Technological Futures

A natural, superabsorbent material developed at the University of Waterloo could dramatically reduce the environmental impact of personal hygiene products like diapers, menstrual pads and tampons.

Unlike synthetic absorbent materials in commercial hygiene products, which are expected to take centuries to break down, the new hydrogel degrades harmlessly in soil within three months.

Waterloo students, researchers and alumni are at the forefront of unconventional innovation, shaping industries and increasing productivity.  

This year brought countless reasons to celebrate as Waterloo students, alumni and researchers took bold new steps to innovate and create solutions for a complex future. 

As we wrap up 2025, we reflect with pride and share just a glimpse of student success, on-campus initiatives and groundbreaking research of our Waterloo community. 

A much faster, more efficient training method developed at the University of Waterloo could help put powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the hands of many more people by reducing the cost and environmental impact of building them.

Large language models (LLMs) are advanced AI systems designed to understand and generate human language by learning patterns in how words and ideas are connected from massive amounts of text in books, articles and websites.

WatSPEED at the University of Waterloo recently announced the launch of a new Chief Technology and AI Officer (AI-CTO) program — a six-month, live-online executive program designed to help senior technology leaders translate complex architectures and AI innovation into measurable business outcomes.

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.