In June, the first-ever University of Toronto Robotics Institute end-of-year celebration brought together faculty, students, staff, partners and friends from across the University of Toronto’s St. George and University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) campuses to mark a year of progress, leadership and research excellence.
Professor Jessica Burgner-Kahrs, Associate Director of the Robotics Institute, welcomed everyone to the event and shared several of the community’s collective accomplishments and achievements over the 2022-23 academic year. This included:
- Launching the Canadian Robotics Council (CRC) in partnership with industry and academic partners and hosting the 2022 CRC Symposium in Ottawa;
- Showcasing Institute robots and research to the President of South Korea during a visit to the University;
- Welcoming the first cohort of the Robotics Leadership Training Program;
- Launching Canada’s first Robotics Collaborative Specialization for research stream graduate students;
- Launching the Women in Robotics Ontario Chapter — the first in Canada;
- Hosting a booth at ICRA;
- Opening an undergraduate robotics teaching lab at UTM; and
- Launching a refreshed brand for the Robotics Institute that reflects how robots can enable innovation across new applications.
Four graduate students were recognized by the Robotics Institute Outreach Committee for their exceptional leadership and service to the community. Professor Eric Diller, Outreach Committee Chair, presented the newly launched Robotics Leadership Awards.