Coffee Briefings are timely deliveries of the latest ITWC headlines, interviews, and podcasts. Today’s Coffee Briefing is delivered by IT World Canada reporter Pragya Sehgal, with files from the rest of the editorial team!
Missed last week’s Coffee Briefing? We’ve got you covered.
What’s new this week
Immigrant-led startup to solve tech talent challenges in Canada
arthobbit | Getty Images
Scale Without Borders (SWB), a startup founded by Nouhaila Chelkhaoui, who immigrated to Canada from Morocco at the age of 17, is helping immigrants access tech jobs and resources, and helping tech employers tap into this under-tapped diverse tech talent pool in Canada. The startup has built an entire ecosystem helping newcomers and immigrants access resources in tech and land tech jobs they can thrive in. Newcomers can sign up to the free SWB network here.
It is hosting a summit (mostly virtual), free for those who identify as immigrants or newcomers, today and tomorrow (Nov. 23 and 24), with the goal of helping them break barriers in tech. For this summit, the startup is collaborating with key hiring partners like CIBC, the DMZ, Elevate Talent, Vanhack, and providers like Glassbox Law.
Uber to offer Canadians same-day delivery on Indigo products
Uber last week announced a partnership with Indigo Books & Music, to provide same-day delivery to Canadian customers. Indigo, with over 70 locations available on the app across Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec, will be the first book and gift retailer on Uber. Customers can find Indigo under grocery in the Uber Eats app, or open the Cornershop by Uber app, to complete an order and receive it at their doorstep in as little as 90 minutes, according to Uber.
Quebec healthtech firm brings AI-powered platform for senior care to Canada
CarePredict, an AI-powered wearable technology which was showcased at CES 2020 and 2021, has been made available in Canada to help seniors live better, healthier and more autonomous lives. Developed by Quebec-based Medisuivie, provider of tech solutions to improve senior health and safety, CarePredict is already being used by thousands of seniors in the U.S.
Centered around a smart wearable that the senior keeps on their wrist at all times, CarePredict gathers information about the behaviour and the vital signs of its wearer. Advanced algorithms then analyze this data and identify the senior’s behaviour patterns so that they can send alerts to the family or caregivers when a potential health decline is suspected. It is available in Canada for an introductory price of $350, with a monthly subscription starting at $39 per month (with a 12-month contract).
Uber Canada, The Forum launches new, free programming for self-identified women entrepreneurs
Uber Canada and The Forum, a national organization that mentors and educates women entrepreneurs, have announced that they are launching a joint initiative to support 500 entrepreneurs through free, half-day programs that will cover topics like scaling, growing a business, digital marketing and profitability. Called The Forum Growth Series, the programming will be done virtually and will bring in industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs to connect with participants via live sessions to share their knowledge, with streams in both English and French.
Registration is now open, with programming going live in February. Women entrepreneurs can sign up here. This programming is open to Canadian self-identified women drivers, delivery people, restaurateurs, or their family members. For all registrants, The Forum says it will also offer access to 12 months of 1:1 mentorship, weekly calls with other women entrepreneurs, and access to a sharing platform where entrepreneurs across Canada can connect, ask questions, and share knowledge.
AWS announces free cloud computing skills training initiatives
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced four new, free initiatives as part of its global commitment to provide free cloud computing skills training to 29 million people by 2025. They include:
- AWS Skill Builder: A new digital learning experience with over 500 free on-demand courses in 16 languages that is available for anyone with an internet connection and a desire to learn in more than 200 countries and territories.
- AWS courses on the Amazon.com website: Shoppers can advance their cloud computing knowledge and technology skills with free AWS training courses via the new “AWS Courses” section.
- The free, full-time 12-week AWS re/Start global reskilling program to help the unemployed and underemployed, which aims to prepare individuals with little or no technology experience to pursue entry-level cloud computing careers, is more than tripling the number of cities where it is available — from 25 cities in 12 countries in 2020 to 95 cities in 38 countries by the end of 2021.
- New AWS Skills Center in Seattle: Opened on Nov. 22, Amazon says this is its first dedicated in-person cloud learning space designed for anyone who is curious about cloud computing, career possibilities in the industry, and how to get the skills to achieve their career goals in the technology industry.
More to explore
RedCurl corporate data theft group is back: Report
Corporate infosec leaders are being warned of the resurgence of a threat actor that apparently specializes in stealing business data.
Five steps to help your organization succeed with AI
Canadian organizations are increasingly looking for ways to gain value from their data, but many aren’t sure where to start.
Canada, EU agree to work more closely on the use of digital credentials
Canada and the European Union are working on ways of recognizing the use of digital credentials — including transactions conducted through digital wallets — for business and personal use.
Making Waves: The Raging Debate About 5G
Co-hosts Jim Love, CIO of ITWC, and Doug Sparkes, a lecturer at the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, answer the most frequently posed 5G questions and have some fun at the same time in the first segment of Deeper Dive – Series Two, an ITWC podcast series sponsored by Wipro Canada.
These are the top skills IT professionals need to succeed
Cyber security and cloud skills are crucial for IT professionals to advance their careers over the next five years. That’s a key finding of the newly released 2021 Canadian IT Skills Report.
Google Cloud’s AI/ML stack to power Toronto firm’s NLP platform
Google Cloud has announced a multi-year tech partnership with Toronto-based software firm Cohere in which Google Cloud’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) infrastructure will power Cohere’s natural language processing (NLP) platform.
Staying informed is a constant challenge. There’s so much to do, and so little time. But we have you covered. Grab a coffee and take five while you nibble on these tidbits.
ITWC Podcasts
Listen to the latest episode of Hashtag Trending
WhatsApp is changing its privacy policy in Europe after a record fine, a German state is transitioning to using open source software, and Microsoft Edge gets a buy now, pay later feature.
Listen to the latest episode of Cyber Security Today
This episode reports on someone clumsily leaving a database of users of a sex video site open, free incident and vulnerability response advice for IT defenders and a report gives detailed look into the Conti ransomware gang