Officer
• Kristen Warden, Director, Supply Chain
• Sormeh Mehri, Health Systems Engineer/Designer

Together, they will share the journey behind WRHN’s AI scribe deployment, what has been learned along the way, and how this work is helping establish the foundations for future AI implementation across the organization.

The session will feature a moderated conversation, audience participation through chat, and live Q&A. Register today!

New course reserves platform now live

The Libraries has transitioned to Leganto, a new course reserves platform, following a successful spring term pilot.

Leganto offers a more intuitive, streamlined experience for faculty and students, with direct integration in LEARN that makes it easier to access course materials. This seamless connection helps users quickly find the resources they need while reducing barriers to course content.

The platform also provides flexible, self-serve options for instructors to create and manage their course reserve lists. At the same time, library staff will continue to support instructors through the process and are available to assist with course list creation, updates and troubleshooting.

Training materials and additional information are available on the Libraries website. Questions can be directed to Sarah Martin, Resource Sharing and Reserves Manager.