Yesterday, Thomson Reuters launched an exciting innovation project in Ontario’s tech centre in the Waterloo Region.
Thomson Reuters Lab will live at the Communitech centre, which houses nearly 1,000 technology and innovation companies in the region. The lab means Thomson Reuters can engage with the exciting and expanding innovation network and its dynamic startup company community, the University of Waterloo, and a culture of collaboration within the technology and innovation industries.
The event was well-attended, including a number of Thomson Reuters dignitaries, including chairman David Thomson, president and CEO Jim Smith, and Neil Sternthal, the new managing director for Canada/Australia/New Zealand. Thomson Reuters customers and academic attendees included members of Deloitte, Gowlings, professors from the University of Toronto and University of Waterloo, members of the government, and members of the Communitech community.
Lab data scientists, from including some from Boston and Toronto, put on five demonstrations in the areas of: data science prototypes, Eikon and Westlaw Next, startups (Silque, Beagle, Think Data Works, and Nest Wealth), Reuters TV, and LRT and High Speed Rail (Ion and GO).
The launch kicked off Techtoberfest, which takes place Oct. 13-14, 2015. It allows investors and startup companies to connect, as well as talks from speakers including Gary Vaynerchuk, prolific angel investor and venture capitalist; Allen Lau, CEO and co-founder, Wattpad; and Angela Tran Kingyens, associate, Version One Ventures.
Attendees were also treated to a tour of the Perimeter Institute, a leading centre for scientific research, training and educational outreach in foundational theoretical physics, in which the attendees gathered a sense of how theoretical physics enhances technological innovation. Attendees also toured the University of Waterloo to hear about the applied sciences, technology, and engineering achievements the region and university have garnered.
