A new Communitech initiative is putting University of Waterloo's students at the centre of efforts to transform how local businesses adopt artificial intelligence (AI), positioning student talent as a key driver of regional productivity and innovation.
Launched this spring, AI@WORK connects post-secondary students many from Waterloo's globally renowned co-op program with small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to build, deploy and validate real-world solutions. The program is part of the broader Waterloo Region AI Coalition, a community-led effort to accelerate practical AI adoption across Waterloo region.
At its core, AI@WORK reflects the simple yet powerful idea that students across Waterloo region are not just future talent, but essential contributors to today's AI economy.
"We know there's incredible technical talent coming out of the University of Waterloo," says Sheldon McCormick, CEO of Communitech. "The opportunity is to connect that talent directly to businesses that need help adopting AI, and to do it in a way that creates real impact."
He adds that the program responds to a growing disconnect in the region: while many students graduate with strong AI and technical skills, SMBs particularly in constructions and manufacturing face significant barriers to adopting AI, including limited access to talent.
AI@WORK bridges that gap by embedding student teams directly inside companies where they work to tackle high-value business problems.
"Our goal is to seed the region with the next generation of founders. When students realize they can build an AI solution for one company and scale it to thousands, that's where new ventures come from." McCormick
Unlike traditional co-op placements, where students often take direction from employers, this model gives students a high degree of agency. Student teams are expected to design solutions and deliver working tools that will improve productivity and competitiveness across various operations in the region.
That shift builds directly on Waterloo's co-op foundation while extending its impact. By placing students inside local companies, the program expands where and how Waterloo students can contribute.
"There's an opportunity for Waterloo co-op students to have much more direct impact on local businesses," McCormick says. "This creates new pathways for them to apply their skills while strengthening the regional economy."
Through AI@WORK, student teams will be developing custom software using AI tools and designing agentic workflows that automate routine processes and augment human work. The goal, McCormick emphasizes, is to unlock measurable productivity gains by helping companies operate more efficiently while exposing students to real operational challenges.
He hopes that exposure will inspire more students to pursue entrepreneurship a long-standing strength of the Waterloo ecosystem.
Looking ahead, by connecting students more deeply into local companies, McCormick sees AI@WORK as a tool that will create stronger ties between students, graduates and the community, which could increase the likelihood that they will stay and build careers or companies in the region.
As the first cohort gets underways, success will be measure in both learning and impact. Students will bring their expertise with cutting-edge AI tools and will contribute directly to improving local business' operations that will have lasting, scalable impact.
Join more than 8,000 employers and hire future-ready talent from Waterloo.
