Peer2Peer groups help Communitech members share their professional challenges and lessons-learned in a friendly, informal environment.
From CEO Roundtables to Mobile and Gaming our groups span many disciplines.
Please note that there is criteria for approval of participation in Peer2Peer (P2P) groups. Some of our P2P groups require an email application, some are invite-only, and some are open to non-members of the Communitech Network.
Register for a Peer2Peer Group
Once you’ve been approved you’ll receive an email reminder for each group you participate in.
Executive Groups
CEO Roundtable (in hiatus)
Meets 5 times a year
Tech CEOs from start-up to mid sized companies come together to talk frankly about common issues. Topics include how to manage growth, attract and retain talent, raise capital and much more. –– register
Finance Professionals
Meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month
CFOs and finance teams share ideas and solutions on managing a tech company’s bottom line. Forums include guest speakers and roundtable discussions on technical topics such as strategy, risk management, compliance, business planning, financing, productivity tools, taxation, acquisitions and mergers. They also include skills-related topics such as leadership, teamwork, presentation skills. CGAs, CAs, and CMAs can gain professional development learning credits at some sessions. –– register
Senior HR Leaders (by invite only)
Senior organizational development execs come together in this highly focused forum to talk about the challenges they face in hyper-growth organizations. Topics include strategic planning and expansion issues related to human resources.
Government Relations (by invite only)
Sessions have a standard roundtable format: discussion of infrastructure issues, post-secondary education issues, and tech industry issues – discussion centered on how the group can support one another in dealing with federal and provincial governments on these key items.
Operational Groups
Strategic Marketing
Meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month
Tech marketing leaders share ideas and best practices through guest speakers or partaking in roundtable discussions on topics of relevance such as branding, advertising, promotions, publications, metrics, social media and public relations and hot issues for a rapidly evolving global tech sector. –– register
PR & Communications
*NEW* Meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month
PR and Communications specialists connect, share, and discuss the practice of engaging with their audiences – both internal and external to the organization. Whether dealing with corporate positioning, brand development and maintenance, issue / crisis management, mergers & acquisitions, awareness raising or mediums of communication, this group will focus on solutions when others are focusing on problems. –– register
Business Development & Senior Sales
Meets on the 3rd Tuesday of every month
Senior business development and sales professionals hone killer sales strategies with great take-away ideas from guest speakers and roundtable discussions. Topics include business development versus sales, lead generation, closing deals, recharging team batteries, sales team training, competitive intelligence, and going from start-up to mature company. –– register
Tactical Sales
Meets on the 1st Wednesday of every month
Sales professionals get down to business and discuss the hands-on approach that generates sales. Through guest speakers and roundtable discussions members share experiences in the hard-hitting world of sales. Topics include cold calling strategies, prospecting techniques, effective proposals and managing customer expectations. –– register
HRnet (application process)
Meets on the 2nd Tuesday of the month
Tech HR personnel focus on finding, keeping, and developing talent. This group has led human resources initiatives for the local tech sector such as government advocacy, recruitment fairs, university and college partnerships, professional curriculum and talent thought leadership. A steering committee provides members with full line up of guest speakers and open discussions. –– register
PMConnect (limited partnership with Project Management Institute)
Meets on the 3rd Friday of every month
Project managers come together to share knowledge and information to stay ahead of the curve within their fast-paced world. Sessions alternate between topics and themes from soft skills to best practices in project management. PMs can gain professional development units (pdu) for PMP re-certification at monthly sessions. –– register
Product Management
Meets on the last Friday of every month
Product managers have to be knowledgeable and adaptable to take break-through innovations and disruptive technologies to the forefront as products of choice. This interactive forum discusses product requirements to competitive analysis to release documents – everything from product conception to delivery. –– register
Executive Assistants
Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of the month
EAs and administrative personnel embody a wealth of corporate know-how and work with some of the most demanding clients. This group of dynamic multi-taskers’ invite guest speakers and have many roundtable discussions to develop and discover best practices to manage the complexities of their roles. –– register
Technical Groups
Agile/Lean
Meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month
A discussion of organizational approaches and best practices around agile project and product management, agile architecture and quality management. Professionals from all disciplines will share insight, ideas and best practices. Session formats include guest speakers, roundtables and workshops. –– register
Community & Knowledge Management
Meets on the 3rd Monday of every month
Call it Communities of Practice, Social Engagement, or Knowledge Management. Good communications and information sharing are just as important among companies’ employees as with customers or out on the social web. Fast, informal technologies help facilitate the dissemination of information, make learning more efficient, and build communities. Engage potential customers and develop the loyalty of existing ones. Empower employees to support, educate, and grow the brand. The result is happier customers, smarter staff, and better products. Not to mention lower costs, smoother processes, and higher revenues. –– register
KW Information Technology
Meets 6 times a year
Technical teams strive to be on the leading edge of their profession. This dynamic group of IT specialists discuss infrastructure that includes a broad range of key issues such as system security, SPAM, policies and procedures, enterprise applications, and knowledge management. Guest speakers and roundtable discussions are based on current issues at hand. –– register
Mobile
Meets 4 times a year
The world of mobile development is changing rapidly and the K-W region is becoming one of the fastest growing mobile areas. Whether you are a developer of mobile applications, in sale and marketing for mobile devices or just want to learn more about upcoming wireless & mobile innovations – this P2P group is for you! Come out and join leading developers and mobile specialists to discuss the newest and greatest developments in this fast moving space. –– register
uxWaterloo (limited partnership with IxDA)
Meetings alternate monthly from Tuesdays and Thursdays
Practicing designers, Product Managers, and Marketing professionals share design theories and thinking to improve and promote the user experience of products and services to delight the customer who will ultimately use them. Guest speakers lead off the session followed by Q and A, or roundtable discussion. –– register
Waterloo Region Games
Meets 5 times a year
This Peer2Peer aims to bring the assortment of local studios, independent developers, hardware manufacturers, and educational programs together for group discussions, speakers, networking, and perhaps even some gaming. Come and meet your fellow developers, discover new talent, resources, knowledge, and help grow the region into prime development territory!–– register
Other Groups
Life & Health Sciences
Meets 5 times a year
This is an opportunity for companies in the Life & Health Sciences to learn more about other companies operating in this sector. Today, many new and existing companies are developing innovative products and programs and taking this technology through to commercialization to assist healthcare and pharmaceutical companies do their jobs more effectively and efficiently reaching to global communities. –– register
Sustainability (limited partnership with Sustainable Waterloo region)
Meets 4 times a year
Participants in this group are members of an organization’s Green Team or are just passionate about improving the sustainability initiatives in their workplace. Each session will feature a presentation by an organization’s Green Team to share the projects they’ve found to be successful and to discuss possible solutions to setbacks. Join us and take part in exciting interactive discussions. –– register
Not-for-profit Groups
Social Innovators (by invite only) - In co-operation with Capacity Waterloo
The Social Innovators Network is where forward-thinking social leaders wanting to break down sectoral barriers, get inspired, share best practices, collaborate and strengthen linkages with business and education by exploring shared interests.
ED Network (Not-for-Profit)
Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of every month
Leaders of not-for-profit organizations connect with peers to share and build knowledge, and learn from the experience of others, how to deal with issues affecting the not-for-profit sector. This includes operations, external relationships, governance, advocacy, services and programs, and the broader environment. –– register
Series
Open to non-members of the Communitech Network
Digital Media Arts & Technology
Click on the register link to join distribution list and receive details of future sessions
To provide a forum where people who work in industries or roles that involve the creation, communication or analysis of visual information or experiences to collaborate, network and learn. In this series we will discuss Augmented Reality, Immersion, Video, Film, VFX, Virtual Gaming, and Art, including innovative speakers in the field of research.–– register
Limited WIP Society (Collaboration effort between Limited WIP Society and Communitech)
Click on the register link to join distribution list and receive details of future sessions
The Limited WIP Society’s purpose is to facilitate learning of Lean principles and practices and the Kanban method in software, IT and other types of knowledge work. It is the meeting place for all local professionals who are interested in Lean, kanban, systems thinking and continuous improvement.–– register
Partnerships and Alliances (Tech sector)
Click on the register link to join distribution list and receive details of future sessions
Partner and Alliance Managers, and anybody interested in building long-term cross-company relationships to help their organization grow and prosper, are invited to join with their peers to share best practices, ideas, and innovations, such as the value of partnering, different types of partnerships, cross-company objective setting and planning, and program development. This group is about building networks and learning from others how to develop successful collaborations – local and global. –– register
Python (Collaboration effort between WatPy – Waterloo Python Users Group and Communitech)
Click on the register link to join distribution list and receive details of future sessions
Bring together developers, managers, researchers and enthusiasts to learn more about Python: a diverse language which is suitable for an increasing number of purposes including scripting, web development, scientific computation and automation. Join us and hear guest speakers and enlightening talks from community members and beyond talking about Python and what you can do with it.–– register
The Server Side
Click on the register link to join distribution list and receive details of future sessions
Whether you’re writing the software to run as a server-side always-on backend to an application or it’s your job to make sure those servers stay “always-on” this group is for you. We’ll explore a wide variety of topics related to server clusters both in the cloud and in a dedicated facility. We cover security, scalability, availability, reliability & adaptability on the server side and architecture, testing, design, budgeting and Q/A on the software side. We’re always learning so come and share what you know about emerging tech and tried-and-true best practices. –– register
Community Groups
Some technical groups in the community and surrounding area:
Canada Technology Triangle .NET User Group (CTTDNUG)
Canadian Women in Technology – Region of Waterloo Chapter
KW Android Developers (using Meetup)
The KW Linux User Group (KWLUG)
KW Software Quality Association (KWSQA)
The Southwestern Ontario Chapter of the Society of Technical Communication (STC-SOC)
Waterloo -Wellington IT Pro Users Group (WWITPRO)
With thanks to BlackBerry
for their generous support of the Peer2Peer Network.
And to our Limited Peer2Peer Partner Organizations
Not sure which group is right for you or your employees? Let´s talk. Contact Karen Gallant at Communitech.
For more information on Peer2Peer connections, contact:
Karen Gallant
Director of Talent Networks
Tel: 519-888-9944 x 1057
Wanda Eby
Program Coordinator
Tel: 519-888-9944 x 1048
Ainsley Dreisinger
Program Coordinator
Tel: 519-888-9944 x 1080
