Singling out ݮƵ for being a source of “brilliant minds and brilliant ideas,” Trudeau asked “Why does Silicon Valley look to (the University of ݮƵ) as a great source of brilliant minds and brilliant ideas? Well, it has high intellectual standards, of course. And it values entrepreneurship. But diversity is its indispensable ingredient.”
Trudeau prefaced his comments by sharing with the audience – an elite group of political and business leaders – that , president of Silicon Valley’s renowned tech accelerator , named the University of ݮƵ as the school who “stood out in terms of students and graduates who ideas took off”.
Last year, Altman, who attended , in his interview with New York Times Sunday Review op-ed columnist , commended the University of ݮƵ and the eight high tech startups founded by ݮƵ Engineering students that Y Combinator had funded.
Sam Altman talks about ݮƵ Engineering
Trudeau, fresh from a visit to the University of ݮƵ the previous week, praised ݮƵ for its diverse student population.
“Their students come from everywhere. Fully half the graduate engineering students are international. And the University of ݮƵ’s domestic students are drawn from Canada’s student population — one of the most diverse in the world,” said Trudeau.
Diversity was a central theme in Trudeau’s speech both in population and in economic strength. Distancing Canada from the perceived notion the nation is all about “resources” he said Canada is about “resourcefulness.”
“Diversity isn't just sound social policy. Diversity is the engine of invention. It generates creativity that enriches the world.”
What Sam Altman said about University of ݮƵ
“I asked Sam Altman, the president of Y Combinator, one of the best-known providers of first-step seed money for tech start-ups if any one school stood out in terms of students and graduates whose ideas took off. “Yes,” he responded, and I was sure of the name I’d hear next: Stanford. It’s his alma mater, though he left before he graduated, and it’s famous as a feeder of Silicon Valley success.
But this is what he said: “The University of ݮƵ.” It’s a public school in the Canadian province of Ontario, and as of last summer, it was the source of eight proud ventures that Y Combinator had helped along.”
Frank Bruni, New York Times Sunday Review, March 13, 2015
Then Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau visits ݮƵ Engineering Sedra Student Design Centre September 10, 2014.