Entrepreneurship

Chris Albinson, co-founder and managing partner of Canadian venture capital fund True North Fund and co-founder of C100, says Canada is at a critical juncture in its continuing evolution as a global innovator. He says the country and its tech leaders need to work harder to retain the best and the brightest.

When an idea takes flight, it can soar — especially when it is supercharged. The University of Waterloo has long been known as one of Canada’s most innovative universities and ranks number one amongst Canadian universities for producing the most successful entrepreneurs with undergraduate degrees. In large part that stems from its exceptional students and researchers that actively uncover solutions to challenges facing humanity and the planet.

Waterloo researchers, students and alumni are leading innovations to solve the climate crisis by developing sustainable technologies today for the future, and Keith Cleland (MASc ’22) is no exception. 

His passion for environmental sustainability and expertise in electrochemistry converged to launch Aqua-Cell Energy Inc. — a startup dedicated to designing affordable and safe energy storage solutions for commercial and industrial solar power.  

WatSPEED, the University of Waterloo’s professional, and executive and corporate education arm, announced a multi-year partnership agreement with Progressive Generation (PG) Holding represented by PG Studios at the Education Global Exhibition (EDGEx) assembly in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The partnership will offer co-branded animation certificate programs designed to equip students in Jordan and Saudi Arabia with the skills and knowledge to excel in competitive global markets.

When University of Waterloo professor Dr. Carolyn Ren was a child, her father came home one day with a tape cassette recorder. This was China in the early 1980s and such devices were hard to come by, particularly in their rural village. Everyone was curious to see it, no one more so than Ren who was transfixed by its ability to play music as if by magic. She had to understand how it worked so took the device apart. Unfortunately, she couldn’t put it back together again. Determined to never get stuck in such a situation again, the young Ren set her sights on becoming an engineer.  

Researchers at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo are doing more than tackling trailblazing theoretical and applied research that expands our understanding of quantum mechanics.

Faculty, postdoctoral researchers and students — from undergraduates to PhD candidates — are showing the powerful possibilities of applied quantum technologies and research commercialization, making a deep and lasting impact on society.

The rapid evolution of digital health holds immense potential to transform patient care and improve global health outcomes. Building disruptive technologies is at the core of what we do, and since our inception, the University of Waterloo has been harnessing our expertise in health, technology and entrepreneurship and collaborating with partners to commercialize health-care solutions for real-world impact.

Canada is home to some of the best innovators in the world.

Many founders find it challenging in the early stages of their business due to limited access to non-dilutive funding. Here enters Velocity — the centre of entrepreneurship at the University of Waterloo — with a solution to the problem since 2008.