Entrepreneurship

You might not think twice about throwing a recyclable cup in the garbage or dropping a wrapper on the ground — but what if everyone did that. Now imagine what would happen if everyone committed to picking up just one piece of litter a day.

Students walking into Engineering 7 this term are entering a building like no other. Since the first shovel went in the ground in November 2015, excitement has grown for our seven-storey, 242,000-square-foot building, which officially opens its doors on October 29. With its extraordinary facilities, we are ensuring our continued educational leadership while equipping students to tackle the truly difficult problems facing our society.

Here’s a sneak peek at seven of the many ways Engineering 7 provides a dynamic gateway to educating the engineer of the future.

It was an idea a Capstone Design team felt not only had merit but could potentially give barbershop owners a run for their money: a haircutting robot.

Two years ago, four mechatronics engineering students started working on a design for a robot that would primarily give men’s haircuts. You’d put a toonie in a slot and walk away with a number two buzz cut or another style.

Playing competitive online poker was so lucrative for Prem Kalevar (BASc ’12, Mechatronics) — earning him more than $400,000 in his last year of university alone — he considered turning his serious sideline into a full-time career.

But after watching classmates succeed as entrepreneurs and pursuing several business interests himself, including a student rental property and two technology startups, he opted to aim higher instead.

“I didn’t want to make my life about a card game,” he says.

From the design of the Waterloo Pump, which brought clean water to communities in developing countries, to the invention of the BlackBerry, which opened the floodgates for the ubiquitous smartphone, Waterloo Engineering students, graduates and researchers have made an indelible mark on the world.

And in a technological age that includes artificial intelligence, ever-faster wireless communications and soon-to-be-self-driving vehicles, that process of innovation and contribution is only accelerating.

On Friday, September 28, Waterloo celebrated the launch of the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute (CPI) with 100 attendees including security leaders from the private and public sectors. CPI was formed to uncover new approaches to security and privacy and educating Canada’s future leaders to be able to understand and respond to emerging online threats.

Elevate Techfest is Canada’s largest technology and innovation festival that attracts global professionals, tech leaders, investors, and creatives who are at the forefront of innovation. Elevate is taking place in Toronto this week and several University of Waterloo faculty and alumni are featured in this year’s event line-up.

Students who competed in last weekend’s Hack the North received a piece of sage advice from University of Waterloo alumnus Chamath Palihapitiya: go fix the hard stuff.