about us

Let's build the future together

Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab is a hub for children and youth to create and expand their ideas

10,000
engaged youth in Waterloo Region
50
Goal for youth led pilots yearly

Who we are

Learn more about how and why we work!

Our Vision

The Waterloo Region will be an oasis of wonder and possibility for children of all ages and abilities

Our Mission

We want to create the best community in Canada for Children and Youth

Our Model of Change

We actively seek out and engage communities and individuals furthest from the opportunity

Welcome

Welcome to Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab

“A smart city uses data and technologies to enhance services to citizens and increase quality of life – in Waterloo Region, we are building a smart city that supports our children and youth. By leveraging the knowledge of our technology and social sectors, our goal is to become the best community for kids in Canada.”

Matthew Chandy | Director of Economic Development, Region of Waterloo

Leadership team

Team leads and visionaries steering the SWRIL ship.

Saba Oji
Data & Knowledge Lead

Interpreting big data and creating innovative tech tools.

soji@regionofwaterloo.ca

Jahmeeks Beckford
Play Lead

Youth engagement and youth partnership.

jbeckford@regionofwaterloo.ca

Christine Frim
Communications Lead

Social media, website, graphic design, and everything else communications strategy.

cfrim@regionofwaterloo.ca

Hisy Wu
AI Lead Developer

Leading development on AI projects like the chat bot and translator.

ywu@regionofwaterloo.ca

Nikola Barsoum
Nurture & Food Forest Garden Lead

Managing, planning, and helping with youth-led gardens and food forests.

nbarsoum@regionofwaterloo.ca

Student team

Currently working in the Innovation Lab and making all this possible.

Zac Waite

Zac Waite

Full Stack Developer

Programming and managing the full stack development of Region projects.

Hargun Mujral

Hargun Mujral

NLP Engineer

Natural language, ML engineering, web infrastructure and project planning.

Guruprasanna
Suresh

Machine Learning Engineer

Supporting Data projects and AI development.

Connie Kang

UX / Graphic Designer

Designing visual assets, photographing lab events, and visual storytelling of lab activities.

Selected Projects

Smart Waterloo Region Innovation Lab Projects

A group of boys outside in a garden posing for a picture. The one in the centre is sitting on a soccer ball. They are wearing matching yellow t-shirts.

Nurture

Youth-led gardens feeding Waterloo Region.
A group of students writing on pieces of paper. The student in the foreground is facing away from the camera and writing.

GIMI Impact

A curriculum empowering youth to build out their ideas and improve their community.

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