David Johnston Research + Technology Park

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David Johnston Research + Technology Park

R+T Park is one of Canada’s largest, most successful innovation districts.

R+T Park is committed to fostering the creation of cutting-edge technology by helping companies innovate, access talent, and tap into a world-class ecosystem of startups. At 120-arces, the University of Waterloo Research and Technology Park is one of the largest research parks in Canada and one ideally located on the campus of Canada's most innovative university. Reflecting the enterprising spirit

of Waterloo Region, it ensures continued support for pure and applied research and innovation throughout Canada. Tenants of the Research Park have unprecedented access to Waterloo’s talented co-op students, alumni, and professors. Their goal is to create breakthrough research discoveries that lead to social and commercial advantage. The University of Waterloo Research and Technology Park is growing and nurturing new technology, generating thousands of high-quality jobs, contributing to environmental excellence and the well-being of the community.

01/26/2026

In today's R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ Waterloo Region’s Moonshot: Where Founders & Physicians Redefine Medicine
Leaders in Waterloo Region are facing an opportunity similar to MIT’s bold move decades ago to invest in molecular biology, which helped establish it as a global biotech leader. With strengths in quantum, nanotechnology, AI and health care, the region could become a world hub for the next wave of medical innovation. This message was highlighted at the Founders & Physicians event hosted by Communitech, where over 200 leaders from tech, medicine, academia and policy came together. Read More: https://buff.ly/pOUpUsg

✔️ Tech startups preparing for massive increase in defence spending
Waterloo startups are teaming up to develop Arctic defence technology after increased federal defence spending. Based at the Accelerator Centre, Waterloo Dual-Use Technology brings defence-focused firms together to boost collaboration and innovation. Read More: https://buff.ly/Rnvs6Lr

✔️Can a Camera Inside Your Arteries Change Stroke Care?
Vena Medical, a health-tech company founded by University of Waterloo, Velocity alumni Michael Phillips (BASc ’18) and Phillip Cooper (BASc ’18) is changing things. Their latest milestone: full Health Canada licensing for their Microangioscope, the first device in the world to provide full-colour, real-time imaging inside neurovascular, coronary and peripheral vessels. Read More: https://buff.ly/B63vrpl

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01/12/2026

In today's R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ Turn Blue Monday into the Best Monday Ever with Battle of the Bands -Tech Edition!
Join the Accelerator Centre on January 19 at Maxwell’s for the 2nd Annual Battle of the Bands: Tech Edition - an evening that brings the tech community together through music, connection and purpose. Grab your tickets today: https://buff.ly/LB3V2Hh

✔️ Seven tech firms joined Canada's $100-million club in 2025 - and 2026 could bring even more
TextNow, led by CEO Derek Ting, which provides free talk-and-text mobility plans to more than eight million monthly users. The Waterloo company, founded in 2009, hit the US$100-million mark in 2021 and did about US$160-million in 2025. Read More: https://buff.ly/wJ1rysX

✔️How OpenText went all-in on AI
OpenText EVP Shannon Bell explains how she rolled out AI systematically at one of Canada's largest tech companies. As OpenText embraces human and digital resource management, has it found a return on its investment? Recorded live on the BetaKit Keynote Stage at SAAS NORTH. Let's dig in: https://buff.ly/HFQhyaY

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12/01/2025

In today's R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ Avia NG Airport Consultants land at R+T Park
The Captain has turned off the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign, indicating it’s time to stand up and welcome Avia NG Airport Consultants as the newest tenants of the David Johnston Research + Technology Park. The Canadian-based consultancy recently moved its Kitchener-based office to the evolv1 building in R+T Park.
Read More: https://buff.ly/DMsaEBQ

✔️ 2nd Annual Battle of the Bands - Tech Edition!
The Accelerator Centre's 2nd Annual Battle of the Bands: Tech Edition is happening this January 19, 2026. Forget the winter blues and get ready to rock - happening live at Maxwell’s Concerts and Events! Get ready to rock out, raise awareness for mental health and support the CMHA Waterloo Wellington. Grab your tickets today: https://buff.ly/rkbQTnj

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11/18/2025

In today's R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ R+T Park fund awards $15.7K to local nonprofits
Supporting the community and the nonprofits doing great charitable work is critical to the David Johnston Research + Technology Park’s mission. This year, R+T Park is proud to continue that commitment by awarding $15,700 through the Community Impact Fund to four deserving charitable organizations. This annual grant supports local groups that make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and families. Recipients include The Quilt of Belonging, The rare Charitable Research Reserve, The Working Centre and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region. Read More: https://buff.ly/W9RMEIY

✔️ From the clinic to the living room
What if your gym routine consisted of gliding across a forest, skewing fruits like a ninja, or racing on a Formula 1 track? That's the vision behind Hiro, a Waterloo-based startup that is gamifying physiotherapy exercises for children with disabilities - by including people with disabilities at the research's core. Read More: https://buff.ly/lyPX2eO

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10/20/2025

In today's R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ The heart of innovation: A team's journey to smarter, safer, faster care
The next CareNext Collective virtual event features the Electrophysiology (EP) Program at Waterloo Regional Health Network - WRHN. Discover how the EP team transformed cardiac ablation—streamlining workflows, strengthening partnerships, and scaling from a few procedures a day to seven—while maintaining safety, quality, and patient-centered care. Event Details: https://buff.ly/U5YImBT

✔️ Waterloo councillors invest in med-tech sector
City councillors in the City of Waterloo recently approved $540,000 in funds for a three-year program run by the Accelerator Centre — one of the top startup accelerators in the world — to help develop up to 45 new med-tech startups during the next three years. Read More: https://buff.ly/mn6jzsp

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10/06/2025

In today's R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ Before You Adopt GenAI
Canadians are being asked to adopt Generative AI as part of an economic strategy promoted by our federal government in partnership with the tech community. While economic growth is the focus of this strategy, the social, individual, and environmental risks of adoption are not widely discussed. Read More: https://buff.ly/j1OUZpj

✔️ Last day to register for Techtoberfest
Join Communitech for one of the year’s most anticipated events—where steins meet startups and capital takes center stage. Expect great beer, bold ideas, and high-energy networking with founders, investors, and ecosystem builders. Event details: https://buff.ly/lyPX2eO

✔️ RoboHub partners with CENGN, Rogers Communications
The partnership between CENGN, University of Waterloo and Rogers will provide a home for Canadian startups and scaleups to test and validate their cutting-edge products and services in critical sectors like defence, robotics and applied artificial intelligence, accelerating their path to market readiness. Read More: https://buff.ly/MpXYqDH

Find it and subscribe here: https://buff.ly/tNaPEuR

09/22/2025

In today's R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ R+T Parktoberfest is almost here—save the date!
Dust off your lederhosen and mark your calendars for October 2, from 2:00 to 5:30 PM, as we bring a taste of Bavaria right to the neighbourhood! Join us for an afternoon of festive fun, great food (special pretzel by Fo' Cheezy Food Truck), and, of course, delicious beer (Block Three Brewing). Get ready to Prost! Read More: https://buff.ly/zYXnq1j

✔️ Gidinawendamin/Ska’nikú•lát 22nd Annual Pow Wow
Hosted by the UWaterloo Office of Indigenous Relations, this one-day non-competitive celebration of Indigenous heritage features vendors, dancers, and singers from the Waterloo region and beyond. Join us on September 27, as we celebrate Indigenous culture and tradition through song, dance, arts, and cuisine. Event details: https://buff.ly/tmex2WB

✔️ Waterloo rocketry team reaches new heights with Canada’s first ever liquid rockets
Down a dusty trail in Waterloo, inside a shipping container, lies one of Canada’s most advanced rockets, built not by SpaceX or Lockheed, but by students from the Waterloo Rocketry team. As the countdown hits zero, the country’s first liquid-engine rocket roars to life, lighting up the northern sky. Read More: https://buff.ly/qc5W9rJ

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09/10/2025

In today's R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ Get ready to mix and mingle at one of Waterloo Tech Week’s most anticipated gatherings!
Accelerator Centre is hosting the Tech Connect Mixer which brings together the region’s brightest founders, innovators, and tech leaders for an evening of relaxed networking and high-impact connection. Join the waitlist here: https://buff.ly/a5hsQdz

✔️ Save the Date! October 2 – R+T Parktoberfest!
Mark your calendars and get ready to raise a stein - Parktoberfest is just around the corner! We’re bringing the spirit of Bavaria to R+T Park on October 2nd, and you’re invited to join us for an afternoon of festive fun, great food, and, of course, delicious beer. Stay tuned for more details and get ready to Prost! Read More: https://buff.ly/zYXnq1j

✔️ That’s nuts! UW researchers use nut waste to generate electricity
Forget the potato and the light bulb experiment; researchers at the University of Waterloo have found a new way to generate green energy that’s absolutely nutty. A research team has developed an inexpensive device that generates enough electricity to power a calculator using only waste walnut shells and drops of water. Read More: https://buff.ly/sE2xVCP

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08/25/2025

In today's R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ Waterloo’s Plum earns top HR tech award
Plum.io has just earned one of the most prestigious accolades in HR technology… again. The Waterloo-based talent assessment company’s Plum Role Model™ has been named one of the 2025 Top HR Products of the Year by HR Executive and the HR Technology Conference, recognized for turning job descriptions into science-backed hiring blueprints in seconds. Read More: https://buff.ly/8CWpFja

✔️ Join WatSPEED for the Tech Horizons Executive Forum November 10th
This exclusive, one-day event hosted by WatSPEED at the University of Waterloo brings together senior leaders to explore how emerging technologies and bold innovation can drive growth in a disruptive era. Read More: https://buff.ly/JskkrS5

✔️ R+T Park tenants ranked Top 10 Canada’s Best Companies
The David Johnston Research + Technology Park is thrilled to share that two of our anchor tenants, Stantec and OpenText, have been named amongst the Top 10 companies on TIME and Statista’s list of Canada’s Best Companies in 2025. Read More: https://buff.ly/J2zXcWv

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200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, ON
N2L3G1

Website

http://rtpark.uwaterloo.ca/

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