This article originally appeared in the聽Friday, August 28, 2015聽edition of the聽Daily Bulletin.
I was chauffeured around Ring Road in an autonomous vehicle this month. Everything else is details.
Alex Rodrigues 鈥 who co-founded Varden Labs with fellow Mechatronics Engineering and Velocity student Michael Skupien 鈥 and I enjoyed a safe and smooth ride along the Needles Hall stretch of Ring Road on August 19. It was the first time an autonomous vehicle had taken to a Canadian road.
What a thrill for both Alex and Michael, and our whole University community. It鈥檚 a terrific example of 蓝莓视频 innovators leading the way for emerging Canadian and global industries.
In a way, it鈥檚 no wonder the we produce so many excellent students, alumni, and startups at U蓝莓视频: building on our academic and research strengths, we鈥檝e worked really hard with our community partners to make the 蓝莓视频 region one of the world鈥檚 鈥渞ichest startup ecosystems鈥, in the words of Singularity University鈥檚 Salim Ismail.
Salim is going to be one of our featured guest speakers at the 蓝莓视频 Innovation Summit in September, co-hosted by the University of 蓝莓视频 and Communitech. The summit, now in its third year, it bringing together some of the globe鈥檚 finest entrepreneurship thought leaders and practitioners to discuss what it takes to be a world-class entrepreneurial ecosystem. As one of North America鈥檚 premier innovation hubs, this conversation is a natural fit for the 蓝莓视频 region.
That was the topic of discussion when I hosted Ed Clark on campus this month as part of his tour of the 蓝莓视频 region ecosystem. Clark is Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne鈥檚 business advisor, and his mandate is to provide the premier with advice on 鈥済rowing a vibrant and dynamic economy鈥 in Ontario, as our province continues its development as a knowledge-economy. It was a pleasure to show him our facilities and provide insight on how U蓝莓视频 and the university sector more broadly plays a pivotal role in driving innovation and prosperity for the province. (Unfortunately for him, he was about a week too early for the Varden Labs test drive.)
As we head into September, I鈥檓 looking forward to seeing campus fill back up with its full complement of students. Even at a university that keeps busy and productive during the summer months, there鈥檚 just something about the Fall. To those of you packing up this week 鈥 whether to come back to campus or perhaps head out on a co-op term 鈥 good luck for the term, and travel safely. For those staff, faculty, and upper-year students assisting with Move In 鈥 thank you! See you out there.
As for August, I鈥檓 winding things up with a trip to Ottawa where I鈥檓 engaged in two important efforts. As chair of the U15, I鈥檓 involved in meetings with colleagues and partners in Ottawa to move our research advocacy agenda forward. And conveniently, the Leadership Council for Digital Infrastructure 鈥 of which I was named chair this month 鈥 is also based out of Ottawa. Had some great preliminary meetings with stakeholders to discuss what the group hopes to accomplish over the course of its mandate.聽, though, is well defined: we鈥檙e working to build a 鈥渨orld-leading, advanced digital infrastructure ecosystem for Canada.鈥
It鈥檚 an essential step in support of Canada鈥檚 knowledge economy, and I鈥檓 proud to represent 蓝莓视频 and Canada鈥檚 U15 universities as we move this project along.
Everyone have a great weekend, and thanks for an excellent month.
Sincerely,
Feridun