WATCH Magazine 2012

a public ation of the david johnston research + technology park university of waterloo

many MINDS

today’s technology playground

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“Having a wonderful source of bright, motivated, intelligent students as part of our talent

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

pipeline here at NexJ Systems is critical to our pursuit of

05 R+T: PARK Letter

global market leadership.

06 The water institute: Getting Their Feet Wet 08 AIM Health Group: an apple a day

18 Tyromer: Visaisouk + tzoganakis = startup 21 university of waterloo MBET: kiwi to beaver

We seek to find, hire, and

10 navtech: staying still to get ahead

22 oculys/mbet: building a team

train the best available, and

11 Open text: Living her words

26 s ybase: keeping the writing wheels in motion

13 Sybase: Finding RHythm in Change

Waterloo is key for that.”

William M. Tatham NexJ Systems

hire WATERLOO

for all your talent needs.

A one-stop shop for employee recruitment: » Skilled students are available for year-round co-op, part-time, and summer work » Talented graduating students at the

877-928-4473

30 communitech: former waterloo co-op flies the coop 31 waterloo International airport: speed dating a win-win 32 R+T: PARK Directory 46 University of Waterloo: The Last word

Publisher: Carol Stewart Editor: Karalee Clerk Creative Director: Karalee Clerk Design: Ruth Demandt Writer: Karalee Clerk

are eager for full-time positions

© 2012 Watch Magazine is an annual publication of the David Johnston Research + Technology Park.

All rights reserved.

to fill more senior roles

hire.talent@uwaterloo.ca

28 bufferbox: delivery to: your local bufferbox stop

Photography: Hilary Camilleri

equipped with the knowledge and skills

and easy. Contact us:

17 University of Waterloo: George dixon: what is on his mind

27 sybase: 100% co-op Committed

undergraduate, master’s, and PhD levels » Experienced alumni are available year-round,

Advertising a job is free

14 sober steering: Reinventing the wheel

24 enflick: stay tuned in

Reproduction without written permission from the David Johnston Research + Technology Park is strictly forbidden.

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bUILDING FOr THe

FUTURE

W ELCO M E TO W ATCH M AGA Z I NE 2 0 1 2 How many minds will we need for tomorrow?

Although the number may be a mystery, the place where many of those minds will come from is not.

It is a place that is well known by growing numbers around the world: Waterloo.

The question never stops being asked: Why Waterloo?

There is a simple explanation. When the world changes - Waterloo never stops. Instead, its forces and resources shift and morph and evolve into the next iteration of what is coming, before it is even here. Time and time again Waterloo is ahead of the change, carving out the new before anyone knows it is on the way.

So what is next? Look around. It’s already here.

North America has the best universities in the world, and the University of Waterloo is part of that list.

While Canada is busy pumping out tomorrow’s mind

At the David Johnston Research + Technology Park, we’ve seen the winds of change.

And they are blowing strong. The source of our power is right next door at the university campus.

Take a look around – then just Watch.

The Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre

gRand oPening SepTeMber 2012 The Institute for Quantum Computing and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology.

Ribbon Cutting Friday, September 21 PubliC oPen House Saturday, September 29

resources, we are ensuring they have a great place to land. Not only are we preparing the park from within, we are setting the stage for minds outside the park to group, integrate and settle, right here.

Because it is not one mind that will take us into the future, it is many.

In this issue of Watch, read the stories of some of the minds in the park. Some are home-grown, like Kevin Boehmer of The Water Institute, while others, such as Catherine Carroll of Sober Steering or Sam Visaisouk of Tyromer, have chosen to land in Waterloo mid-career. Others, like partners Derek Ting and Jon Lerner of Enflick, came to school here and decided the park was the perfect place to launch and grow a fledgling start up. Enjoy.

R+T PARK LETTER

Two world-class institutes.

One state-of-the-art building at the University of Waterloo.

Carol Stewart

Photo taken at Open Text expansion.

iqc.uwaterloo.ca | nano.uwaterloo.ca

David Johnston Research + Technology Park, University of Waterloo, and President, Association of University Research Parks Canada (AURP). www.rtpark.uwaterloo.ca

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T h e Wa t e r I n s t i t u t e , T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Wa t e r l o o

Getting their feet wet

Water. Depending on the “where” - it is about too much, too little or not good enough.

There is a new game in town. One that is designed to connect science and research to solve water problems we are already grappling with and others we have yet to face.

“With climate change in front of us, now is the time to position ourselves to solve the problems ahead,” says University of Waterloo’s Water Institute Executive Director, Dave Rudolph. “Humans and their choices have always had incredible and direct impact on all water issues. Add in extreme events due to climate change, and the result is new things we have never seen before - changes in water quality, lakes literally drying up, and precipitation and temperature levels hitting new highs and lows.”

If things work out the way the Rudolph intends The Water Institute will be the world’s water issue go-to place. The infrastructure already exists, and he is hard at work rallying the mind power of each and every one of the university’s in-house water experts to help lead the charge into real change.

UW is already known globally for its water expertise. Rudoph is taking that one step further by helping industry make better use of university R&D opportunities. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, Rudolph is bringing research experts right to the problem.

Rudolph explains his unique approach, “Think of the Institute as a portal to all campus water infrastructures. Lots of great ideas are sitting in people’s laps because the nature of research is silo-based. What I understand as a researcher myself is that the silos need to be there to allow scientists and researchers the focused space they need to do their work and excel at it. I want to join the dots between the silos, without damaging them while simultaneously tapping into that space and protecting it.

Since the Institute’s 2009 launch, Rudolph has been a oneman show, focused on setting up a framework for growth and establishing connections between campus disciplines, external expertise and industry partners. In 2011, he was ready to bring a new member to his team, Managing Director, Kevin Boehmer. Under Rudolph’s tutelage, Boehmer will continue the work building bridges that will take water issues to solutions.

Boehmer initially wet his appetite for water during his undergrad and post-grad days at UW. Since then, his work in the water sector included three years in Indonesia as an Environmental/International Consultant specializing in watershed management. At the Institute, Boehmer’s interests and passion have dovetailed into what might be the perfect job at the perfect place at the perfect time.

“There is a well-known phrase: Water is our next oil. That is becoming more the truth every day,” says Boehmer. “There is a differentiator that sets water apart from most, if not all, environmental issues: the fundamental survival aspect of water.

We can never live without it.”

With the Institute work well in hand, Rudolph will be turning his attention to other water concerns through the province’s new Southern Ontario Water Consortium. His work with the Institute led to the founding of the new Consortium which is a joint venture with eight universities focused on creating a platform for water research and technology development including facilities for the testing and development of drinking water solutions, wastewater purification, ecotoxicological analysis, watershed management and sensor development.

Rudolph’s work is not only timely, it is imperative. Says Rudolph, “We are on the crest of a wave. There is a synergy in Ontario and a culture of building start ups. We have an opportunity to make a footprint worldwide with water - with our research, our students, our programs and our educators.”

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AIM Health Group

An apple a day

What is a former emergency doctor doing in the Research Park?

There is an interesting answer.

On Dr. Mike Sehl’s first day on the job at his office in the R + T Park, he did more than open a new office door. As Vice-President Medical Director at AIM Health Group, that first day put Sehl’s core beliefs into operation, taking the community one step closer to the next iteration of healthcare practices. wasn’t something I wanted anymore. It – he gets to create their personal Beginnings...

Originally a Waterloo Region native, Sehl pursued medicine at the University of Toronto, McGill University, and the University of Calgary for emergency medicine training. Eventually, Sehl returned to the region to start his career. Although his physician father, Dr. Jack Sehl, had a successful practice in Waterloo, Sehl had no immediate plans to follow in his father’s footsteps. Eager for a career outside the family practice box, Sehl joined the emergency team at Grand River Hospital, working side-byside with an important colleague, Dr. Deb Jeffrey, who also happened to be his wife.

Sehl recalls, “Outside of a university hospital, emergency was the place to be. It had volume and variety and a great team. We were known as the longest standing best reputation fulltime emergency team.”

Working in emergency, Sehl experienced first-hand a fantastic healthcare system where taking care of people was concerned, but he also saw that more effort and resources around prevention could positively impact treatment.

Sehl observed, “We learn to think the cure for heart disease is by-pass surgery.

But who would choose a cure to have their chest cut open over diet and exercise? Medical continuing education preaches lifestyle – yet the quick fix cure often remains in the drug and surgery culture.”

Though Sehl loved emergency work, he explains “When I hit 40, shift work

was time for something new.”

With change on the brain, Sehl transitioned into family practice with his brother, Dr. John Sehl, and also took a part-time a physician role at an AIM Health Group clinic. (And yes, medicine seems to run in the family.)

Changing ways...

Equipped with his emergency lessons, Sehl understood changing healthcare culture was a difficult exercise, but it was also something he knew he wanted to do.

roadmap. The Waterloo centre is a onestop-shop catering to the healthcare needs of the business/executive sector, as well as the broader community.

The AIM facility provides services to organizations for regular and intensive health check ups of executives. Before the park office opened, executives had to drive to Toronto for assessments.

Now, they can get those assessments in their own backyard with Sehl and a

“I’m a doctor and enjoy medicine. The benefits are wonderful.”

“As physicians, we know that 75% of family doctor visits are due to preventable conditions,” says Sehl. “But we often don’t prescribe lifestyle change other than to tell someone “Do it.” Change is hard work.

It’s ongoing, requires education and often doesn’t happen until a health situation demands it. But besides finding the time and making an effort, creating real change also requires a roadmap.”

Now fulltime at AIM Health Group, Sehl has honed his philosophies around medicine, healthcare and lifestyle - and has found the perfect place to put them into action.

team of healthcare professionals not just telling them where their health is at, but showing them how and where they can make real lifestyle changes.

Sehl is fueled by his belief in and desire for healing, whatever form the prescription for it requires. “I’m a doctor, and I enjoy medicine. The benefits are wonderful. It’s the greatest profession in the world for no better reward than helping someone and making them better.”

AIM Health Group: A fully integrated healthcare company focused on health and

Taking care of people...

wellness, specializing on different health

As President of the AIM Health Group R +T Park office, Sehl is focused on helping the region’s business community get and stay healthy.

disciplined co-ordinated continuum of care

His work is to do more than just tell people how to make lifestyle changes

and wellness needs, through a multiapproach using multiple players to provide optimal healthcare and better health outcomes.

Dr. Sehl’s Quick Prescription for Life 1. You are what you eat. This means your genes don’t have to be your fate. Know what you are eating and how to do it well or get a registered dietician to help you.

2. Exercise is medicine. There isn’t a drug in the world that can do what exercise can do for you. It’s never too early, and it’s never too late to start. Exercise is not as hard as you think and more important as you age.

3. If you smoke, quit. If you drink alcohol, limit yourself to 1 – 2 glasses of wine per day. Reduction in alcohol consumption is associated with a decrease in all-cause mortality.

4. Get your sleep. 7.5 hours is good

but 8 hours is better. Sleep and fatigue management is a new emerging science.

The truth is we need to recharge and rejuvenate.

5. Stay socially and spiritually connected. Challenge yourself by

being with as many people as possible that are more balanced, smarter, younger and fitter than you are. Absorb their energy and give back as much as you can.

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O p e n Te x t

Navtech

Staying still to get ahead 19 year old Computer Engineering student, Abhiraim Bojadla, has packed a lot into his time on Earth. The good news is that his experiences have made life as a -co-op student a snap. Now in his second work-term at NavTech, Abhiraim plans to spend the balance of his student career at the University of Waterloo getting comfortable in a new reality: Staying put.

Discipline can start at any age. I joined the Air Cadets at 13. I was taught some great lessons about discipline and respect – and about doing your job well so that the person next to you can get their job done. I learned no matter what I do, it always affects someone else.

I stayed in cadets until grade 10.

I have ambitions. I know I want to be up there – but how far I’m not sure. There’s no point having ambitions that are out of reach. So I’m working at reaching different but upward levels, one step at a time.

Co-op lets me test things out without fully committing. Yet. If I do decide I want to be way up at the top, I have to start somewhere. Co-op is about working my way up, while I’m still in school.

I am very outgoing because I had to be. I was born in India.

My parents moved to the US when I was a baby. My dad is a software engineer, specializing in contract work. His skill set was in getting things up and running and then moving on to the next project - and city. So that’s what we did, moved cities every six months.

I think a little differently than most students my age.

I went to 17 different schools before university.

Abhiraim Bojadla i learned no matter what I do,

”

Age: 19 Faculty: Engineering Work Term: Two Dream Job: Project Manager at a high end company

What it takes to hire an employee at Open Text: a village. It’s a good thing.

After I left publishing, I went to a job fair out of curiousity. I noticed a lot of action at the Open Text booth. I stopped and was immediately surrounded by a throng of positive, passionate people. I was intrigued. I started my new job at Open Text the next week.

I help the right hand talk to the left hand. The biggest challenge in any company is communication.

Keeping channels open is critical. I look at end-to-end processes and focus on building business unit bridges across the breadth of the company.

Almost everything I do is about change. I am passionate about not only making change, but making headway for women in business, particularly technology.

I looked around for a technology organization that focused on women. I couldn’t find one. So I joined the Toronto chapter of the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA). No sooner did I join than the National Director asked me to start a chapter in Waterloo. My answer? Yes!

I’m closer to the higher ups at Navtech. Management is very involved with the company, and everyone is eager to share. Being here makes sense for me. I get to meld my air cadet experience, my first work term learnings and my growing interest in management.

One of my high school teachers, Vernon Key, had a big story behind him. In his second year in Mechanical Engineering, he was so broke he had barely enough money for school.

He decided to use his engineering know-how to enter a competition. He won enough money to finish school. That story left a big mark on me. If you could do that with engineering while you were in school – what could you do with it when you were finished?

“

Angelique Mohring believes diversity in thoughts and actions propels success. She lives her words.

With a story that includes 25 moves, a post-graduate stint in Peru, and a career that spans archaeology to publishing to her current stop, technology, she is a woman carving change for herself and for others.

I was really excited about my first co-op interview, but when I got in there everything just dropped. I could barely say my name!

But I did it. I got a job working on an interface for remote control planes.

The three biggest life influences so far: Air Cadets, Vernon Key and moving.

it always affects someone else

living her words

We kicked off the new chapter with our first event in March 2011. The energy in the room was electric.

“

Angelique Mohring almost everything i do is about change

”

Keeping women in technology matters. Women tend to leave the industry in their mid-30s. They find it easier to achieve a work/life balance by leaving the industry than by staying. The question is: Why? It starts with digging deep.

We have to empower the power of women and break the current model. Our dialogue must be about giving and taking, regardless of where we are in our careers.

We have to inspire, support, partner and deliver with and to each other. When we do that, we will collectively raise the bar on what we can do and achieve.

Be kind and strong. Everyone can lend a helping hand.

My kids are amazing. My daughter, Leah Belle, has Type 1 Diabetes. There is a monumental difference between the two types: Type 2 can be managed with diet and exercise while Type 1 cannot. My daughter can’t “cure” her Diabetes through lifestyle changes. So we advocate for knowledge and work towards a cure.

I do something different every birthday. In 2011, I gave up shopping for a year.

After 25 years, of marriage, I still like my husband.

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Sybase,an SAP Company

Finding rhythm in change On track for graduation in April 2014, Software Engineering student, Kumeron Sivanathan, is making the most of his co-op work experiences. Kumeron recently completed a second term at Sybase, and though he is tempted to return for a third, he’s decided to explore what else might be out there.

Lucky for him, the door to Sybase remains open should he decide to go back in the future.

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Change is good for me. I love that what I do is not just work and not just school. The ongoing switching term-to-term keeps life very interesting.

Accelerator Building 295 Hagey Blvd., Suite 300 Waterloo, ON N2L 6R5

Work Term One: I got up every morning wanting to go to work. I’m a real sports fan, and I was working as a test analyst on the proline section of a website. There were about 20 other co-ops, and it was fun to go to work. Eventually, I was ready for change and was happy to go back to school.

Telephone: 519.579.3660 Toll-free: 1.866.658.0091 waterloo@millerthomson.com

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calgary

I play the Mridangam. It’s a South Indian percussion instrument similar to drums but flat-sided.

I had an inspirational information systems teacher in high school who made me learn without noticing I was learning.

It was more like osmosis. His teaching wasn’t something that was boring or straight out of a book. When it came time to decide what to do in school, because of him, Software Engineering was the first thing that popped into my head.

Added experience. Added clarity. Added value.

vancouver

“ Kumaran”Sivanathan change is good for me.

edmonton

saskatoon

regina

london

kitchener - waterloo

guelph

toronto

markham

montréal

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Work Term Two: I worked at a small start up, and I was part of how a start-up company keeps afloat. A lot of students I know talk about starting their own business. Usually, you don’t know what is involved until you do it. But I got to see what that looks like upfront and center.

A bigger-sized company is where it’s at for me.

I learned I was more socially up to a bigger company with more co-ops after my second workterm. When you have others going through the same things, it makes everything easier.

Work Term Three: The reality was more amazing than my early impressions. The first day on the job at Sybase, I found out two of my friends also had jobs there, one in marketing and one in technical writing.

Coming into a work environment with already familiar people was phenomenal. It was also great to be away from the stress of classes.

Work Term Four: I came in the first day and walked straight to my Sybase desk as per usual. I was shocked to find another co-op sitting at my old desk.

Muscle memory kept me walking to his desk for a few days before I remembered my new location. It took another few days for me to stop staring at the new guy in my old chair!

I got to take on more projects. Sybase integrated what I was interested in into a project I could create from scratch. I designed and built games for both mobile platform and desktop. I used Sybase tools in the development.

10 years from now? I don’t know where I will be living. But hopefully, I’ll have a stable job and won’t be wandering.

Age: 22 Faculty: Engineering, Software Engineering Work Term: Fourth Dream Job: Software Developer for a National Football League

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Sober Steering Chief Financial Officer, Catherine Carroll, is adamant that a better system is a critical componenet to a practical solution to the DUI problem.

Sober Steering

Reinventing the wheel

As Carroll explains, “The math that goes on in your head to know whether you think you are over the legal limit is remarkable. First of all, you are plain guessing, but because you were drinking, you are actually in no position to rationally determine if you can drink and drive. We want to be the technology that bridges common sense.”

A new product will hit the market soon, and it has caught the interest of two diverse groups: insurance companies and mothers. Both want it on the shelves. Now.

Carroll continues, “With our steering-based system, your car will let you know whether you should drive or not. And once you are driving, random tests counter the possibility of fooling the system.”

Founder Dennis Bellehumeur patented the remarkable technology behind Sober Steering’s solution.

Waterloo-based start-up, Sober Steering, is working on something that will ease mothers’ minds, help insurance companies use data for performancebased premiums, and quite possibly, make driving under the influence a rare occurrence.

The breathalyser interlock system is today’s common solution for measuring Driving Under the Influence (DUI) levels. For high-risk repeat DUI offenders, the system is installed in vehicles to ensure sober driving.

When a person enters their car, they blow into a tube, and if their levels are within limits, they can drive.

Unfortunately, the system does not distinguish whether the levels tested were actually those of the driver. There is nothing to prevent someone who was not drinking from blowing and letting someone under the influence drive, defeating the system. Sober Steering has come up with an efficient, cost-effective solution to counter the problem complete with an important differentiator; the system tests the driver while they are driving.

Alcohol levels are measured by transdermal sensors which assess pre-prespiratory gases emitted from a driver’s hands. There are two active contact points for the sensor system. The first is a touchpad located on a car’s dash and the second is embedded in the car’s steering wheel. Both are hooked into a car’s transmission and alert system.

Before a driver can put their car into gear, they must place their palm on the touchpad. If their alcohol level is within the limit, they can put their car into gear and drive. If the level is over the limit, the sensor system will prevent the car from being put into drive.

It’s technology that gets right to the point – preventing drunk driving.

What sets the steering-based system apart from the current solution is once the car is in motion, a second sensor system kicks in, working with the driver’s hands on the steering wheel. Random rolling tests test the driver’s levels. If the levels detected are over the limit – the car’s alert system goes off letting others on the road know there is a problem.

“Unless someone else consistently keeps their hands on the wheel, the system cannot be defeated,” Carroll explains, “The sensors are very advanced. They are also better than the existing technology and less expensive. It’s technology that gets right to the point – preventing drunk driving.”

Plans for the system coming on line include multiple applications. Working with the government, car manufacturers and existing auto channels, Carroll is exploring several options. One focus is the technology as something that may be installed directly into a car during the manufacturing process. Another is as an after-market product that can be purchased and installed in a vehicle at an individual’s (or mother’s) discretion.

Right now, the technology is well into the validation and testing phase. Prototypes are in installed in vehicles, and Sober Steering is very close to their goal to launch their first product, a 0-tolerance system for young drivers this year.

If Carroll’s predictions hold true, parents will be lining up for it.

Q & A with Catherine Carroll Q: What came before Sober Steering?

A: I was an investment banker in Florida. I moved back to Florida to go to school and found myself consulting.

I ended up working with a lot of very experienced entrepreneurs, and I realized I wanted to be one. I just loved being with entrepreneurs and being in an environment of building something.

Q: How is life in the start up world?

A: Entrepreneurs are at the juxtaposition of interests and ideas that make innovation happen. They are naturally fascinated with things and doing - bringing together differences that make a new whole. I always felt the spirit of entrepreneurship inside me. I knew that this is where I would eventually be.

Q: Why Sober Steering?

A: The technology was developed by Dennis Bellehumeur. He experienced a personal tragedy that inspired him to develop the solution. I started consulting for him, and before I knew it, I came on full-time. Slightly ironic since at the time – having come from New York where cars are definitely not a necessity – I didn’t have a driver’s license.

Q. How did you end up in the R + T Park?

A: We were looking for a specific set of skills for our research team. Sensor research requires a broad spectrum of knowledge, not just specialized knowledge. We started looking and only a few places in the world had what we needed. The University of Waterloo was one of the places that popped up. We took a closer look at the university. Not only were they the leading candidate, they had an amazing IP policy. When we looked at the community, we found out about the Research Park and then the Accelerator Centre. When we came to see the university and the park, the answer was instantly clear.

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U n i v e r s i t y o f Wa t e r l o o

George Dixon: What is on his mind Research + Knowledge = Societal Advantage Vice President of Research at the University of Waterloo, George Dixon has an interesting way of explaining how pure research becomes a part of our modern world.

And he makes it sound so easy.

Explains Dixon, “When

we talk about commercialization of research, we are simply talking about the business of turning knowledge into advantage. The process involves taking research and turning it into information - then taking information and turning it into knowledge – and finally taking knowledge and turning it into societal advantage.”

The focus on research at Canadian universities arises naturally from a central mandate to advance the understanding of the world through research and scholarship. The knowledge generated is transmitted into scholarship through the educational component. But at Waterloo, commercialization often happens as a bi-product of the process.

Dixon acknowledges that commercializing research does require a special kind of attention and skills sets. It also needs the right environment to combust. And that’s something he thinks about a lot.

Two elements that Dixon believes contribute to making his university a commercialization hotspot include the well-known IP inventor-ownership arrangement, where researchers own their research, and the co-op education component, which puts students to work in real business during their studies, bringing business closer to academics.

Both are impressive starter ingredients.

But there is more.

National Tour Partners

“It helps that we have the mindset and specific resources - including two dedicated VPs, one managing the commercialization of research and the other running the office of research. With a campus already researchactive, the overall mix works to summon extremely essential ingredients – the right people, students and faculty,” says Dixon.

This is a man who knows of what he speaks. He has viewed academic, research and business from more vantage points than most. Dixon took on his current role as UW’s VP Research in 2007 after advancing through administrative ranks as professor, Chair of the Department of Biology, and Dean of Science.

Staying at one university and moving through administration is not a common career path, and for Dixon, it was not a conscious choice. He just followed the most interesting career opportunities.

“From my first day on the job,” says Dixon, “I found Waterloo to be a forward thinking and proactive university. The blend of co-op, entrepreneurial spirit, research, and dedication to academics working hand-in-hand with risk-taking management are move forward ingredients. Each time I found myself at a fork in the career road, I chose the new path. It just always happened to be here.”

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Ty r o m e r

Sam Visaisouk helped make two plus two equal a technology start up, Tyromer.

While reviewing the University of Waterloo’s tech transfer files, he recognized the potential for UW professor Costas Tzoganakis’ patented process.

The world will be a little cleaner for it.

Visaisouk + tzoganakis = startup A single tire weighs about 25 pounds. A billion tires are thrown out every year.

95% of this waste can’t be recycled. So what happens? 50% is burned to generate cheap, but dirty, energy while the balance is destined for landfills. University of Waterloo professor Costas Tzoganakis is working to change that story.

Inventions don’t always become products, no matter how much good they might do the world.

Unfortunately, the cost involved in taking idea to market is often not a profitable exercise. And at universities, where innovation and invention are natural outcomes to new knowledge, many answers to big problems end up gathering dust.

Innovations constantly fall through the cracks. The gap between discovery and sale is long and expensive and, for universities, not a defined mandate. Making idea into product often requires years of research and testing, notwithstanding time for government compliance, regulations and more.

But if a university’s contribution to the world is to take the knowledge its members produce and convert that to societal good, at some point that entails commercialization.

Sam Visaisouk, Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Waterloo, is the current middle man helping UW do just that.

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for research and development.

More often, they are positioned to make a product for sale rather than find new solutions. Without a direct line to research, finding and integrating potentially radical technology is difficult, if not impossible.

Visaisouk’s job at the university is to create connections between the two. His role is to search amongst UW’s IP for technology that has problem-solving potential and business viability.

Successful match-making initiates the commercialization sequence.

“We work towards spinning off a start up with the skills to take the IP out of academia into the world for future sale and good. Once a concept is sound, “There exists a true disconnect someone has to verify it works, between academia and can be built and can be scaled business,” explains Visaisouk. up for the market. That takes “Research happens without a commercial end goal. University is funds and people.” about proving concept, not about Visaisouk does know that selling or developing research for “nothing happens overnight and a specific business market.” there a lots of nos before a yes.”

But he also recognizes, “the Conversely, in business, potential for success is certainly although many companies helped by the fact that it starts want innovation, either they at a university in tune with where don’t know where to find it or the world is going.” don’t have the funds required

“I’m not the brain, but I have good peripheral vision.”

“You have to be a multi-tasker and very efficient.

But you also need to work with good people.

Those – I’ve got.”

Tires are manufactured with virgin rubber subjected to a vulcanization process using sulphur to harden the material, giving it the properties required in tire production. Until now, there was not a process to reverse the vulcanization that was not expensive or did not require toxic materials. Instead, tire recycling operations focused on grinding tires into tire crumb, which is energy intensive and has few applications.

While working at the University of Waterloo, Professor Costas Tzoganakis had a visit from a tire recycling operation. They wanted to know if there was a way to improve rubber. That visit began Tzoganakis’s exploration into the use of carbon dioxide to help break sulphur bonds. He found a method that worked and filed a patent in

2003 for a revolutionary rubber devulcanization process. The rubber from the process could be mixed with virgin rubber during tire production.

After that, Tzoganakis got back to the business of teaching.

Tzoganakis explains, “When the patent was originally filed, the university did not have any part of it. But technology requires a vast array of expertise and money to bring it to birth. I elected to turn it over to the university because I could not take it to the next level, but I thought someday the university could.”

Then Visaisouk arrived on campus. Nosing around the technology transfer office, Visaisouk reviewed Tzoganakis’ patent, saw its potential and knew what to do. Utilizing relationships with the R + T Park, government funding agencies and business partners, he got the funding to launch a company that could take the patented process to market.

“Sam saw the value in the technology,” recalls Tzoganakis. “Before I knew it, he had launched Tyromer. I became re-involved working on technology and optimization to increase the production rate, ensuring the process is economical, while Sam focused on the business end.” Today, Visaisouk and Tzoganakis are already working to install their first plant.

Their efforts will make a huge impact on the recycling and reuse of rubber. The timing is right.

Aside from obvious environmental benefits, the price of natural rubber has surged due to too many rainy years and ever-increasing demand.

It also happens not to be an offshore option, with the cost of moving rubber making shipment prohibitive. Plants must be local, recycling rubber at the place of origin. That’s an extra win for a world where offshore thinking is commonplace, regardless of environmental cost.

You can take the research out of this professor, but in Tzoganakis’ case, you can’t take him out of the classroom. Even as he works on revolutionizing the rubber business, he continues to teach full-time. To fit it all in, Tzoganakis says, “You have to be a multi-tasker, very efficient and well-supported. And you need to work with good partners. That – I’ve got.”

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U n i v e r s i t y o f Wa t e r l o o

Introducing the latest member of The Cora Group’s industry leading sustainable buildings in the University of Waterloo’s Research and Technology Park.

kiwi to Beaver

Self-confessed academic entrepreneur, Rob McNaughton, enjoys risk, switching jobs, moving between academic disciplines and working on different continents. In 1996 he thought he had found his nirvana New Zealand, at the University of Otago. But a couple of things lured Rod back to Canada and, in particular, to Waterloo.

Today as Director, Conrad Business and Entrepreneurship in Technology Centre and Eyton Chair of Entrepreneurship at the University of Waterloo, Rod puts together everything he loves every day on the job. The offshoot? He’s helping entrepreneurs-in-themaking get closer to their dreams.

We continue our long tradition of creating unique office environments that provide leading-edge features and unmatched floor plan customization.

TECH park IV is another LEED-certification candidate, key features include:

New Zealand people are wonderful. They value people and relationships over things. I came back to Canada for my family and to Waterloo for my career.

• Raised flooring with convenient access to cabling • Unsurpassed control of workspace climates with in-floor ventilation systems

I didn’t want to come back to a normal job. The Eyton Chair in Entrepreneurship in Management Sciences was a new and incredible opportunity. The campus executive had decided to centre all the entrepreneurship activity on the campus in Management Sciences, Engineering. In the chair role, part of what I was to do was head that charge, assisting to manage activity and build units to help entrepreneurship flourish.

• Advanced automated electrical and HVAC systems • Motion-activated indirect lighting to promote energy conservation • Exceptional energy efficient building • Rainwater harvesting systems plus so many other features

How do you take the qualities inherent to a entrepreneurial mindset, ephemeral by their very nature, and build around them? That aspiration grew up to be the Masters of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program.

The Cora Group is Waterloo Region’s leading, multitenant “Smart-Green” building developer providing space for today’s technology and office industry.

Preleasing for Summe r 2013 100,000 sf

TECH park IV • Research and Technology Park, Waterloo

12,000 sf

Avail Immedaiabtele ly The CORA Building • Research and Technology Park, Waterloo

The innoTECH BuildingTM is Southwestern Ontario’s first multi-tenant building to receive LEED Gold for New Construction certification.

smart•green revolution Leasing inquiries for the TECH park IV, please contact: John Whitney at DTZ Barnicke • Tel: 519-746-6300 ext 224 • E-mail: john.whitney@dtzbarnicke.com For more information on The Cora Group and this building, please contact: Adrian Conrad • Tel: 519-589-6533 • E-mail: adrian@coragroup.com

Accelerator Building • Research and Technology Park, Waterloo

Our job is to choose the right students.

Rob McNaughton

“

MBET students share a passion for technology

”

We choose those who are different and see the world in a different way. Our minimum requirement is grades. The real nugget we look for is evidence of entrepreneurial orientation – like challenging the status quo or making things happen.

MBET students share a passion for technology. 60% have a background in technology – while for the rest – it could be almost anything. But they all intend to build businesses around technology tools.

What we hope is that they incubate their business while working on their degree. We give them everything we can think of to do that – one-on-one mentorship straight from the business community, the opportunity to produce deliverables working for technology organizations, access to funders and resources, and robust academics that demand them to reach beyond what they think is their limits.

A woman from our first graduating class wanted to start a technology magazine in Africa. It took her six years, but she launched the only technology magazine on the continent. Has she accomplished her dream?

Yes. Is she an entrepreneur? Yes. Has she made a difference in her world and others? Yes. What she accomplished is how we define our successes.

Our grads never leave us – they’re like family that live far away and miss Thanksgiving Dinner. After 10 years, we have over 350 graduates, most of them looking for ways to give back to the program.

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Meet MARY

Oculys

Building a team Franck Hivert, CEO at Oculys, appreciates what opportunity looks like when he sees it. He also knows where to look to find more - like the University of Waterloo’s MBET program.

Hospitals are thriving centres of activity with patients at the core.

Getting people treated and well – with 24/7 comings and goings– is the main order of business.

Having a finger on the pulse is important to keeping the whole system running and running well.

In 2008 Don Shilton, President of St. Mary’s Hospital in Kitchener, saw the future.

In that future, he would know everything that was happening in the hospital as it was happening – how many were in emergency, how long they were waiting, how many were in surgery, how many beds were available and more. He would see real time information no matter where he was and at any point in time, day or evening.

Shilton understood access to that kind of information could not only help him, it could help hospital staff make faster decisions, keeping hospital healthcare processes in perpetual forward motion.

When technology tools finally caught up to his vision, Shilton put his internal IT team onto the task. In time, they developed a real-time tool accessible via mobile devices like Smartphones and tablet devices – just as Shilton had envisioned.

Once the system was implemented, Shilton and everyone else in the hospital had a bird’s eye view of the hospital, working on the same page at the same moment.

The Mobile Analytics Repository (MARY) application is a ribbon running through the entire organization, integrating data in one place via easy to use delivery vehicles. The ultimate deliverable is proactive care inside the hospital, getting patients to the right place at the right time for better health outcomes.

Fast forward to 2011.

St.Mary’s had been using the application for two years and Grand River for one. As Shilton continued to show colleagues the mobile tool, other hospitals became very interested. The mounting interest beyond the region’s boundaries sparked a new thought – perhaps St. Mary’s could take their tool and commercialize it for others. If they could, the return would be twofold, improved hospital healthcare processes worldwide and a new revenue source for St. Mary’s.

Spin-off company Oculys, launched in 2011, is well on its way to making Shilton’s latest vision the next reality.

Hivert was approached in 2011 by the St. Mary’s Board to see if he would head up a new venture, the commercialization of MARY. Hivert met with St. Mary’s President, Don Shilton, and took on the challenge.He knew not only would the product provide immediate improvement in hospital processes, if developed properly, the customer-base for the product was located across the globe.

no guarantee of anything. I had to sell the pitch to the students to take on Oculys and its deliverables.”

December 2011, eleven companies pitched their projects to 36 MBET students. The students voted on the companies they felt had the most interesting project. Of the 11 pitches, 6 were selected, all of them start ups. Oculys was one of the fortunate chosen.

Four MBET students, Usman Ahmad, Sophie He, Amro Gushaah and Asad Malick, decided Hivert’s project was not only compelling, but something that could benefit from their divergent interests and experiences. They were on board.

Hivert met with the students to chart out the deliverables which would be rounded up into a report making recommendations for the company. All of the work is justified around strategic goalposts and markers for the MBET program.

Did you know?

More about MBETS

Usman Ahmad, International Student – Asad Malick, International Pakistan Student – Pakistan Age: 25 Age: 25 Background: IT and Management Why MBET? “I’d like to build a talent bridge between Canada and Pakistan. I researched universities for two years. I had a friend who graduated from the program, and from what he said, it seemed it would work best for my long-term goals. ”

Amro Gushaah, International Student – Saudi Arabia

Age: 26 Background: Earth Sciences Why Oculys? “I saw the product had so many opportunities for us to help in many ways. I know a CEO in Saudi I plan to take the product to when the time is right.”

St. Mary’s Hospital has: • 150 acute care beds • 1,250 staff • 176 medical staff • 403 volunteers

Background: Political Science Why MBET? “You’ll see MBET students entering the building at 9am and leaving at midnight.

We do it all again the next day and the next and the next.”

Sophie He, International Student – China

Age: 25 Background: International Business & Economics Why MBET? “The market in China is exploding. It was a really good time to go back to studies and find a market gap in China that I could fill with a business. I found the program on the web and was attracted to the fact it teaches you how to be an entrepreneur.”

• 7,000+ admissions/year • 100,000+ outpatient visits/year • 47,000+ emergency department visits/year • 20,000+ surgical procedures performed/year • 5,000+ cardiac procedures performed/year

The first item on Hivert’s agenda was people.

With a proven technology track record in the region, Hivert already knew where and how to go about finding the right people. But he also thought the venture might benefit by going to an unorthodox source for some extra mind power on the team.

Hivert had become familiar with the University of Waterloo’s Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program through a colleague, and he thought the kind of minds MBET seemed to attract might be the perfect match for the new company.

Part of the MBET program requires a real world project complete with deliverables. The work happens as part of the curriculum opposed to a full-time internship. The unique approach reflects a knowing/doing philosophy that combines knowledge gained in the classroom with real world experience. It is the ultimate in integration.

As Hivert recalls, “I knew about the program and that it was very popular with the business world. That popularity meant that many competed for these coveted students. But just because you had a desire to be an MBET project was

Someday somewhere in the world we may all feel the benefits of the work of this team.

Charlie Farkas, Head Solutions Engineer; Scott Marnoch, Director of Business Development; Colin Chen, Software Developer, U of W co-op; Sophie He, MBET student, Asad Malick, UW MBET student; Franck Hivert, President & CEO

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“It’s not like we had an epiphany with our first product. The company and philosophy actually came first and the product next.”

Enflick

Stay tuned in Jon Lerner, 24 What I did on my down-time during my work term.

I developed a bartender app for the Android phone. I had no intention of doing it as a business. It was something I wanted to make to learn from the experience. I built it and posted it on the Android marketplace.

It started generating money almost right away – a few thousand a month. About two million people have since downloaded it.

“We’re creating products people love to use that also happen to solve a problem for them.”

Jon Lerner and Derek Ting, Co-CEOs and founders of Enflick and engineer grads from the University of Waterloo, were on parallel tracks years before they met. Both loved technology, had built and sold several apps in their spare time, and had used their work terms to figure out what they wanted for their work careers: their own company.

Some realizations are really important.

When I was on a work term at Google, I figured out something. Even though I was working on an exciting project for an exciting company with all the perks I could possibly ask for, I knew I could do even more with my own start-up.

When their paths converged in 2009, they already knew they didn’t want to build just another app company. As their friendship evolved into business partnership, they put their heads together to ponder how they could create a business that customers would care about for years to come that was not based on a single idea. They wanted a service-based model geared to solve problem, after problem, after problem.

They looked for their first problem with a market in mind - teenagers.

The group in general was hard-wired to send texts and lots of them, hundreds or thousands per day. The market had the kind of unique value proposition they wanted.

Ting had noticed, “Often kids don’t have a phone because their parents won’t get them one. We wanted to create an app teenagers could download and get free texting, with a hook. The product would use a device most teenagers already had – an iPod.”

Something vital to me and to success.

At the time, there were two texting apps playing in the space. But Lerner and Ting figured they could build a better design, interface, reliability and just an overall better product. While in their last term of school, they began to work on the idea.

Critical thinking.

Whatever we do it’s more important to figure things out than go and read in a book how something is done. You have to work out what makes sense before you look to others.

By August 2009, they were finished school, tucked into an office in the Accelerator Centre, and busy enough to hire a co-op student for the fall term. Their first product, TextNow, which would be downloaded onto iPods giving teenagers much coveted free, unlimited texting, was well on its way.

Using the feedback from initial 1.0 version, through 2010 they fixed and refined the product with the goal to officially launch in the 2010 holiday season, coinciding with Christmas and phone gift-giving. They hit their launch goal and the roof simultaneously.

Christmas day traffic skyrocketed, giving immediate rise to their next business problem – scaling up to success.

Fortunately, the revenue generated from the traffic helped them cope – they had the funds to hire a larger team and look for their next problem.

Derek Ting, 24 On the side stuff during high school.

They acquired their second product, PingChat!, in 2010. Says Ting, “We really wanted to disrupt the way people communicated on their Smartphone. We saw that SMS would fade away as technology continued to improve. What we envisioned was an ultimate platform that would connect you to friends, no matter what device – BlackBerry, iPhone, Android or any other Smartphone – in real time.”

PingChat! targeted a new market for the duo, businesses. To date, they have had over 14 million downloads.

The company’s early successes helped grow the company to 32+ employees, including interns and co-op students. In what seemed a split second, they needed more room accomodate everyone. In 2011, they moved out of park’s Accelerator Centre and into their own office space in the Research Park.

2012 finds Lerner and Ting venturing into a new space with the launch of “Touch” – a rebrand and revamp to PingChat! – that carries hints of a product that might someday be a viable alternative to Facebook. The idea behind the product is staying more in touch with friends and family by imitating a more authentic social experience.

Lerner and Ting don’t spend much time thinking about how they got to where they are so quickly and at such a young age. But Lerner does note it isn’t same old same old that drives the two of them, “What is pushing us is that we are really passionate about innovation. We don’t care for products that compete with features or small prices. We are both young, and we are still very much able to take big risks that end up offering big reward by being a leader in a space.”

“No matter what,” continues Lerner, “We’re creating products people love to use that also happen to solve a problem. We are working with great people we get to hire and grow as a team. That’s important to us. And we also get to build something really amazing, making sure that all the pieces fit together nicely.”

Why I like technology.

It’s hard to explain.

It’s kind of like art in the way you can put pieces together to make something else that is really fascinating.

Customers can surprise you.

We picked up an unexpected customer with TextNow, stay-athome moms. They have iPods, but don’t always have phones. They figured out they can turn that iPod into a phone with our app.

I created a website called Torrent Reacter I bootstrapped it with donations and had hundreds of thousands of visitors who found it via word of mouth. At the end of the summer, I didn’t want to do it anymore. A buyer reached out to me.

I sold.

I sub-leased capacity on the leftover servers. It spawned a web posting company that grew to 500 clients. I saved up enough money to buy a car and had change left to put toward school.

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Sybase, an SAP Company

Sybase, an SAP Company

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keeping the writing wheels in motion When Meaghan McBride decided to go to the University of Waterloo, she followed her gut. Meaghan already had a Journalism Diploma under her belt, but she thought a Waterloo English degree might give her the edge in an exceptionally competitive field. She also heard rumours about Waterloo co-op and was prepared to stretch what an English Major could do to the max.

Title of the book I plan to write someday: “Anatomy of Walking by Someone Who Can’t.”

really know and think about the “who” I am writing for. That ability is going to be important in my future.

I plan to write about the things I encounter every day that people who can walk never notice. People often run into me because they aren’t looking as they walk. I wish I could drive my wheelchair without paying attention!

Hobbies? Lately sleep is my hobby.

Kidding... I love sports, and I’m a diehard Leafs fan. I’ve been doing the Leafs’ Easter Seals’ skate for the last seven years. We skate with the Leafs to raise money for others in wheelchairs.

My first co-op experience was scary.

I had 7 interviews and no one ranked me. That made me really question my decision to go into co-op. But then second rounds came, and I applied to this place I had never heard of called Sybase. I had my first job as a technical writer the day after that interview.

At first I was happy to be back in school after my first work term. But then I realized – Oh! I’m not making money, and now I have essays.

I definitely applied what I learned at work in school. I started getting even better marks.

I’d love to be a columnist. A huge part of being a columnist is thinking about your audience. I’m getting great practice with that at Sybse. My projects are very focused on audience. I have to

I felt very happy when I knew Sybase wanted me back at the end of my first work term. I thought the liking each other feeling was mutual, but you never know.

“

Best learnings? One of my supervisors, Dove, recognized my eye for proofing detail needed work. Dove had a number of strategies to help me improve. She came up with simple exercises – like messing up documents and making me search for the errors.

And she found tests for me to write.

She let me know she wouldn’t stop testing me unless I achieved a certain grade. At the end of the term, I had improved my work by a huge margin.

Dove went above and beyond what she really needed to do to help me.

“

”

Connie Stevens 100% Co-op Committed Connie Stevens, Manager of Technical Support, has been a Sybase employee for over 17 years. For each of the last 13 years of those years and every three months, she interviewed and hired co-op students to work on her team.

Try doing the math: three times a year X an average of 10 – 12 student interviews X 13 years. That adds up to 20% of Connie’s time dedicated to the co-op process every term.

Suffice to say Connie is a believer in the coop way, but she comes by it honestly.

Since inception, Sybase has been hiring co-op students from the University of Waterloo. As the company has grown and changed, co-op remains solidly entrenched in their business philosophy.

Age: 24 Faculty: Arts, Rhetoric and Professional Writing Work Term: Third Dream Job: Sports Columnist

Meaghan McBride P.S. Everyone should apply for a job here because it is an amazing place to work.

co-op is a great feed into full-time hires.

”

My career began in hotel and food management. I came back from my honeymoon and had a message that Sybase (then Watcom) had changed their business model and were looking for someone to help them transition from free support to paid support. I went for it.

During Sybase’s transition, I was the middle person directing cases to the right people. Since hotel and food is about talking, listening and juggling about fifty things at once, I had the perfect training ground for the role.

Sybase has an interesting commitment to co-op students. We are 100% committed to NOT replacing our co-op positions with full-time hires. Considering we have 30 – 40 co-op students working here per term, that is a serious business decision.

Co-op is a great feed into full-time hires. In my experience, it doesn’t happen often enough. When we have an open hire request, the first place we head to is our former and current co-ops.

You feel their presence in the building – they look about 10 years old!

When the double co-hort happened, and we were looking at hiring 17 year olds, it made us think twice about hiring first term students. We decided to continue with our hiring practices, including first year students. And we were amazed to learn what some kids have already accomplished by 17.

We put a lot of effort into finding a good fit, and it pays off.

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BufferBox

Delivery to: Your neighbourhood BufferBox STOP What can a big green box do for you? It can accept delivery of your online orders 24/7 and let you know the minute your package arrives, so you can grab it at your convenience. That’s about 100% better then waiting for a “between 9am/5pm” delivery promise that usually happens at 5:45, after you’ve given up and left the house.

When former University of Waterloo Engineering students, Addy Bali, Mike McCauley and Jay Shaw met, they discovered they each shared the same motivation to make whatever they did count big.

They mutually agreed their program’s 4th year engineering project, which allowed students to free-think without academic parameters, could be the perfect entry point to the entrepreneurial life. If they put the right energy into the right idea, their ultimate goal might be a given.

Sharing the start-up mindset, all the trio needed was an idea. As their final term and the project approached, they focused on searching for a problem that needed a solution they could create.

With the three on work-terms prior to the project term, McCauley in California, Shaw in Oakville and Bali in Cambridge, they had to get a little creative to brainstorm the project. “Since we had a 3-hour time difference with Mike in California,” explains Addy, “Jay and I would race home after work to connect with Mike online. We took advantage of Skype, remote desktop, tablets and more to talk shop. We spent 3 – 4 hours each night brainstorming, let it gel overnight and did it all again the next day.”

“We tossed around a lot of ideas,” continues Shaw. “The BufferBox concept was actually born of Mike’s personal frustration. He loves to order online and track the stuff, so he knows exactly when it will arrive. He can hardly wait to get it. But being a student - with a student lifestyle, he was rarely home to accept delivery.”

“So many times, when I came home from school,” McCauley continues, “I would find a failed delivery notice. So disappointing! I’d have to go to some post office or depot – not close to my house – and get the item during regular business hours. I was convinced there had to be a better way. I worked on persuading Jay and Addy we should focus on a solution.

Evenutally, they bought into the idea for the project.”

Introducing - BufferBox. That 4th year project evolved into start-up company BufferBox, complete with office, funding, employees, co-op student and, as the trio hoped, massive potential.

The first BufferBox delivery depot was installed at UW’s campus at the end of 2011. For three dollars, customers select BufferBox as their package delivery address. Customers receive a text or email as soon as their package is delivered to the BufferBox, along with a code.

To retrieve packages, customers go to the BufferBox, key in the code and remove their item, any time. BufferBox’s robotic inner workings are always available to accept the package.

Aimed at their target demographic students with tough schedules unable to be at home to wait for packages - business is already booming.

With the spector of failed delivery notices now removed forever, Mike McCauley was happy to be the first satisfied customer.

Welcome to your local BufferBox stop, a robotic solution to a 21st century dilemma.

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Communitech

Avvey Peters has been on a steady career incline.

After 10 years at the University of Waterloo, stops including Associate Director for Communications and Public Affairs (where she wrote speeches for now Governor General David Johnston) followed by Senior Director of Government Relations (where she wet her appetite for government affairs), she made the leap to Communitech as Vice President, External Relations (and found her next passion – technology).

But now, Avvey has finally flown the Waterloo co-op… well, sort of.

Former Waterloo co-op flies the coop

I did my undergrad at the University of Waterloo. My dad went to Waterloo for Engineering. He had nothing but good to say about the co-op experience. What really appealed to me was that I could study English and start working right out of the gate.

I do love to write although I don’t do creative writing anymore. It’s all professional writing. One of the things I think is really undervalued is the ability to communicate effectively.

Writing is a contribution I feel I can make – to tell a story well – and tell it over time.

I’ve been ghostwriting for much of my professional career.

It’s not about the byline. I get feedback from the folks I work with – I don’t need that feedback to be public.

Working in government relations led me directly to Communitech. While at the working at the university, I collaborated with many community partners including Communitech.

Communitech gives me the opportunity to do both communications and government relations in equal measure. It was also a chance to try what I enjoy in industry.

Happily, my role still keeps me closely tied to the things I cared about at the university.

I often wondered how much more we could do to help technology companies if we had a presence in Toronto or Ottawa. Then my husband came home one day and told me he had been transferred to Ottawa. A month later, we had relocated, but I was still with Communitech.

“

Avvey Peters

”

i think what we do in the waterloo region is pretty special

It was happy timing. There was a need to spend more time with partners in Ottawa, which isn’t easy to do when you are caught up in the day-to-day. It was the perfect opportunity to put someone on the ground there.

Why do I like my job? Couple reasons – I think what we do in the Waterloo Region is pretty special. It’s easy to talk about and fun to be involved. And I get to promote the model we’ve developed in this region to people who want to know how we do it.

I have the best of a few worlds. As part of the entrepreneurial spirit, I get to see what 600+ companies affiliated with Communitech are doing, and I get to tell that story to media, government and other partners. I get to enjoy Ottawa and when I need to relax, I get to come back to Waterloo and put my feet up at our cottage on Conestoga Lake.

T h e R e g i o n o f Wa t e r l o o I n t e r n a t i o n a l A i r p o r t

Speed Dating a win-win When Chris Wood became General Manager at Waterloo International Airport (YKF) in 2009, he had no idea speed dating would be a part of the job requirements. Nonetheless, once a year Wood makes the trek to his industry’s annual conference, JUMPSTART, to sit across the table from major aircraft carriers and deliver 20 minute pitches, with one goal in mind: To sell an airline on a second date with the airport. Last year, he got that second date.

Most major airlines travel to JUMPSTART to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with 50 – 60 airport representatives in a controlled setting for a defined time period. Think of it as airline speed-dating. Airport managers use that valuable faceto-face time with airline decision-makers for all its worth. In 20 minutes, they deliver their best elevator speech of what their location will offer the airline. It’s a look-see approach with a best case scenario for a win-win.

Seems simple, but as Wood notes, the flight industry has a very unusual sales cycle.

“It’s an odd industry,” Wood explains. “One of the hardest things to do is get an airline to come to your airport. Airlines are inherently risk averse. Whatever you have to offer has to match their business model and future goals.

It’s not really about what you want or even what you have to offer, it’s about them doing their due diligence and picking their best fit. I’ve talked with pretty much every existing airline, and I’ve dealt with a lot of rejection. But sometimes perseverance goes a long way.”

Wood firmly believed with the current demand in the Waterloo Region for air travel, no one should have to fly from Toronto for any reason. The regions’ residents agreed.

With 6.5 million people living in a 35 kilometre catchment area and 1.5 million air travel trips already happening without any stimulation, volume plus desire should logically equate to service. Wood points out that, “we had enough need for a thriving business and to provide a service to the community that they thought they should have.” But desire alone was not enough to attract that coveted airline.

Analyzing airport data illuminated an opportunity that Wood suspected might make business sense for the right carrier. The region had the need for US business service in a market offering frequency versus volume. Chicago was a hub that was already a business market, and it had a lot of connection opportunities. So he set his sights on an airline that might have their own desire to offer this service in their kind of market. Only a few airlines fit the mold and that’s where speed-dating advantage came in to play.

Sitting across from American Eagle Airlines, Wood had 20 minutes to sell his story. They were interested, and he got his second date. The happy match will provide round-trip service between Chicago O’Hare and Waterloo Region, commencing June 14, 2012.

“The whole area banded together with a “help me help you” attitude. It is very convincing when you can go to an airline and demonstrate demand by showing businesses are already buying service to Chicago and that they prefer to drive to our airport than any other. That’s more than just pitch.”

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R+T PARK DIRECTORY 17 Muscles 17muscles Inc. owns Cognition, a web-based, personal training platform that measures and maps the knowledge levels of employees in critical areas. Cognition delivers ongoing, bite-sized, customized learning so knowledge gaps are closed in a fast, fun and effective way that rewards employees and helps employers build aware and knowledgeable workplaces that are attuned to their business goals. www.17muscles.com

ActivDox The current problem with PDFs and ebooks is the content is completely static or passive leading to multiple versions of corporate documents. Where government and business intersect, version control of compliance policies and documents is business critical. ActivDox transforms a traditional passive electronic document into an interactive document with active content and solving the problem of version control - giving users the latest and complete information. www.activdox.com

Accelerator Centre The Accelerator Centre provides emerging technology businesses with the tools they need to grow and succeed.

In addition to space access, start-up businesses are plugged into resources, networking opportunities, and mentorship programs. Clients are also assisted in obtaining financing, including introductions to potential investors and government financing sources. www.acceleratorcentre.com

AGFA Agfa HealthCare, a member of the Agfa-Gevaert Group, is a leading provider of IT-enabled clinical workflow and diagnostic image management solutions, and state-of-the-art systems for capturing and processing images in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Their solutions serve a multitude of medical specialties and departments including radiology, cardiology, orthopedics, women’s care and intensive care units. With over a century of healthcare experience related to diagnostic imaging Agfa has been a pioneer on the healthcare IT market since the 1990s. www.agfa.com

AIM Health Group The AIM Health Group, with national health care expertise, is a Corporate Health and Wellness Centre providing medical services previously only available in Toronto. The local health care team (including physicians, specialists, et. al.) uses the most up to date technology and resources to provide high quality services, available under one roof. Additional services are available. www.aimhealthgroup.com

ANTVibes™ Inc. ANTVibes™ Inc. is the maker of Audible Name Tag (ANT™), a technology that provides a solution to the incorrect pronunciation of unfamiliar names or words. This audio technology is used with persons’ own voice and could be embedded and shared across various communication platforms to make the technology more user-friendly. www.antvibes.com

Avenir Medical Inc. Founded in 2010, Avenir Medical Inc. researches, develops, and commercializes orthopaedic medical devices, such as the PelvAssist™, to assist healthcare professionals in their role to improve the patient’s quality of care.

This device allows orthopaedic surgeons to locate the correct positioning of prosthetic components that will be inserted into patient’s body during hip replacement surgery. www.avenirmedical.com

Big Road Inc Big Road Inc provides truck drivers and fleet operators with a comprehensive mobile application suite optimized for smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices. The applications enable drivers to automate their status and location updates as well as their paperwork, while also keeping the driver in touch with his friends & family while on the road. www.bigroad.com

BufferBox BufferBox wants to make sure you never miss another parcel delivery. The company’s innovative self-serve kiosk gives online shoppers and e-retailers more control over delivery and ensures that a valuable parcel is never left on a doorstep, stolen or re-routed. The BufferBox’s kiosk introduces 24/7 convenience to consumers while reducing costs for shipping carriers. www.bufferbox.com

Business & Education Partnership of Waterloo Region The Business & Education Partnership of Waterloo Region leads the way in career exploration for youth, connecting students, educators and employers to promote student success and community prosperity. Our organization facilitates and builds alliances among business, education, labour, government and community partners. www.bus-edpartnership.org

Canadian Digital Media Network The Canadian Digital Media Network (CDMN) is dedicated to establishing Canada as a world leader in Digital Media by enabling connection and collaboration of people across the country and bringing more great digital solutions to market. The CDMN comprises Canada’s largest concentration of business-driven digital media research, technology development, and digital commercialization expertise. www.cdmn.ca

Canadian Innovation Centre The Canadian Innovation Centre (CIC) is a national, not-for-profit fee-for service organization. CIC helps early stage innovators take the first important steps in the commercialization process by aiding them in identifying the optimum way forward and validating the market opportunities available to them. www.innovationcentre.ca

Canadian Water Network The Canadian Water Network (CWN) was created as one of Canada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE), to develop opportunities related to the provision of safe, clean water. In collaboration with universities, government and industry, the CWN has developed a variety of scientific projects and initiatives that address key water-related issues facing Canadians. www.cwn-rce.ca

CAP Solutions CAP Solutions Inc. offers the unique service of rapid software development utilizing a proprietary cloud based software platform. This service can provide working proof of concept or prototype software packages in as little as 6-10 weeks from conception. Clients find this a useful tool in making critical system architecture decisions and in determining the viability of approach in developing new software applications, when upgrading system components or to test system component changes during tech refresh cycles. www.capsoln.ca

Capacity Waterloo Region (CWR) Capacity Waterloo Region (CWR), a five-year pilot project to fuel social innovation, has opened a new office in the Accelerator Centre. CWR is helping to build an enabling environment that brings together resources from all sectors to support non-profit leaders and social entrepreneurs and the ideas that will build lasting social change in our region. www.capacitywaterlooregion.ca

CBET- Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre CBET was created to support, build on, and expand the entrepreneurial initiatives at the University of Waterloo. The university’s reputation for encouraging and spinning off successful entrepreneurial ventures is unmatched in Canada. www.cbet.uwaterloo.ca

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CellScale Biomaterials Testing

Gainsters

CellScale offers medical researchers and scientists turn-key solutions to collect data on the properties of soft tissues and biomaterials. Their integrated solutions include precision test equipment, a patented specimen attachment system and easy-to-use software. Considered to be one of the world’s leading research institutions, The University of Waterloo plays host to the company’s foundation. We understand what researchers need, and we aim to provide creative solutions at affordable prices. www.cell-scale.com

Gainsters’ mission is to build a centralized, simple to use platform that empowers business owners to create loyalty programs that engage their customers. www.gainsters.ca

Columbia Lake Health Club Columbia Lake Health Club is a state-of-the-art full-service fitness facility focused on improving members’ overall health and well-being. The Club provides exceptional staff who keep members motivated, challenged and informed to help them live a longer and healthier life. www.columbialakehealthclub.com

Columbia Lake Indoor Golf Columbia Lake Indoor Golf provides the community the ability to learn, practise and play indoor golf in a clean, professional environment. With Tony Martin, CPGA as swing coach and a golf conditioning program custom designed for you, your game will never be better. Play Pebble Beach and other amazing courses alone or with a foursome. Convenient. Fun. Weatherproof. Health club membership is not required to enjoy your game. www.columbialakeindoorgolf.com

Communitech: Waterloo Region Technology Association Communitech is an industry-led organization driving the growth and success of Waterloo Region´s technology sector through leadership, connections, and promotion. Members include large publicly traded companies, growing firms, start-up enterprises, and organizations that support the growth of these companies. www.communitech.ca

David Johnston Research + Technology Park At 120-acres, the Research + Technology Park is one of 27 research parks in Canada and is located on the campus of Canada’s most innovative university. A vital addition to Canada’s Technology Triangle of Waterloo, Kitchener, and Cambridge, it reflects the enterprising spirit of Waterloo Region. www.rtpark.uwaterloo.ca

Dyverga Energy Corp.

Dyverga Energy Corp. is a cleantech company that utilizes green technology, converting waste heat products into reusable AC electrical power. This new technology can be available on a 24/7 basis or on-demand and will ultimately help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This green technology is a stepping stone for the SmartGrid energy systems and will continue to reduce the carbon footprint for the environment. www.dyverga.com

Education Credit Union With three locations, in Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge, the Education Credit Union (ECU) is a full-service financial institution including a comprehensive Wealth Management program. The primary difference between ECU and other banks is the personal approach that focuses on putting members first and the provision of costeffective products and services. www.ecusolutions.com

Enflick, Inc. Enflick, Inc. develops mobile applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Enflick creates mobile solutions that expand the potential of today’s leading mobile platforms. Recent products include TextNow and Mail Notifier.

Innovative and dedicated, the Enflick team keeps consumers in mind to design user-friendly products that make people’s lives easier. www.enflick.com

Giftopia Giftopia is a social gifting platform that connects friends and family together with the items and brands they love. Giftopia allows users to create custom Gift Lists that others can view, ensuring that the perfect gifts are received for every occasion. www.giftopia.me

I Think Security I Think Security is an ICT company that protects data for small and medium businesses as well as everyday users. Their products include file encryption, secure file sharing and other services to ensure that the customer’s files and data are protected on a variety of devices such as their laptop, desktop, cell phones or in the cloud. www.ithinksecurity.com

Institute for Quantum Computing The Institute for Quantum Computing applies quantum mechanical systems to a vast array of relevant information processing techniques. It has a truly unique environment that fosters cutting-edge research and collaboration between researchers in the areas of computer, engineering, mathematical and physical sciences. www.iqc.ca

JAD Software JAD software is a computer forensics company focused on providing products that aid in the recovery of digital artifacts left behind on hard drives and in live memory. Internet Evidence Finder (IEF), our flagship product, has become an indispensable tool for law enforcement, government, and corporations to conduct thorough and effective computer investigations while preserving the forensic integrity of the data. www.jadsoftware.com

Kids & Company With 20 locations across Canada, Kids & Company offers a variety of child care options including full-time and part-time care, back-up care in case of an emergency, enriched Montessori Kindergarten programming at select locations, and no late fees when employees are held up at work. www.kidsandcompany.ca

Knowledge in Development Knowledge in Development brings the science of children’s communication to parents. We publish the Language Use Inventory (LUI), a scientifically validated child language assessment tool developed by UWaterloo professor and company founder Daniela O’Neill. Now, we’re bringing the LUI online to help concerned parents quickly determine where their child’s language development stands compared to children of the same age. www.knowledgeindevelopment.ca

Mespere Lifesciences Inc. Mespere Lifesciences Inc. is a start-up focused on developing the next generation of medical devices.

Mespere’s proprietary technology provides breakthrough real time non-invasive cardiac visualization.

Mespere is developing a non-invasive product pipeline based upon near infrared spectroscopy to noninvasively measure the central venous pressure within central venous blood vessels. The CVP monitor provides comprehensive information to help assess and monitor patients, reducing costs while maintaining patient care. www.mespere.com

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Miller Thomson LLP

ProductWiki Inc.

Miller Thomson LLP is one of Canada’s largest national law firms, with more than 500 professionals working across Canada. The firm provides a complete range of business law, advocacy and personal legal services to Canadian and international corporations, entrepreneurs, institutions, governments and not-for-profit organizations. www.millerthomson.com

ProductWiki Inc. is the resource for free, unbiased product reviews and information written and maintained by the community. Using a wiki model, the community creates reports containing essential information necessary to make intelligent purchasing decisions. www.productwiki.com

Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) UW’s Nanotechnology Engineering program is collaboratively offered by the Departments of Chemical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, and the Chemistry Department in the Faculty of Science. It prepares students to be technological innovators and the next generation of leaders in the new frontier of nanotechnology. www.nano.uwaterloo.ca

National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program The NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) provides a range of technical and business oriented advisory services, along with potential financial support for small and medium-sized Canadian enterprises with a focus on science and technology. NRC-IRAP supports innovative research and development and commercialization of new products and services. www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Navtech Navtech is a leading international provider of flight operations software and tools. Navtech’s products enable commercial passenger and cargo air carriers to increase safety, maximize efficiency, comply with complex national and international safety regulations and reduce costs in their daily flight operations. All are designed in close cooperation with the aviation industry, resulting in ever-more relevant products and services. www.navtech.aero

Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Inc. OCE was designed to bridge that gap and create productive working partnerships between university and college research departments, research hospitals and Ontario industry. Ontario Centres of Excellence is accelerating innovation across the province. Propelling research from idea to income. Cultivating bolder attitudes towards invention and investment. And locating the footholds innovators need to reach new heights. www.oce-ontario.org

Open Text Corporation Open Text is the market leader in providing Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions that bring together people, processes and information. The organization’s software combines collaboration with content management, transforming information into knowledge that provides the foundation for innovation, compliance and growth. www.opentext.com

POHSA Inc. POHSA Inc. is an interactive social shopping platform with the aim to provide a convenient solution for online shoppers. The concept is to bring together the interactive three-dimensional (3D) technology combined with the social aspect of online shopping. www.pohsa.com

PRIME Prime is a Registered Massage Therapy centre. Services include joint manipulation, massage therapy, myofascial release techniques, acupuncture, therapeutic modalities, orthotics, and exercises for injury rehabilitation. PRIME is located within AIM Institute of Lifestyle Medicine at TechTown. www.primewaterloo.ca

QuantumWorks QuantumWorks is a one-of-a-kind innovation platform funded by the NSERC to link Canada’s top-quality researchers with industrial members and government agencies that will be able to move Canada forward into the next generation of technology, Quantum Information Processing (QIP). www.quantumworks.ca

Qwalify Qwalify has a solution for today’s hiring challenges. Qwalify is the first company to provide a psychometric recruiting platform assisting employers to filter applicants, customized to the desired position. The powerful human capital analytics features job fit and competencies, professional personality attributes and corporate culture fit to ensure the best match is prepared for employers to interview potential employee. www.qwalify.com

Reply.io Small businesses, community groups and non-profits struggle with keeping their contacts engaged and often spend efforts attracting new people instead of nurturing the contacts they have already. Reply.io helps build loyalty and relationships with existing contacts and keep them engaged via phone, email and text message. Instead of focusing on just sending messages, Reply.io looks to start conversations and get them to reply back. www.reply.io

Research In Motion Research In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. The BlackBerry product line includes the BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet, the award-winning BlackBerry smartphone, software for businesses and accessories. BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. www.rim.com

Skybound Software Skybound Software streamlines the web site design process through user interface innovation. Skybound is currently developing a product that allows both technical and non-technical users to create world-class web sites in a fraction of the time it takes with present-day processes. www.skybound.ca

SnapSort SnapSort is an online shopping guide 101 for digital cameras. This website guides consumers through the whole shopping process of finding the perfect camera suited to them. The guide also assists customers as they explore new cameras, compare products, and have questions answered by personal experts and supported by research. www.snapsort.com

Sober Steering Sensors Canada, Inc. Sober Steering is developing a steering-wheel based interlock system to prevent drunk driving. Through the interaction between a driver’s hands and the steering wheel, Sober Steering’s transdermal technology analyzes the gases exuded from the skin to determine driver impairment. Sober Steering’s invisible technology will eliminate the social stigma associated with existing interlock technologies. www.sobersteering.com

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WATERLOO’S Social Venture Partners Waterloo Region Social Venture Partners Waterloo Region (SVPWR) is a network of community-minded individuals who combine financial contributions and professional skills with a passion for philanthropy. Leveraging our collective expertise and resources, we partner with and strengthen promising non-profits. www.svpwr.org

Accelerator Program

Sweet Tooth Rewards

Join Us!

Sweet Tooth enables merchants to offer unique and effective customer loyalty programs for their customers. As the world’s most customizable and flexible software for customer loyalty, Sweet Tooth allows for optimization of any loyalty program to perfectly engage a particular customer base or target market. www.sweettoothrewards.com

Sybase, an SAP Company Sybase, an SAP company, is an industry leader in delivering enterprise and mobile software to manage, analyze and mobilize information. Sybase is recognized globally as a performance leader, proven in the most data-intensive industries and across all major systems, networks and devices. www.sybase.com

TechTown Café TechTown Café provides premium on-site roasted, fair trade, organic coffee and healthy food choices in a comfortable environment. The café provides catering for events within TechTown and the R+T Park for the convenience of guests and neighbours. Specialty soups, salads, wraps and sandwiches are made fresh each day. www.techtowncafe.com

Kurtis McBride CEO, Miovision & Accelerator Centre Graduate

“The Accelerator Centre was the perfect place to build and launch our company into the market. We had access to business advisory, educational programs, HR and sales mentorship, and to other start-ups with whom we could share our experiences.”

TechTown Dentistry TechTown Dentistry is a dental practice with a difference - The Dental Health Advantage – it’s an innovative process that helps clients discover their opportunities to grow and protect their dental health confidence. TechTown Dentistry’s core values are kindness, extra mile service, integrity and quality. www.techtowndentistry.com

The Water Institute The Water Institute of the University of Waterloo connects researchers and students from across all six faculties – Engineering, Science, Mathematics, Environment, Arts and Applied Health Sciences – facilitating interdisciplinary research and education in water science, technology and management. The Water Institute partners with the private sector, governments and civil society to promote research, support decision making and disseminate information and technology. www.water.uwaterloo.ca

Tyromer Inc. Tyromer Inc. vulcanizes scrap tire rubber to produce tyromer, a tire-derived polymer for making rubber goods like tires. Today more than 50% of the scrap tires generated in North America are burnt for their fuel value. Tyromer provides sustainability to this massive “renewable” resource. www.tyromer.com

We’re Waterloo’s Accelerator Program, and we’ve been making technology success happen in Waterloo Region since 2006. Over the last five years, 70+ early-stage technology companies have passed through our doors, each of them benefiting from our proven and world-recognized formula of mentorship, business guidance, and education programs tailored to the needs of technology start-ups.

If you are a technology start-up looking for state-of-the-art office space, diverse services and programs, and a commitment to help you grow and prosper, visit www.acceleratorcentre.com/apply and submit your application today.

Success Starts Here.

In our ongoing effort to ease parking concerns, relieve traffic congestion, improve community health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, TravelWise provides innovative strategies to increase the number of employees commuting by foot, bike, on transit or in a carpool.

Over the past year, we’ve worked with seven companies, three city governments, and the two local universities to develop TravelWise – a Transportation Management Association. Your organization is invited to join!

For more information TravelWise@regionofwaterloo.ca or 519-575-4019 www.regionofwaterloo.ca/travelwise

Universal Quantum Devices Universal Quantum Devices Incorporated (UQD), has emerged from research at the Institute for Quantum Computing. UQD provides instrumentation for advanced time-correlation analysis required in quantum optics laboratories around the world. UQD promises to become a globally recognized provider of top-tier timecorrelation and time-analysis instruments. www.uqdevices.com

WatSec WatSec empowers organizations world-wide to quickly identify how Cybercriminals can break in by continually checking for known security holes, identifying the ones which really matter, and providing busy IT departments and trusted technology advisors with up-to-date, objective, and independent Cybercrime protection knowledge.

WatSec provides a monthly status detailed remediation road map via our WatSec Secure™ methodology, portal, and support systems. www.watsec.com

Call us: 519.342.2400 Email us: info@acceleratorcentre.com Check us out on the web: www.acceleratorcentre.com Find us on Twitter: @AC_Waterloo Accelerator Centre 295 Hagey Boulevard Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6R5

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T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Wa t e r l o o

Every thought counts

Every thought counts…

The University of Waterloo is known as a university that doesn’t waste time. When we see value and have collaborative input, we move forward on our plans. But it is important that as we do this, we get every single person’s input as to where we are and where we want to go as an institution.

Feridun Hamdullahpur, President and Vice-Chancellor and professor at the University of Waterloo, thinks a lot about his campus - its present and its future. He shares candid insights with Watch magazine.

Our goal is to be among the top 100 universities in the world, and we want to agree on how we get there. Over the last year, we have been reviewing our 6th Decade plan. Between surveys, town halls and other meetings, we are getting the straight goods on what is on everyone’s mind. We are asking tough questions: Are the priorities still pertinent? How do we make change if they aren’t?

The final output will be the production of many minds, covering the entire community of UW including our alumni.

The business of a university…

This is absolutely necessary. I cannot come up with a plan without every one being a part of it. If you want to implement a plan, you need co-owners.

I think it is fair to say our fundamental role has never changed and will not change, but we are adapting to changes to society. We are changing what we ask ourselves.

We question ourselves and each other – can students study here without knowing anything about economic crisis or environmental challenges or other current issues? Can they study here without having aspirations beyond this campus? The answer to both is obvious.

Making promises and keeping them…

When I first came to campus, I made a promise I would meet each and every member of the campus community. My work over the last year has put me in front of hundreds, if not thousands, from campus and beyond. One of the things I hear over and over in these meetings is how connected everyone is regardless of what job they do on campus. They all care about the impact this university is making.

We understand the dynamic nature of the needs and challenges of society. We look at how best we can meet these by how we educate our students and how we approach the betterment of society.

Students must be well equipped when they are here, but at the same time, we need to relate what they study, research and learn to what is happening out in the world.

Our contribution to this society is through educating talent and generating new knowledge. This is our evolution.

Serious challenges…

It goes without saying that while a lot of things are changing rapidly, other things remain static, such as our current economic reality. Many did not anticipate the recent economic downturn. Many thought it was over. But we now realize, it may remain for a while.

Why is this important to this campus? Because economics have a direct impact on our funding which in turn impacts our position in delivering the level of education we not only promise to our students, but to our society. To achieve that, our staff needs an environment where they can flourish and think and teach. That is what we do.

That is how we make innovation. That must not be compromised.

Looking for answers…

I don’t think we need to look elsewhere. The answers are here.

Campuses like ours are where the solutions are waiting to be unearthed. We work very hard to find solutions with the minds we have here and those we collaborate with across the globe. It takes many minds to build change and advance society.

change. answers. promises.

When a job is something more than a job…

There are no fixed hours. This is not a routine job.

I cannot even for one day take it as such. I like to keep in mind some good advice I was told by my predecessor. He told me this job is not a race, it is a marathon, and you have to pace yourself. At the same time, I have to be ready and excited every day.

I was at a keynote not too long ago. There were 500 – 600 in an audience comprised of ministers, business leaders and C-suite individuals. Before I spoke, I took a moment to reflect as to why I was not nervous or intimidated by such a large, high level crowd. Instead, I was filled with that excitement you feel when you are on your game – that “I’m ready” feeling.

I realized in that moment, that is the thing, that is the feeling that encourages, inspires and motivates me to evolve with this job every day.

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