CS 400Y Work Cultures in Tech Ecologies

Termites are nasty lil' things, but they can teach us a lot about innovation, apparently. In an article called " How termites reveal the rules behind radical innovation ," Sunnie Giles, a Forbes contributor, suggests that termites have managed to survive for so long because of their innovation.  Giles summarizes radical innovation using the following principles: Self-organization Simple rules A generalist approach Diversity of input Speed of execution, and Profuse experimentation Termites, she argues are prime examples of radical innovation because: They self organize, self heal, and are strong, independent termite They use simple communication methods that are highly effective Colonies work together to support one another, without even realizing it They make improvements through trial and error, rather than striving for perfection immediately They connect, communicate, collaborate, and adapt accordingly, resulting in transparency among the colony A...

There was an interesting debate hosted by Oxford that was on if universities can innovate and their role in entrepreneurship. Check it out here: https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/faculty-research/skoll/events/oxford-union-debate-role-universities-creating-social-impact When I first heard about it, instantly I responded "No", universities cannot innovate and push entrepreneurship. This is based out of my experience at Laurier. However, maybe if I was at UW things would be different, but maybe not. Since UW is known for innovation, we often forget that there is only a handful of people that are part of this glamourized ecosystem. Most of the people I know from UW are not innovators, most of them want to just work and get paid and that is it. Some of them do create their own startups and embody the startup mindset, but most don't. So how can we say UW is innovative in a system where they breed more followers than leaders? These university systems are great for breeding for the job...

Hi Everyone, Since most, if not all, of us are graduating and will be looking for full-time jobs, I thought it might be helpful to give some insight into how the job interview process in general has changed, so that we can be more prepared for them in the future. Spark Hire provides a useful comparison of then vs. now, helping to show the kinds of things that we should take into consideration for interviews. There are 9 changes in particular that are mentioned: Your reach is much more expansive Drastic improvements in video interviewing technology It’s much easier to schedule interviews An increased focus on cultural fit Candidates run the show There’s a greater emphasis on employer branding Networking happens in many different places The kind of employee hiring managers want has changed There’s a greater focus on data and analytics The two that I feel connect the most to what we have discussed in this course are number 6 (there’s a greater emphasis on employer bran...

There has been a lot  of talk about LinkedIn this semester in CS400Y. For something hailed as the Facebook as the working world, maintaining and developing your LinkedIn profile can feel like a lot of the time. We've seen so many posts, presentations, and articles about how to "hack" or improve your participation on the platform, without a lot of hands-on tutelage. So, I thought I'd be the one to stick my neck out and ask you guys to rate my LinkedIn profile , using what we've talked about this semester. As a disclaimer, I'm fairly new to this platform (I actually signed up because of this class), and I don't feel like I really "get it" yet. This is an opportunity for us to see where we're all at with this kind of tool and learn from one another. Feel free to post your comments, suggestion, and personal profiles in the comments, as well connect with myself and others.

At the beginning of the course Dr. Herman presented the class with a question when he asked what the term innovation meant to each individual. A simple yet intriguing question, one that certainly sparked my interest. After completing CS400, I found that my answer has changed significantly. I initially claimed innovation signified creativity and while yes, I still believe innovation conveys creativity but our readings and class discussions, have lead me to believe that the term encompass so much more. In my opinion, innovation does not contain a concrete definition rather, the term is in a constant state of flux. To further elaborate, I am stating that the definition of innovation changes according to the situation and application. I thought to myself that I must not be the only one who believes the term innovation changes according to situation. So I took this thought to the internet and I happened to find an article written by Brendan McGowan that discusses the different ways in ...

Photo courtesy of Matt Smith  http://www.matthewsmithphoto.net/ Michael Litt, co-founder and CEO of Vidyard , recently contributed an article to the Globe and Mail, titled " Southern Ontario's Silicon Valley: Unleashing Waterloo's tech-innovation sector. " Vidyard is a Waterloo region startup offering video platform services for organizations looking to create video for marketing, sales, customer service, employee training, and corporate communications.  Litt explains that the Canadian federal government's recent ' innovation superclusters initiative (ISI) ' places Waterloo region in the centre of the Southern Ontario innovation superclusters. Despite the region's technological abundance, it lacks the community resources that Litt argues will both attract workers to the area and keep students here after graduation.  "We’re lucky to live in a region with an exciting opportunity before us to address our challenges and cement our legacy ...