Current students

In collaboration with the Balsillie School of International Affairs, the University of Waterloo convened a dialogue on May 14, with academic and industry experts at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), addressing the misinformation and disinformation crisis facing liberal democracies worldwide. The event delved into the escalating threat of disinformation and its profound implications for the future of democratic governance.

The Inter-Institutional Forum Scarborough Charter 2024 took place May 9 and 10 — bringing together scholars, leaders and advocates from signatories of the Scarborough Charter on anti-Black racism and Black inclusion for a dialogue on Black experiences, challenges and achievements within higher education.

Hosted jointly by the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, this two-day event was an amiable and energetic gathering of intellect, activism and community building.

The University of Waterloo is well represented in the most recent cohort of companies accepted into the Y Combinator (YC), one of the biggest and most prestigious startup accelerators in the world.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance became a powerful strategy for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 levels in the population and predicting the emergence of new variants. Now, as we move into the next levels of surveillance, University of Waterloo scientists Dr. Trevor Charles and Dr. Andrew Doxey have been granted $1.57M in research funds to fulfill their part of a larger multi-institute team looking to change the game in wastewater analysis.

“It won’t get any bigger than this,” says River Stanley, a fourth-year University of Waterloo student in the Computer Science program, as they reminisce about the story they uncovered with three fellow undergraduates that would go on to make national and international headlines. 

The mission of FIRST Robotics Canada is to promote robotics alongside science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects to Canadian youth. To do this FIRST organizes robotics competitions for students from elementary to high school. Students design, build and program robots to compete in a variety of fun challenges, from shooting balls into hoops to stacking boxes. FIRST provides resources, mentorship and support to participating teams, giving them the foundation to work together and use their ingenuity to solve problems.

The University of Waterloo recently wrapped the 15th annual Teaching and Learning conference — one of the largest events dedicated to teaching and learning in higher education in Ontario.  

Held across two days with 16 online sessions, 50 presentations, six panels, five workshops and 17 posters, sessions covered topics on generative AI, engaging large classes, engaging first-year students, feedback, and integrating undergraduate and graduate students in course design. 

On May 3, the University of Waterloo community came together to observe the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S), which is annually observed on May 5, and is also known as Red Dress Day. 

Velocity startup Setori, developed an artificial intelligence companion to improve Gen Z’s focus and guard against procrastination and raised $1 million USD in pre-seed funding. 

Setori is co-founded by two University of Waterloo engineering alum Logan Jeya (BASc ’14) and Marc Simard (BASc ’14) and solely staffed with Waterloo co-ops and graduates.

Following a successful first test of 200 users across five countries in North America, Europe and Asia, the startup is launching a beta test of its browser extension, Tori.