A summer of technology

According to my calendar, summer’s officially over today. As I look back wistfully on the season that was, my thoughts turn to technology. For the past few years, I’ve been a regular contributor to Tech Spotlight, an annual magazine that chronicles the incredible dynamism of what many would call Canada’s technology capital — Waterloo Region and Guelph. When you say Waterloo, most folks immediately think of Research in Motion, the country’s undisputed technology titan and the maker of the ubiquitous Blackberry. But there’s so much more than RIM. Communitech, the area’s leading technology industry association, estimates there are more than 700 tech firms based in Waterloo Region and Guelph. Many of them trace their roots to those hotbeds of innovation, the University of Waterloo and the University of Guelph. Each firm has a fascinating story, and you’ll find many of them in Tech Spotlight, published by the Waterloo Region Record. This year, my stories included a profile of Desire2Learn, one of the world’s leading education software companies. Founder John Baker was inducted last year into the Waterloo Region Entrepreneur’s Hall of Fame at the tender age of 32. I also did a piece on P&P Optica, a small Kitchener company that could see exceptional growth thanks to a sophisticated spectrometer it’s developed that can perform 14 tests on one blood sample. My five articles also included a story on Kevin Hall, the VP of Research at the University of Guelph. In the coming weeks, Hall will unveil a new research strategy for the university that will put more emphasis on research that has commercial appeal and could help drive economic growth. Canadian innovation is very much alive and well in Waterloo Region and Guelph. It’s exciting stuff. To read all about it, watch for Tech Spotlight on newsstands and online later next month.