21 Nov 2018 |
Research article |
Life at ÉTS
Living the Meet the Future Experience
Jérémy Webb, a graduating student in the Bachelor of Automated Manufacturing Engineering program at ÉTS, shares his experience as a member of the Meet the Future 2018 squad.
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Factry’s Meet the Future Event
Last May, I had the good fortune to be invited to attend the Meet the Future event at C2 Montréal.
The organization selected 35 people between the ages of 18 and 35 to form a squad. They were to give their opinion on the guest entrepreneurs’ innovative ideas: a great opportunity to voice their opinion! To be selected for the squad, candidates had to produce a brief video description of themselves, explaining why they felt they deserved to be chosen. The primary purpose of this group was not to participate in all the activities offered on site, but rather to meet as many entrepreneurs as possible and to represent the point of view of this new generation.
This experience began with a training session designed to prepare us for the madness of the next three days. We started with icebreaker activities followed by several simulations of the kinds of discussions that were awaiting us. A group of French entrepreneurs even came to meet us to help us with our preparation.
The three days of the event can be summarized by a mad rush to meet as many people as possible while enjoying the sensory and creative experiences of the site.
One of my favourite activities was the “braindate”: a meeting with a randomly designated person to discuss a subject of interest to us. Through this activity, I was able to talk to people I would never have dreamed of meeting, like employees of Kinova, Ford, Uber, and many others. Meet the Future really helped me develop my professional network and improve my spontaneous communication skills.
Among the activities presented on site, the most impressive were under the big 360 tent where many conferences were held, given by everyone from Sid Lee to Snoop Dog. In addition, several interactive laboratories located throughout the site hosted various activities ranging from baking cookies to stimulating our five senses. This event is distinguished by its sheer scope and the originality of its attractions. Everything had been planned for a long time and every turn led to a new discovery.
The most striking experience was meeting with the representative of Mexican entrepreneurs, who introduced me to several of them. I had the pleasure of ending the evening in a nice restaurant with more than twenty people from abroad. In a nutshell, this event was an unforgettable experience.
Jeremy Webb
Jeremy Webb is graduating in Automated Manufacturing Engineering. He was an ÉTS ambassador for over 2 years and also started a pharmaceutical robotics business at Centech.
Program : Automated Manufacturing Engineering