As spring keeps rolling along in Waterloo, our post-secondary institutions are getting global attention for their incredible programming and ability to produce work-ready talent.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg in April, though, which includes news about Canada’s impressive tech workforce growth and an exciting new 5G autotech challenge.
Here are the top stories from April 2022:
UWaterloo in global top-25 for computer science
The latest edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) global university rankings has recognized the University of Waterloo – once again – as one of the world’s top tech universities. The university was ranked 25th in the world for computer science, putting it ahead of well-known American technology schools like the University of Texas at Austin (#28), California Institute of Technology (#39) and Yale University (#35).
Conestoga College trade school ranked top-3 in Canada
Conestoga College is home to the 3rd best trade school in Canada – top-ranked in Ontario – according to CourseCompare. The ranking cited Conestoga’s technology-enhanced learning, large electrical training facility and wide range of experiential learning opportunities that help students integrate seamlessly and effectively into the workforce after graduation.
Waterloo experiences strong venture investment in Q1
A new report from briefed.in indicates that venture investment in the Waterloo tech community had a healthy first quarter in 2022. In total, local companies closed 11 investments totalling $157.2 million. This aligns with a new article from the Waterloo Region Record that highlights the many reasons why new investment into Waterloo companies has increased in recent years.
Canada outpacing the US in tech workforce growth
A new LinkedIn Workforce Report for Canada has revealed that Canada is beating the United States at tech workforce growth. LinkedIn attributes this growth to a number of fast-growing tech businesses – like Waterloo’s Faire and ApplyBoard – attracting talent and an aggressive pivot to technology among other industries – like banking and manufacturing – seeking to expand their tech capabilities. This new finding aligns with CBRE’s annual Scoring Tech Talent report, which had Canadian cities as three of the five fastest-growing tech talent markets in North America.
Universities are big drivers of international investment
A new article from fDi Magazine highlights the many ways research and industry connections are helping to foster innovation and investment, including companies being spun out of cutting-edge research and businesses pursuing stronger ties to leading research institutions in order to develop new products.
The article features the story of how ESCRYPT – a subsidiary of Bosch – came to Waterloo to solve a particularly challenging research problem and stayed here to develop a new product based on new research findings.
Rogers and OVIN team up for 5G autotech challenge
Rogers and the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) have launched a challenge to expedite automotive innovations using 5G technology. Applications developed through the competition will be displayed at the University of Waterloo, which has a multi-year 5G partnership with Rogers in place.
“This 5G Transportation Challenge will bring to life innovative new transportation solutions driven by our world-class 5G network,” Jorge Fernandes, Chief Technology Information Officer at Rogers, said in an article from MobileSyrup.
Toronto-Waterloo Corridor achieves global ranking in agtech
A new report from Startup Genome has ranked the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor’s agtech ecosystem as the second-best in Canada and 11th globally. This comes on the heels of earlier Startup Genome reports that saw Toronto-Waterloo ranked 12th globally for cleantech and 14th overall.
Trade agreements made simple
Trade agreements provide a significant advantage to businesses looking to expand their reach and profits and Canada is #1 in trade connections to G7 countries. What does that mean for your business? Our new explainer provides an overview of the benefits that come along with our largest trade deals.