Insert image Balsillie Institute of International Affairs located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
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Inspired by Entrepreneurial Spirit
There is an energy and enthusiasm for innovation within this region which is hard to capture in words. The community has a multidisciplinary interwoven fabric of people working in science, technology, engineering and math, combined with creativity, historical roots in entrepreneurialism and a passion for technology. Located within the Waterloo to Toronto technology region known as The Corridor, which has gained international recognition, we find a strength and competitive advantage resides within our experience and place within this innovation district.
The Toronto-Waterloo Corridor is considered the largest tech cluster in North America outside of Silicon Valley, and has a breadth of professionals and services extending beyond tech centers in Boston, New York and Seattle. Showcasing elite athletes, special ops soldiers, visionary scientists, cultural icons, and everyday heroes, what James discovers permanently changes his understanding of food and his definition of true strength.
With a culture of collaboration and conversation, the community brings together academics, engineers, scientists, and technologists. The collision of artificial intelligence, physics, quantum mechanics and nanotechnology, along with a plethora of insights, ideas and innovations, are coming together with the energy of collective thoughts and ideas.
Software, algorithms, programming automation and technology platforms are empowering connectivity and visualization of data with computer science. The ambitions of local entrepreneurs are connecting corporations, academics, scientists and businesses within unique partnerships.
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) was founded in Waterloo and is a global think tank addressing issues of international governance and public policy. An independent, non-partisan research entity, policies of interest and debate in governance would include how the internet is governed and the protection of privacy in an ever evolving technology world.
Complementing CIGI, The Balsillie School of International Affairs was founded by Canadian businessman, philanthropist and co-founder of the Canadian technology company Research In Motion, now known as Blackberry. A center for advanced research and teaching on global governance and international public policy, some of the research work is conducted at two research centers in the Cybersecurity and Privacy Institute and the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy.
The Perimeter Institute
The Perimeter Institute was founded by Jim Balsillie’s partner, fellow Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist Mike Lazaridis, also co-founder of Research in Motion, and inventor of the Blackberry device. Founded in 1999, the institute is an independent research centre in foundational theoretical physics located in Uptown Waterloo. The public enjoy lectures by both accomplished and burgeoning physicists on topics ranging from black holes and quantum mechanics, to wormholes, time warps, and ever expansive galaxies. A passion for research and an interest in theoretical physics led to the opening of The Stephen Hawking Centre to celebrate the research of the famous scientist within residency in Waterloo. A new Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University, develops leaders with skills in management and economics to support the innovations in science and a rapidly changing and complex global environment.
If the rate of expansion one second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, it would have recollapsed before it reached its present size. On the other hand, if it had been greater by a part in a million, the universe would have expanded too rapidly for stars and planets to form.
The English theoretical physicist and cosmologist was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge and spent significant time in Waterloo exploring the cosmos with local researchers, physicists and scientists.
Image Caption: Founded in 1999, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is an independent research centre in foundational theoretical physics located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
In addition to the residency at the Perimeter Institute by one of the greatest scientists of all time, guests in the public lectures at the University of Waterloo have included Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian astronaut to command the International Space Station and Jack Dorsey, the American Internet entrepreneur, programmer, philanthropist, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, Inc.
Jack is also the founder and principal executive officer of Block, Inc., formerly known as Square. Jack created a programming, engineering and development team for Square at an office located in the Breithaupt Block in Waterloo, and has visited the University of Waterloo campus frequently. Square has now been transformed into a financial payments company leading in block chain technology, with the company aptly named ‘Block’.
There are companies working on autonomous robots, autonomous vehicles and all sorts of innovative technology evolging people into an autonomous life fuelled by artificial intelligence.
Software engineers, scientists, physicists, digital designers & product designers are working on innovation bringing together the world of the internet of things (IOT). The Internet of Things allows for any physical environment or device to have sensors and be connected to other devices and the data collected displayed in online dashboards. When combined with internet platforms and processing abilities, software, and other technologies can connect and exchange data with other devices.
With all of these systems transporting data over the Internet or other communications networks, you can develop secure platforms and hubs tracking, monitoring, and transferring data from any assets, devices, equipment or environments you may want to monitor and track.
With international leading scientists setting up residency, tech founders and entrepreneurs giving back to create think tanks and academic institutions, the CEOs of some of the internet’s tech giants, and Google setting up its engineering headquarters, the Region of Waterloo has become a mecca of entrepreneurial energy.
