Future students

Waterloo is Canada's top university for entrepreneurship, fostering ecosystems where students turn big and small ideas into thriving businesses across every industry imaginable. 

As the excitement of the holiday season ramps up, we're thrilled to share seven Canadian companies with ties to the University of Waterloo that offer perfect gift ideas for your shopping list — each with a warm story of passion, creativity and giving back.

This year, University of Waterloo professor Larry Smith marks 45 years of teaching students to think critically about the world and act courageously to build a future of their own making. 

Smith, a professor in the Faculty of Engineering’s Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, specializes in forecasting and the economics of innovation. His wildly popular lectures resonate among students and alumni from across campus — many of whom credit Smith for pushing them to realize their entrepreneurial potential. 

The use of virtual reality (VR) is expanding across industries, but its large-scale application in educational settings has remained largely unexplored. As the technical capabilities and affordability of VR tools continue to improve, Waterloo researcher Dr. Ville Mäkelä is turning his classroom into a living lab to better understand how VR can enrich the student experience.

The University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Engineering recognized the remarkable professional achievements of three alumni at this year’s Engineering Awards Dinner. 

Hosted by Dean Mary Wells, the event highlighted how Waterloo Engineering alumni are driving sustainable innovation, strengthening communities and mentoring the next generation through research, entrepreneurship and design. 

The recipients of this year’s awards are: 

Dr. Vikramaditya (Vikram) Yadav — Alumni Achievement Medal for Professional Achievement  

The University of Waterloo continues to be recognized among the top universities in Canada and globally for a variety of disciplines from engineering and math to hospitality and tourism management according to the 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) subject rankings by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy.

Five startups have been awarded $10,000 Velocity Momentum Grants to help them take the next step in their entrepreneurial journey. The no-strings attached funding is intended to allow founders to focus on their business full-time after graduation.

Velocity is the University of Waterloo’s centre of entrepreneurship and offers mentorship, funding and Canada’s largest tech-corridor network to help founders move ideas from the lab to market. Since 2008, Velocity has helped launch more than 500 startups that together exceed $40 billion in enterprise value.

As Global Entrepreneurship Week 2025 begins, we’re spotlighting 10 standout entrepreneurs from the University of Waterloo — students and alumni who are challenging norms, redefining industries and building a better future. These innovators are not only making waves in their respective fields but are also setting the pace for what’s next for society, health, technology, the economy and sustainability. 

New research from the University of Waterloo is making inroads on one of the biggest problems in theoretical computer science. But the way to do it, according to Cameron Seth, a PhD researcher working in the field of algorithmic approximation, is by breaking the problem down into smaller pieces. 

“Everyone working in computer science and mathematics knows about the ‘P vs. NP’ problem,” Seth says. “It’s one of the notorious Millennium Prize Problems: so famous and so difficult that solving one will earn you a million dollars.” 

The University of Waterloo has seen an increase in the number of researchers included in this year’s Highly Cited Researchers™ 2025 list recently published by Clarivate. The list highlights the world’s most influential researchers and scientists.

Those selected have authored multiple Highly Cited Papers which rank in the top one per cent by citations in their field. Citations and peer review are the lifeblood of academic research, ensuring both integrity and innovation. The Highly Cited Researchers™ list recognizes only one in 1,000 researchers from around the world.

Conrad School professor and Enterprise Co-op champion inspired students and entrepreneurs through mentorship, optimism and care