Drs. Vivek Goel and Jagdeep Singh Bachher on the possibilities in your university network
“Complacency is no longer an option today.”
That might make you uncomfortable, but it’s a message we can’t ignore, according to Dr. Jagdeep Singh Bachher (BASc ’93, MASc ’94, PhD ’00), chancellor of the University of Waterloo and chief investment officer and senior vice-president of investments at the University of California. The pace of innovation has accelerated so dramatically that today’s expertise risks becoming obsolete tomorrow.
But in the sea of uncertainty, Bachher sees immense opportunity.
“Those who are not willing to take risks are going to lose out on an opportunity that’s in front of them. And I think those who realize this is an opportunity of a lifetime are going to do incredible things.”
Bachher joined a fireside chat with Dr. Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of Waterloo, at an exclusive event for Waterloo alumni, students and friends in Singapore last month. Their conversation covered the rapid pace of technological change, the challenges it creates and the critical role universities can play in shaping what comes next.
Bachher and Goel focused on the exciting possibilities inherent in eras of rapid change.
“I think this is going to be the most exciting decade of my career,” Bachher said. “I don’t know what it’s going to look like. I don’t even know what companies are going to be the biggest companies three years from now. But I’m convinced that changes happening right now will affect our lives forever, and interestingly enough, these changes are being born at universities. They’re being born in places like Waterloo.”
Goel agreed, adding that universities teach the fundamental skills people need to harness new technology: “Learning how to use technology, learning how to interpret what comes out. We have to really focus in on those fundamentals.”
Universities are also places where fundamental knowledge is uncovered. Both leaders pointed to the critical role universities will continue to play in the scientific discoveries that drive solutions in climate, sustainability, health and beyond.
“There will always be a need for fundamental science to solve some of these problems,” Bachher said. “That’s not happening in the same way within companies. And if it does happen in one company, it gets locked in that one company. It isn't necessarily open source, or open code or open research.”
Thanks to its Global Futures networks, Waterloo is positioned to tackle complex, real-world challenges with partnerships that span disciplines, industries and borders.
Under Goel’s leadership, Waterloo has forged new connections across its six faculties that enhance research, teaching and real-world applications, such as capstone projects that bring students from different faculties together to solve a real problem defined by a hospital or municipality.
“That's how they’re going to have to work in the real world,” Goel said. “Because these big, global problems do not organize themselves by being solvable with [just] math or engineering or health. If we want to solve those challenges we need science, but we need psychology, we need sociology — we need to work together.”
Bachher encouraged alumni, students and industry partners to seize opportunities by tapping into their network, drawing on his own experience as an alum and volunteer to illustrate how it can open doors and create partnerships.
“Be selfish about the future you want to be part of,” he said. “At Waterloo, you will get access to some of the best and brightest minds that are thinking about the Global Futures. Waterloo is your best network to connect with, to partner with, and to do what you’re thinking about — how do you take advantage of these opportunities.”
