Talent

From Gen Z to baby boomers, workspaces in Canada now span across four generations. Students engaging in work-integrated learning (WIL) and their employers need to learn from each other and how to effectively work together. As part of the World Association of Co-operative Education (WACE) 2023 World Conference hosted at the University of Waterloo, international leaders in industry, government and academia to share their collective wisdom on cultivating two-way learning opportunities. 

Autonomous airline Ribbit has signed a $1.3 million contract with Transport Canada to start testing its commercial cargo aircraft to deliver goods to northern Canada, starting in 2024. 

“Ribbit ultimately exists to help improve access to transportation,” said Jeremy Wang (PhD ’23), co-founder and COO. "Our dream would be a future where anybody can receive goods quickly and reliably no matter where they are located.” 

Wang said the company’s initial goal is to serve northern Canada, where about 120 million pounds of food gets delivered annually. 

WatSPEED, the University of Waterloo’s corporate and executive education arm, will host a one-day forum for senior business leaders focused on how to stand out in the ever-evolving world of technology and business. 

Just months ago, an international team of four that includes Cheriton School of Computer Science professor Dr. Craig Kaplan discovered a single shape that tiles the plane — an infinite, two-dimensional surface — in a pattern that can never be made to repeat.

The discovery mesmerized mathematicians, tiling enthusiasts and the public alike.

The shape, a 13-sided polygon they called “the hat,” is known to mathematicians as an aperiodic monotile or an “einstein,” the German words that mean “one stone.”

Building ethical technology is “not a destination, it’s a journey,” said Jennifer Boger, professor in the Faculty of Engineering and chief science officer at ESG.AI. 

As tech evolves, so must our approach to its responsible development. But the increasing complexity and speed of innovation make it feel impossible to keep up. 

In a wide ranging and thought-provoking conversation, former Governor General and University of Waterloo President Emeritus David Johnston joined current President Vivek Goel to discuss how the workforce of the future can turn compassion into action. The fireside chat, part of the World Association of Co-operative Education (WACE) 2023 World Conference hosted at Waterloo, used Johnston’s new book “Empathy” as a starting point.

“Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past eight months, you’ve heard about ChatGPT,” said Jimmy Lin, professor and Cheriton chair in the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo.  

“It is the fastest growing consumer application in history reaching more than 100 million active users in less than two months. For reference, it took Tik Tok a whole nine months and Instagram two and a half years to reach the same threshold.” 

The University of Waterloo ranked 112 overall in the 2024 QS World University Ranking, a leap from last year’s place at 154. Waterloo also placed among the top five universities in Canada. 

At the beginning of last summer, master’s student Lena Kozyr fled her home in Ukraine, leaving behind parents, grandparents, relatives and friends to seek refuge in Vancouver, Canada.

Like so many other Ukrainians, Kozyr says the move was bittersweet. Though she was grateful for a sense of safety and was looking forward to new opportunities, a mix of loneliness and anxiety still riddled her. 

Earlier this year, the Narwhal Project released their annual Narwhal List, which tracks Canadian technology companies that are on their way to unicorn status based on their billion-dollar annual revenues.