Toronto Youth STEM and Innovation Conference

May 3, 2025

The Toronto Youth STEM and Innovation Conference (TYSIC) took place on April 25th, 2025, at the MaRS Discovery District Communications Centre. Students from across the GTA attended the event, including those from UCC, BSS, Branksome, Appleby, St. Anne’s, UTS, and more.

The conference offered a chance for students passionate about STEM to learn from industry leaders and experts—or to participate in the Innovation Challenge, which featured $1,500 in prizes! There were several speakers from a variety of fields who shared their personal journeys in STEM and offered advice and insight from their experiences.

From my own experience, I attended the following three talks:

Pavel Abdur-Rahman
Pavel is a co-founder of Bluevale Capital and previously led IBM Canada’s AI & Data consulting business. He’s also a UCC parent. His talk was incredibly inspiring—he shared his journey from working as a restaurant loader to becoming a successful entrepreneur. He emphasized the importance of developing soft skills and seizing opportunities, while also discussing the growing influence of AI and the range of career paths available in tech today.

Jon Lister
Jon Lister is the co-founder of Satstreet, a top Canadian digital asset brokerage that has processed over $3 billion in trades. With a strong background in finance and blockchain technology, he plays a key role in shaping Canada’s crypto market. His talk began with an intriguing question: “If you could choose right now, would you rather have $1 million worth of gold, or $1 million worth of crypto?” He then made a compelling case for why cryptocurrency is the future—explaining its security, usefulness, and growing relevance in the digital age.

Peter Herman
Peter Herman, a professor of physics at the University of Toronto, specializes in lasers and diatomic spectroscopy. His presentation took us deep into the fascinating world of photonics and quantum physics, and he spoke about working alongside scientists who have won Nobel Prizes. By the end of his talk, I was blown away by how intricate and captivating the field of physics can be.

Lastly, I had the chance to watch the Innovation Challenge—an exciting competition where students from different schools formed teams to present their projects addressing real-world issues. The creativity and effort behind the projects were impressive, and three winners were ultimately selected.