Hi all,

CUTC is the Canadian Undergraduate Technology Conference. It was started by some students at Waterloo. There have been three CUTC conferences prior to CUTC 2003. The conference is gaining more popularity every year among students and the Industry.

CUTC 2003 brought together hundreds of students from universities all across Canada with nearly 70 speakers from both industry and academia. The three-day conference featured keynotes, speaker seminars, hands-on workshops and events.

The keynote speeches were given by Helen Armitage (VP of Technology at IBM), Don Tapscott (President - New Paradigm Learning Corporation, Chairman – Maptuit, Co-founder - Digital 4Sight), Hubert Saint-Onge (CEO - <konvergeandknow>) and Michael Neuman (President - Bell Mobility).

Helen Armitage spoke of the interesting research work going on at IBM. She outlined how the convergence of information technology and biology is helping the IT industry learn how and why living systems naturally organize themselves, and then apply that learning to the world of computing systems. She also focused on bringing the minorities and women to the field of engineering and science.

Don Tapscott was an amazing speaker. Mr. Tapscott holds a B.Sc. in Psychology and Statistics and a M.Ed. specializing in Research Methodology and a Doctor of Laws (Hon) from the University of Alberta. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Management at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He spoke on the impact of impact of the hypernet on Business and Society. Billions of computers embedded in every significant object from diaries and cell phones to toys, aircraft paint, inhalers, soap boxes and automobiles are beginning to create the Hypernet. This in turn, is beginning to profoundly change business models, strategy and society. Alongside the rise of the Hypernet is the rise of a new generation of young people aged 3 - 23 - the Net Generation. This new youth culture, raised on the new digital media, in profound and fundamental ways learn, work, play, communicate, shop and create communities very differently than their parents. They are the mobile, interactive generation, poised to exploit the Hypernet and bring business and society into the new century. There is no issue more important to strategists, marketers, business leaders, educators, lawmakers and parents then understanding this new generation. They are the tsunami on the horizon. I must say this was the speech at CUTC 2003. It was liked by everyone.

The third keynote speaker was Hubert Saint-Onge. Again a great speaker; he focused on the following in his speech:

• What are the characteristics of the new business environment?

• What are the requirements for success in this environment?

• What new leadership model will best guide both organizations and individuals in dealing with this change?

• What will organizations be looking for in fulfilling their resourcing needs?
• How can individuals recognize the organizations most conducive to optimize their potential?

The last keynote speaker was our own Michael Neuman from Bell Mobility. He focused on the need for innovation and pointed out wireless revolution as the need of the future. Somewhere during his speech, the focus of his speech shifted and became an advertisement for the technologies that Bell Mobility is pushing forward, rather than telling people more about the technology itself and explain why? But then again this was my impression.

Following were the available seminars under four categories:

These seminars were amazing. For example, the seminar on Biometrics gave me the information on how we can use biometrics for security needs at this time without resorting to controversial methods such as racial profiling which provides security for some at the expense of freedom of the others. Specifics of the technology using retina scan and encryption of this information was outlined with emphasis on a sequence of steps to ensure privacy and security of this information.

There were students from life sciences and they enjoyed seminars equally. I also went to Biotech seminar (Health Research and Innovation in Canada). This also outlined the growing industry and need of computing people in the field.

• ThinkTank - allowed all delegates to work in intimate groups mentored by a leader from industry, to come up with opinions, ideas, proposals, comments, and criticisms about current issues pertaining to technology.

• TechPanel – was a discussion panel, brought together some of the finest experts from industry, academia, and government to present their beliefs regarding a chosen topic.

• TechExpo - TechExpo is a yearly technology exposition showcasing the developments of leading firms and academia. It is something similar to an auto show. For several hours, you get to play with gadgets, see demonstrations, and network with leading organizations.
  
  The following companies participated in this year's TechExpo:

• TechShop – was an event where different workshops on various skills were given. I went to the workshop by Microsoft, with a brief workshop on how to create a simple XML project and publish it on the web.

• TechTours – kicked it up a notch by bringing delegates to the center of the action. When CUTC couldn’t feasibly bring the technologies to the conference at the TechExpo, they brought the delegates to the technology. So these were tours arranged by CUTC and were basically field trips. I went to the Exceler@tor which is information technology and telecommunications (ITC) focused incubator. (Note: This is run by our own UofT – I didn’t know this before).

CUTC was started by a student at the University of Waterloo but it has grown rapidly. The growth of the conference has allowed it to expand far beyond being a University of Waterloo affair. Last year's conference saw the participation of over 20 Canadian universities, and the 2003 conference was much bigger and drew students from Nova Scotia and as far away as British Columbia. CUTC 2003 was an a very good conference. I will definitely go next year.