Story by Laura Rosen-Cohen
Photography by Nicole Njagi
Toronto Tech Week, which ran from June 23-27, was a weeklong, citywide collection of events that connected and celebrated the tech community. It was a platform for anyone in Toronto to host events and to showcase Toronto globally as a city where anything is possible.
This year, the University of Toronto played a starring role in the programming, featuring Geoffrey Hinton – a U of T University Professor Emeritus of computer science, the “godfather of AI” and recipient of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics – at a fireside chat held at U of T’s Convocation Hall on June 25.
Titled “Frontiers of AI,” the conversation featured Hinton in dialogue with alumnus Nick Frosst – co-founder of AI language processing startup Cohere, who was Hinton’s first hire at Google Brain. Hinton’s fireside chat was one of the most highly anticipated events of the week.
The discussion was followed by the Toronto Tech Week Lawn Party, an outdoor startup showcase and networking event held at the Knox College Quad and hosted by U of T in partnership with Desjardins and Dell Technologies. The gathering showcased the myriad ways U of T is integrated with – and drives – Toronto’s innovation ecosystem.
The lawn party was attended by tech founders, corporate leaders, investors, researchers and industry partners looking to engage with the U of T Entrepreneurship community.
Jeffrey Bruyea, Director of Retail and Residential Dining, says that enhancing collaboration both internally and across campus is a core operating principle for Food, Beverage and Campus Events (FBCE).
“In this instance, we were specifically asked by University of Toronto Entrepreneurship (UTE) to recommend vendors for the lawn party that had a U of T connection. Both UTE and FBCE saw this as a great opportunity to support the Toronto Tech Week Lawn Party, introduce and showcase two of our vendor partnerships,” he adds.
Come Back Snacks provided chocolate and caramel popcorn at the event. Naturally-flavoured sparkling water, sweetened with organic maple sap, was provided by Sapsucker. Both companies were founded by U of T alumni and both products are sold at various Food Services outlets on campus.
“We also introduced UTE to Kibo Café. Kibo Café is a valued partner at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, and a future partner at the Gerstein Library, and they provided onigiri at the party,” he adds.
Bruyea says that this collaboration was an excellent way to showcase campus event spaces and also to promote U of T-linked vendor partnerships.
“Campus Events is thrilled that we were able to broaden the integrated use of spaces and services across the St. Geroge Campus by hosting several Toronto Tech Week events. BetaKit’s Most Ambitious launched at Convocation Hall to kick off Tech Week on Monday June 23rd and was followed by a full day of events hosted by University of Toronto Entrepreneurship. On June 25th, our featured venues included the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, Convocation Hall, Knox College and the Myhal Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” says Sarah Reid, Director, Campus Events.
UTE, she says, was an amazing planning partner to work with in exploring to expand FBCE services to leverage spaces in new and creative ways, to facilitate unique high-profile events, utilize existing partnerships and showcase our expertise in providing a comprehensive suite of venues and planning services.
“The Lawn Party was particularly exciting to plan as we are always exploring how we can provide space that compliments large groups hosting events in Convocation Hall. Lawn Party guests had the unique opportunity of networking while engaging with startups as they flowed from Con Hall to Knox College during a celebration of Toronto’s innovation ecosystem,” she adds.
Given the competitive demand for space on the St. George Campus, this inaugural use of comprehensive venues by Campus Events trailblazed FBCE’s capacity to accommodate internal and external University events and expand services.
The Lawn Party was also a chance to showcase commercial leasing space that is currently available at the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus
“The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus at the University of Toronto is proud to be a central hub for AI and discovery in Toronto’s thriving innovation landscape. Tech Week was also an opportunity to partner with UTE as a critical part of the SRIC AI Innovation Ecosystem” says Michael Wald, Director of Commercial Partnerships.
“We were thrilled to be participating in this year’s Tech Week in a meaningful way—connecting with major players, fostering collaboration, and welcoming Canada’s innovation community to SRIC as we help shape the future of innovation together,” he adds.
