Media release

Communitech Academy partners with D2L to enhance virtual learning capabilities

KITCHENER, ONT., April 15, 2021 — Communitech has partnered with homegrown success and a Waterloo Region-based learning technology leader D2L to enhance the digital experience of its Communitech Academy course offerings. Through this partnership, Communitech has utilized D2L’s learning technology platform, Brightspace, to revamp the user experience of its virtual learning programming. 

 “With the technological expertise and support of D2L, Communitech Academy can continue offering best-in-class programming that virtually engages with and improves the skills of employees from our diverse roster of member companies,” said Simon Chan, vice president of talent, academy and future of work at Communitech. “Partnering with D2L on this project was a no-brainer — not only are they a leader in virtual learning management, but also their extensive knowledge and impactful design capabilities are world-class.”

D2L’s Brightspace platform is a cloud-based learning technology platform built for organizations that value continuous investment in people to drive their business success. Brightspace is powering smarter upskilling and reskilling of workforces around the world. It is a place that supports all aspects of learning, with better engagement and productivity through personalized learning. It gives your teams the tools they’re going to love and makes it easy to support exceptional experiences face-to-face or fully online.

“We don’t just view Communitech as a partner in learning — they’re family – sharing a similar strategy in doing everything they can to helping companies start, grow, and succeed,” says John Baker, president and CEO of D2L. “We share a deeply held belief that innovation and learning are two sides of the same coin. We’re thrilled to be working to help bring Communitech Academy courses to more learners in the digital space.”

As part of Communitech’s core mandate to help start-ups start, grow and succeed, it provides programming to help improve the skills and capacity of its members’ employees through Communitech Academy. As a result of the onset of the global pandemic and worldwide shift to remote work and learning, Communitech Academy quickly pivoted to offer a seamless virtual program experience. After more than a year of virtual delivery, Communitech is working through several digital transformation projects to ensure that it is continuing to provide its members with the best user experience. 

 “At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone quickly moved to emulate in-person experiences digitally instead of focusing on how to best deliver virtual experiences,” said Eric Bencina, vice president of data strategy, IT and operations at Communitech. “As we live in and move to a more virtual world, we recognize the importance of designing our programming to be delivered in accessible and diverse digital-first formats.” 


For more on Communitech Academy, please visit: https://www.communitech.ca/start-and-grow/yourself-and-your-teams/academy

For more on D2L’s Brightspace platform, please visit https://www.d2l.com/products/

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For more information or media inquiries, please contact:

Candace Beres

Manager, Communications, Communitech

905-536-0311

candace.beres@communitech.ca

About Communitech

Communitech was founded in 1997 by a group of entrepreneurs committed to making Waterloo Region a global innovation leader. At the time it was wild talk, but somehow this community managed to pull it off. Today, Communitech is a public-private innovation hub that supports a community of more than 1,600 companies — from startups to scale-ups to larger global players. Communitech helps tech companies start, grow and succeed in three distinct ways.

  1. Communitech is a place – the centre of gravity for entrepreneurs and innovators. A clubhouse for building cool tech and great companies.
  2. Communitech delivers programs – helping companies at all stages with access to capital, customers and talent. We are here to help them grow and innovate.
  3. Communitech partners in building a world-leading ecosystem – making sure we have all the ingredients (and the brand) to help companies go from a small startup to a global giant.

 About D2L 

D2L is transforming the way the world learns — helping learners of all ages and various industries achieve more than they dreamed possible. Working closely with clients all over the world, D2L is supporting millions of people learning online and in person. Our more than 1,000 global employees are dedicated to making the best learning products to leave the world better than how they found it. Learn more about D2L for K–12, higher education and businesses at www.D2L.com.