Attending Collision? Four reasons you should visit Waterloo, too

With more than 25,000 attendees representing business decision-makers from global tech behemoths and emerging tech companies alike, it is North America’s fastest-growing tech conference.

Collision is also taking place right next to one of North America’s hottest tech hubs: Waterloo.

Here are four reasons you should consider visiting Waterloo while attending Collision:

1. One of North America’s fastest-growing tech business communities

From international tech giants like Google, Shopify, and Square to exciting scale-ups like North and Vidyard, Waterloo is home to an exciting tech business community.

We can also claim the highest density of tech startups outside of Silicon Valley – more than 1,700 – and fast-growing artificial intelligence, security and autotech clusters.

We’re a key part of the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor, which is North America’s second largest technology cluster, and CBRE recent called our unique combination of tech talent quality and cost “exceptional.”

2. Home to one of Silicon Valley’s top recruitment universities

The University of Waterloo is internationally renowned for producing some of the world’s top computer science graduates. It’s home to Canada’s #1 Computer Science program, #2 Engineering program and the world’s largest co-operative education program.

Together with Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College, Waterloo has all of the elements needed to build a robust tech talent pipeline.

These three institutes house 150+ research centres focused on things like cybersecurity, quantum technology, automotive technology, technology management, manufacturing automation and more.

3. Learn about a world-renowned tech business support network

One of the reasons Waterloo has emerged as a haven for companies looking to scale, expand in the North American market, and pursue corporate innovation is our deep and growing community of industry support organizations.

From renowned tech hubs and incubators like Communitech, Velocity and the Accelerator Centre to the world’s largest Internet-of-Things manufacturing space – Catalyst137 – we have a community geared toward helping businesses grow.

4. Feel the energy of a mid-sized city that is seizing its moment

Waterloo is in the midst of a multi-billion-dollar development boom, with about $1 billion in new development planned – thousands of condos and apartments – in our largest urban core. We need the space, since we’re one of Canada’s fastest-growing communities.

A compact city with a new light rail system, beautiful parks and bustling festivals and events – including the world’s second-largest Oktoberfest – we’re just 105km/65mi from Toronto’s world-class food, entertainment and sports, and a short drive from beautiful ski hills, hiking trails and the world’s largest freshwater beach.

Oh, and we’re also home to a pretty cool tech conference of our own – True North.