Collision, one of the biggest tech conferences, is just around the corner! The 3-day conference begins on April 20 and has a jam-packed schedule featuring over 500 speakers this year. Need some help deciding what events you want to attend? Here’s what some members of our team is most looking forward to.

Simon, Next AI – Montreal’s Director of Operations, is keen on all things AI. On top of his must-attend list is a 30-minute talk, featuring acclaimed data scientist, Shingai Manjengwa in ‘AI is a team sport! Intro to AI, Hosted by Vector Institute’. This event will cover fundamental AI concepts and approaches for a non-technical audience. Having attended Shingai’s events before, Simon notes that Shingai is a sharp and insightful speaker and he is excited to hear how she’ll present AI to a wide audience, especially considering how important it is for companies across the board to become aware of this tool. 

Olivia, Design, Brand and Content veteran, has her eye on not 1, not 2, but 3 events. With an interest in how design shapes the way we collectively interact with the world, Olivia is eager to attend ‘How does design build 21st-century culture’.

Next on Olivia’s list is ‘How to make a digital magazine, with Glamour UK’s editor-in-chief.’ While Olivia’s quite content with her current fashion statement of sweatpants, accessorized with a mug of coffee, she’s actually looking for some pro tips that we can introduce into GRIT, NEXT’s digital magazine. ICYMI, in our last edition of GRIT, we take a deep-dive into the approaches taken by entrepreneurs and business leaders to adapt in a COVID world.

The last talk which caught Olivia’s creative eye, is “This talk will make you fall asleep”. Don’t let the title fool you because you won’t have time to fall asleep! This quick 5-minute talk will explain why sleep is so important and how it’s one of the first steps to a healthier life.

On the topic of a healthy life, Phil, Director of Ventures, is most anticipating ‘The unspoken price of a startup: The impact on everyone’s mental health’ roundtable discussion. Being a founder of his own company, and having gone through severe depression himself, Phil knows the true cost of not caring for your mental health. With this event, Phil is looking forward to learning about best practices for founders and the tools that are available to help us be mindful of our own mental health.

Kaleigh, our new Alumni Engagement Manager, plans on getting to know some of our alum more by attending their sessions:

• Getting back to profitability in a snap, by Henry Shi
• 2021: The year of the customer, by Mike Murchison
• Press conference with Saroop Bharwani, co-founder of Senso.ai

It’s also important to Kaleigh that we build a strong online community and presence for our alumni, so she’s also looking forward to learning from ‘The power of online communities’, featuring speakers from Reddit, Youtube and Tubefilter.

Julia, Programs Coordinator and the newest addition to our team, is most looking forward to “Diversifying VC from the inside out” featuring VCs Lauren Kolodny and Sarah Kunst. In addition to having a personal interest in diversity and inclusion, Julia believes that diversity within VC funds is important. Julia’s most looking forward to learning about how Lauren and Sarah are creating change and if there are learnings that we can apply to our own program. 

Did we miss your most anticipated Collision event? Let us know! In the Collision app, search for ‘NEXT Canada’ in the attendee list and start a chat with any one of our team members. We’d love to hear from you and chat about how your Collision experience is going. We hope to ‘see’ you there!