December 6 marks Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. The day commemorates the 14 women, mostly engineering students, who were killed at École Polytechnique de Montréal (now Polytechnique Montréal) in 1989 by a lone gunman — because they were women.
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 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 Sir Ron Kalifa, head of financial infrastructure and vice chair of private equity at Brookfield, reflected on the beginning of his career, he described a rigid, hierarchical environment and recalled physically writing in ledgers. Those physical ledgers may have exited banks years ago, but Kalifa believes that most large-scale financial institutions are still analogue businesses.
At a time filled with cryptocurrencies and digital payment systems, how can traditional banks catch up?
For alumni like Jaqueline Tso (BASc ’02), Diana Vangelisti (BES ’84, MA ’89) and Larry Galajda (BASc ’76), graduation didn’t mark the end of their Waterloo journey. Instead, it sparked new ways to stay connected and deepen their black and gold pride.
As a goaltender for the University of Waterloo Warriors men’s hockey team, Matt Onuska (BSc in progress) has felt the influence of top performers both on and off the ice.
Onuska joined the Warriors after a standout junior and OHL career that included one game as backup goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even with this experience, he wondered if he could excel in his sport and his studies in Health Sciences — until his teammates showed him it was possible.
Career paths can often stem from unexpected moments, for Sarah Fallis (PharmD ’23) witnessing her grandmother’s care at a number of Toronto hospitals as a child inspired her to pursue a career in pharmacy. Today, Fallis works as a pharmacist in Sunnybrook’s Veterans Program – Canada’s largest Veterans care facility, to provide compassionate care to those who served in World War II and the Korean War.