David Johnston Research + Technology Park

In this week’s R+T Park Life newsletter!

✔️ The Accelerator Center's Pride Scoop Social is Coming Up!

On June 4th, the Accelerator Centre is partnering with Spectrum Community Space to put together an afternoon of community connections, good vibes and sweet treats. Founders, allies, innovators, and members of the larger tech community can come together to celebrate pride, and the diversity in our community.

Reserve your spot: https://buff.ly/livTBzW

✔️ Save the Date: Item Swap and Wellness Cafe at evolv1!

The Cora Group is hosting a free item swap at evolv1 from June 3rd to June 10th. You can bring items such as books, board games, and DVDs to exchange during building hours starting at 12:30 on June 3rd. From 1-2pm on June 3rd, SWR will host a Climate Wellness Cafe where you can explore, express and understand your thoughts and feelings related to the climate emergency.

Read More: https://buff.ly/AN4ZNg9

✔️ Why Top-Tier Aerospace Companies are Choosing Waterloo

The Accelerator Center’s Aerospace Innovation Showcase on May 13th highlighted the work of the most recent cohort of graduates from the Accelerator Center’s Aerospace Accelerator program. The showcase brought together founders, industry leaders, partners, and researchers, and highlighted Waterloo’s potential as a hub for Aerospace innovation.

Read more: https://buff.ly/fQqsl9n

Save the date! We’re excited to announce that our first Beer Garden of the season is coming up next week. Come join us to enjoy an afternoon of summer sun, great beer, and good friends.

📅May 28th

🕑2-5:30pm

📍375 Hagey Blvd.

Los Rolling Tacos is returning with fantastic food to compliment the delicious beer provided by Block 3 Brewing. Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy yard games and music as you connect with your community over a refreshing drink!

Read more: https://buff.ly/aoW9NuU

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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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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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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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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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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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

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