Waterloo Innovation Summit 2024 Banner

Speakers

Darren Harry Baine

Darren Harry Baine

Honours Biology Student, University of Waterloo 

Founder, Young Eye Initiative

View bio

Darren Harry Baine is a social entrepreneur, speaker and author of the Darren Baine blog where he shares his lessons and insights to inform and inspire his peers. He also founded the Young Eye Initiative to represent the needs, interests and aspirations of youth. Young Eye supports a non-profit focused on improving the livelihood of children in Uganda, a podcast sharing stories from people making a difference, and a youth networking initiative.

Baine is born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and is currently a fourth-year biology undergrad at the University of Waterloo. In 2021, he became the youngest person to be selected in the Uganda top 40 under 40 at just 19-years-old. 

Dominic Barton

Dominic Barton

Chancellor, University of Waterloo 

Chairman, Leapfrog Investments and Rio Tinto

View bio

Dominic Barton, business and governance expert and former diplomat, currently serves as the University of Waterloo’s 11th Chancellor.

Born in Uganda, Barton completed a B.A. Honours in Economics from the University of British Columbia and studied at the University of Oxford’s Brasenose College on a Rhodes Scholarship.

He is currently Chair of Rio Tinto and LeapFrog Investments, an impact-investment firm focused on emerging markets. He is also a Senior Advisor and Partner at leading AI investment firm Radical Ventures.

Barton is a trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member of the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Advisory Council, and a board member of Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York and the Asia Pacific Foundation Canada.

From 2019 to 2021, Barton served as Ambassador of Canada to the People’s Republic of China; he was the Chair of Teck Resources from 2018 to 2019; and was a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, serving as Global Managing Partner from 2009 to 2018.

His recognitions include the INSEAD Business Leader for the World Award, the Korean Order of Civil Merit (also known as the Peony Medal), the Singaporean Public Service Star, the Foreign Policy Association Corporate Social Responsibility Award, and Canada’s Public Policy Forum Testimonial Award.

Dr. Joël Blit

Joël Blit (MASc ’99)

Professor of Economics, University of Waterloo

Chair, Council on Innovation Policy

View bio

Dr. Joël Blit's main research interests are in the economics of innovation and innovation policy. He studies, among other things, the diffusion of disruptive technologies and their impact on productivity and jobs. Blit regularly advises policymakers on innovation policy. On the topic of automation and the future of work, he has briefed the G7 Representatives and has been an invited speaker at a number of venues including the OECD Global Forum on Productivity.

Blit is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. Prior to joining Waterloo, Blit was an assistant professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University, and a business consultant to financial services firms in Asia, Australia and North America. His consulting engagements included reorganizing the activities of a major bank and formulating the strategy for a $US 100M startup. 

Adrien Côté

Adrien Côté

Executive Director, Velocity, University of Waterloo

​

View bio

Dr. Adrien Côté leads Velocity’s mission, strategy and its two programs: student founders and the Velocity Incubator to maximize experience for students and productivity for founders, respectively. Prior to becoming Velocity’s executive director, Côté served as the Deeptech and Science Advisor from 2017 to 2019 where he supported companies with his expertise in product development, market positioning and fit, strategic planning, team management, and IP creation and management.

Before joining Velocity, Côté led many initiatives at Xerox ranging from corporate R&D projects to creation of new businesses. Previous to his work at Xerox, he was a principal investigator at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA.

Côté holds a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Calgary and earned his BSc in Applied Chemistry from the University of Waterloo. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan. While working at Velocity, he also completed an Executive Master’s in Technology Management program at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics. Côté has 25 research publications with more than 11,000 citations, holds more than 50 patents and a number of awards for business and technical accomplishments. 

Stephanie Davis

Stephanie Davis

Master of Public Service Student, University of Waterloo

View bio

Stephanie is in her second year of the Master of Public Service (MPS) program at the University of Waterloo. She currently works as a Policy Advisor within the Transit Delivery Office at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, supporting the delivery of priority transit projects. For her two co-op terms as part of the MPS program, she worked for 8 months at the Ministry of Indigenous Affairs within the Strategic Planning and Economic Policy Branch, where she worked on files relating to economic development. Stephanie is passionate about fostering inclusive and engaging team environments and looks forward to continual professional and personal growth within public service. 

David Drewery

David Drewery (PhD ’22)

Associate Director, Work-Learn Institute, University of Waterloo

View bio

Dr. David Drewery’s research focuses on how organizations can support students in work-integrated learning experiences and the benefits organizations gain when doing so. This research agenda includes studies of perceived supervisor support, work engagement, organizational commitment, applicant attraction, employee retention and talent development--all in the context of WIL.

Drewery’s research has been published in journals such as Education + Training, Higher Education Research & Development and Journal of Education and Work. He is an associate editor of the International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning. In 2022, he earned a PhD from the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo where he studied organizational behaviour and service management.

Vivek Goel

Vivek Goel

President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Waterloo

View bio

Dr. Vivek Goel is the University of Waterloo's President and Vice-Chancellor. He has held a number of senior leadership roles at the University of Toronto including as Vice-President and Provost and most recently as Vice-President Research and Innovation. He served as founding President and CEO of Public Health Ontario from 2008 until 2014 and also as a founding scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES). Goel has served as Chief Academic Strategist with Coursera, a global platform that connects universities and learners with online courses. Goel obtained his medical degree from McGill University and completed post-graduate medical training in Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Goel obtained a master’s degree (MSc) in Community Health from U of T and a master’s degree (MS) in Biostatistics from Harvard University School of Public Health.

Ben Graham

Ben Graham (BA ’17)

Problem Lab Manager, Velocity, University of Waterloo

View bio

Ben Graham is passionate about developing programming and opportunities to support students at the earliest stage of innovation through problem analysis.

Graham oversees the Foundations program tailored for students in the initial stages of entrepreneurship. Aimed at bridging the gap between education and practical application, Foundations seeks to cultivate skills directly applicable to students' careers and future endeavors. Graham is interested in creating co-curricular programming that can offer enjoyable learning experiences, foster a sense of belonging among participants, and develop innovative mindsets.  

Helen Huang

Helen Huang (BSc ’17)

Co-founder, Co.Lab


 

View bio

Helen is a first-gen Chinese-Canadian and an earth scientist turned Product Manager turned startup founder. After leaving her mark at companies such as Zynga, Microsoft, and Github, she's gone on to co-found Co.Lab, an education program that helps aspiring technologists gain real-world, collaborative tech experience. 

Most recently, her work at Co.Lab has landed her on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Helen is especially passionate about thought diversity in the workforce, the power of active learning, and cute cats.

Miraal Kabir

Miraal Kabir

Computer Science Student, University of Waterloo

Co-founder, Safi

View bio

Miraal Kabir is an undergraduate student currently completing a double degree in computer science and business from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. She is majoring in human-computer interaction and has worked as a product designer at the Ontario government and Shopify. 

She is also a co-founder and the head of business development at Safi, a non-profit providing East African farmers with the world's first off-the-grid pasteurization device. She has been recognized as a youth leader and ambassador by the Women's Economic Forum and has spoken at the OECD's Future of Education conference. 

Christy Lee

Christy Lee

Biomedical Engineering Student, University of Waterloo

Co-founder, Patient Companion

View bio

Christy Lee is a fourth year Biomedical Engineering student at the University of Waterloo. Her experience volunteering at a hospital and long-term care center inspired her to reduce the pain points nurses and patients were facing. She created her startup - PatientCompanion - to allow nurses and patients to seamlessly communicate through a digital platform. PatientCompanion is a communication app that improves patient experience and helps reduce workload and stress for nurses. It allows patients to make specific requests and these requests are automatically prioritized on the nurses’ end. Non-nursing tasks such as water or blankets are distributed among personal support workers, volunteers, or other staff members, reducing the workload for nurses at hospitals and long-term care homes. 

Norah McCrae

Norah McRae

Associate Provost, Co-operative and Experiential Education, University of Waterloo
 

View bio

Dr. Norah McRae’s involvement in co-operative and work-integrated education spans more than 20 years, over which time she has led strategic program development and research on student engagement, community-engaged learning and intercultural competency development. In 2020, McRae was awarded the Dean Herman Schneider Award from the Co-operative Education and Internship Association for her significant and comprehensive record of contributions to the advancement of the philosophy and practice of co-operative education.

McRae’s PhD research examined conditions that enabled transformative learning during work-integrated education and led to the development of a preliminary theoretical model for learning during work-integrated education. McRae has been published in the International Handbook for Co-operative and Work-Integrated Education, the Asia-Pacific Journal for Co-operative Education, CEIA Journal and The World is my Classroom: International Learning and Canadian Higher Education.

McRae is a graduate of Rotman Directors Education Program — a leading national program for experienced board directors. McRae served as President of the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education and is a member of the World Association for Co-operative and Work-integrated Education Executive Council and Global Strategy Council. 

Eleanor McMahon

Eleanor McMahon

Vice-President, University Relations, University of Waterloo

​

View bio

Before joining the University of Waterloo, Eleanor McMahon served as CEO of the Trans Canada Trail from 2019 to 2024. She led the development of a new long-term vision for the organization, secured $55 million in federal funding and led the development of Canada’s first national Trails Tourism strategy.

McMahon spent her early career on Parliament Hill, including as press secretary to Jean Chrétien. She also served as director of Public Affairs at the Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women, vice-president at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and vice-president at United Way Ottawa. As MPP for Burlington from 2014 to 2018, McMahon served as Ontario’s minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, president of the Treasury Board and minister responsible for Digital Government.

McMahon has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Windsor and participated in the University of Waterloo’s Third Year Abroad program in Nantes, France.

Jocelyne Murphy

Jocelyne Murphy

Systems Design Engineering Student, University of Waterloo

Co-founder, UWStartup  

View bio

Jocelyne Murphy is a community builder, software developer, writer, and Systems Design Engineering student who spends 90% of her brain power thinking about building social, economic, digital, and physical systems to help us collectively live our best lives. She believes loneliness shouldn’t be the reason great people don’t do great things, and recently founded a company to help people form meaningful connections in the real world. 

Through her work with UW Startups and Socratica, Jocelyne has brought over 2000 entrepreneurial students together to talk about big ideas, and credits inclusion, diverse representation, and belonging as the secret sauce behind everything she does.  

Born and raised in Waterloo, Jocelyne developed her work ethic, curiosity, entrepreneurialism, and community-oriented values thanks to local leaders from organizations including Social Venture Partners, Adventure 4 Change, SHAD Canada, UW Blueprint, and the Kitchener Minor Hockey Association. She is a 2020 recipient of the TD Scholarship for Community Leadership.  

UW Startups is a student-led community that serves as a starting point for all things entrepreneurship. Since 2022, UW Startups has connected over 2000 entrepreneurial students with resources, fellowships, investors, and (most importantly) like-minded peers, giving them the knowledge and social permission to talk about their big ideas no matter what background they come from. It aims to help Waterloo (and Canadian!) students build the next big thing. 

Sefumni Osinaike

Sefunmi Osinaike (BASc ’17)

Co-founder, Co.Lab  


 

View bio

Sefunmi, Forbes 30 Under 30, is the Co-Founder of Co.Lab, an online platform that empowers and prepares career switchers for success within the tech industry. 

They facilitate collaborative, hands-on experience for tech professionals to gain real-world experience. 

He is also the author of How to Product—a book on transitioning into product management from outside the industry. Before Co.Lab, Sefunmi was previously a product manager at Apple, Microsoft, and ecobee.

Robert Palter

Rob Palter

Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

 

View bio

Robert Palter is a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and is currently its managing partner for Canada. He is responsible for all aspects of McKinsey’s operations across 1200 people in offices in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. 

Palter has also been responsible for leading several of McKinsey’s global practices. From 2000 to 2010, he founded and ran McKinsey’s Institutional Investor practice where he worked with some of the leading pension plans globally on issues of strategy, investments and value creation. From 2010 to 2019, Palter founded and ran McKinsey’s Global Infrastructure practice and from 2019 to 2022, he founded and ran McKinsey’s real estate practice where his work focused on bringing advanced analytics to real estate and successful real estate development.

Palter has an MBA with Ivey Scholar Distinction from the Richard Ivey School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts (with Distinction) in International Relations from the University of Toronto. He was named Canada’s Top 40 under 40 in 2006. 

Anson Yu

Anson Yu

Systems Design Engineering Student, University of Waterloo

Co-founder,UWStartup
 

View bio

Anson is a Systems Design Engineering student and filmmaker at the University of Waterloo. 

She is interested in the “climate cinematic universe”, previously engineering for nuclear, directing a feature-length documentary on bipartisan climate solutions, and hiring teams as Chief of Staff of a venture fund.  

Anson is now commercializing research for energy security, supported by Emergent Ventures, and consults for projects at Schmidt Futures. Through Socratica and UW Startups, she loves experimenting with how best to support awesome people - before, while, and after they discover what they’re capable of. 

Anson is a Loran Scholar and Interact Fellow.

UW Startups is a student-led community that serves as a starting point for all things entrepreneurship. Since 2022, UW Startups has connected over 2000 entrepreneurial students with resources, fellowships, investors, and (most importantly) like-minded peers, giving them the knowledge and social permission to talk about their big ideas no matter what background they come from. It aims to help Waterloo (and Canadian!) students build the next big thing. 

Kelly Zheng

Kelly Zheng (BASc ‘ 19)

MBET/PhD candidate Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering, University of Waterloo

Co-founder, Coastal Carbon

View bio

Kelly Zheng is an MBET/PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo studying quantum machine learning for spatiotemporal modelling. She is the co-founder of Coastal Carbon, which provides real-time and historic remote underwater biomass measurements for blue carbon credits using AI-driven satellite imaging. The company is an Ocean Startup Challenge winner and won the Rising Tide award at IMPAC5.