The Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference (CUTC) is the largest student-run technology conference in Canada; bringing together 600 undergraduate students from universities coast-to-coast together with academia and industry professionals from around the world. CUTC gives students the opportunity to learn from experienced industry and academia leaders, who showcase their latest technological advancements and discuss future prospects through technology.

CUTC Events

Each CUTC conference hosts several main events which are carried out throughout the conference. These include:

Keynotes

Keynote events are aimed at introducing delegates to the most current technology and events in the market as well as new research areas.

Previous Keynotes:

Bradley Horowitz Director of Technology Development, Search and Marketplace, Yahoo!<br>
Mike Lazaridis Founder, President and co-CEO, Research In Motion<br>
Craig Young Global Research Centre Program Manager (AE), General Electric<br>
Mel Thompson VP, Xerox Global Services, Xerox Canada<br>
Adrian Hartog CTO, ATI Technologies Inc.<br>
Brian Arbogast Corporate Vice President, MSN Communications Platform and Personal Services Division, Microsoft Corp.

Seminars

Each conference contains a number of break-out sessions of approximately 100 delegates with speakers from varying technology disciplines. The CUTC team strives to provide as many opportunities as possible for delegates in which to interact with industry leaders. In the past, there have been exciting topics presented by various speakers, including Uri Sagman-Canadian of the NanoBusiness Alliance, Christian Burks of the Ontario Genomics Institute and Dr Jo Ebergen of Sun Microsystems.

TechTeam

CUTC 2007 will see the inauguration of the TechTeam event, where participants will tackle one of
five case-study style problems proposed by our sponsors. Delegates will work in groups of 10 on the
presented case studies in order to come up with a feasible solution. Participating companies will be
responsible for preparing the case studies prior to the conference, relaying the instructions to the
delegates and awarding one team per case study with a Best Design award. The CUTC organizing
committee will work closely with those companies by providing logistical support and resources.

TechExpo

TechExpo is one of CUTC's favorite events for companies, research groups and students. Companies and research groups benefit because they will be able to showcase their technology and innovations to an enthusiastic audience and can as well find potential students for future emplyment opportunities. The students enjoy TechExpo because it enables them to observe current technological innovations while networking with various companies.

TechShops

TechShops are interactive workshops consisting of about one hundred students. During these workshops, students get to work with new technology presented and prepared in a small project environment. Rather than simply knowing it exists, the workshops allow students to work with the technology and use it to their benefit.

TechTour

Participants in TechTours are given the opportunity to visit and tour a facility of one of the sponsors of that particular year. This experience allows delegates to explore innovation first hand, and view the technology employed to transform ideas into reality. Advanced facilities featured in past years included Bell Sympatico’s Broadband Home, a tour of MD Robotics' laboratory (developer of the Canadarm) and Telus Mobility’s Technology Development Lab.

TechShow

TechShow showcases a unique perspective of technology in a rather comfortable and relaxed environment. The concept of TechShow is based on a late-night talk show also allowing interaction between guests, speakers and delegates, in order to share their experiences and thoughts on the technological world around us. The show will include interviews with industry leaders as well as some refreshing entertainment giving the high-tech world a comedic feel.

ThinkTank

ThinkTank creates a setting where round-table discussions take place between the leaders of today and tomorrow based on the technological, economical and socio-political issues which affect the world around us. This enables delegates to converse with the masterminds as well as make new connections. At the same time, leaders get a chance to hear the thoughts, opinions and criticism of young and innovative minds. This event not only allows delegates to express their ideas but also to think laterally about real world situations, which equips them with skills that will aid them in future endeavors.

Past Conferences

CUTC has been established and growing since 1999. The last three successful conferences organized by the committed CUTC team in the past are listed here.

CUTC 2006

Sponsored by companies such as Microsoft, ATI, Telus, and Google ¹, CUTC 2006 was conducted from January 11th, 2006 to January 14th, 2006, and was held at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North, in Markham, Ontario. The conference organized presentations by many keynote speakers, including Mike Lazaridis (co-CEO of Research in Motion), and Brian Arbogast (Corporate VP, MSN Communications Division, Microsoft).

As usual, CUTC events such as TechExpo and TechTour were conducted, and interspersed throughout the three day seminar.

References

Full list of CUTC 2006 Sponsors

External links

Official website for CUTC 2006