From Toronto to Kingston: AI, Research, and Startups in the Sphere of Leading Tech Giants
30 April, 2026
Students immersed themselves in Ontario’s innovation ecosystem—from research to startup. Visits to universities, hubs, and tech companies provided insights into AI applications and support for startups.
In March 2026, the Faculty of Computer Science & Applied Mathematics organized a study trip to Canada. The trip took the group to Toronto, Waterloo, and Kingston in the Canadian province of Ontario.
A total of 22 students participated in the study trip, including Bachelor’s degree programs from Computer Science, Business Informatics, and Information and Communication Systems, as well as Master’s degree program students from AI Engineering and Business Informatics.
The trip began in Toronto, where the team from Advantage Austria Toronto provided an overview of Canada as a business location. In addition, the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade offered insights into Ontario’s ICT and AI sectors during an online presentation. This made it clear right from the start of the trip that there is a highly interconnected innovation ecosystem, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area.
The morning concluded with a visit to the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence, one of Canada’s leading AI research and innovation centers. In the afternoon, the schedule included meetings at Global Startups and the technology and startup incubator DMZ. This gave the students concrete insights into how young companies are supported in their growth—from the initial scaling phase through to international expansion.
Visit to Google Canada
On the second day, the group visited the University of Toronto, where, among other things, the Master of Science in Applied Computing was presented. This was immediately followed by a visit to Google Canada, where the students learned more about the working methods, projects, and technological focus areas of a global tech company. The day was rounded off at the MaRS Discovery District, one of North America’s most important innovation hubs, which brings together startups, funding programs, and investors.
A day trip to Waterloo revealed another facet of the Canadian tech landscape. At the University of Waterloo, the focus was on current research projects and direct interaction with students. During the subsequent visit to Communitech, it became clear that successful technology clusters do not emerge by chance, but are based on strong partnerships with industry leaders, government agencies, and investors, which enable targeted support for startups and scale-ups.
Portable chemical analysis systems for healthcare organizations
The trip concluded in Kingston. There, the group visited Distributive, a company working on solutions in the field of distributed computing, and Spectra Plasmonics, where innovative portable chemical analysis systems for healthcare organizations are being developed. On the final day of the study trip, the program at Queen’s University included lab tours, a meet-and-greet with representatives from the School of Computing, and a campus tour.
In addition to the academic program, there was also time to explore Toronto and Kingston and get a feel for life and work in Canada.
We would like to sincerely thank all the organizations that hosted us during the study trip for their hospitality, insightful presentations, and interesting discussions.
Special thanks go to Advantage Austria Toronto of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) for their support in organizing the study trip.
Further Information:
Faculty of Computer Science & Applied Mathematics
Bachelor’s Program in Computer Science
Bachelor’s Program in Business Informatics
Bachelor’s Program in Information and Communication Systems
Master’s Program in AI Engineering
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