Theme: Paradigm Shift

A Paradigm Shift is a fundamental change in how we think about and view a topic or idea. Our conference will have speakers from a wide range of backgrounds talk about how ideas are changing in their fields and lives and how changing perspective can have an impact on our own lives.

University of Guelph
50 Stone Road East
Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1
Canada

Ashvin Sharma

Ashvin operates from a boundless curiosity that they use to explore, create, and then live by ideas that enhance the well-being of all living things. Deep system re-designer and creative by nature, there isn’t a facet of this world that they don't enjoy exploring to understand precisely where the gaps lie. They live to reconstruct each human system by locating and pulling out the specific roots that don’t serve us, and embedding new ones rooted in logic, longevity, interconnection, humility and compassion. Engineer by education; founder, philosopher, musician, meditator, cyclist, public speaker, and a fostered playful child by intention and interest.

Bawneet Singh

Bawneet Singh is a University of Guelph undergraduate student and an international student who traveled to Canada as a young man to study computer engineering. Despite being in a new country and culture, he has become a prominent leader in the university community as a residence assistant, social media ambassador, and residence student council leader. His work has helped other students, both foreign and domestic, feel welcome and engaged with their community.

Daniel Neiterman

Daniel is a Bachelor of Commerce student at the Land School of Buisness and Economics and a co-founder and co-CEO of Split the Tank, a start-up in the travel space. Daniel has served in numerous leadership roles at the University of Guelph, most notably as the Director for the Lang School of Business and Economics on the Central Students’ Association, the incoming Co-President of the Accounting Students’ Association, and a delegate on the JDCC Debate Team. Daniel also co-authored a book chapter on anti-corruption in West Africa based on research he completed with Dr. Philippe Lassou, and Daniel presented their findings at the African Accounting and Finance Conference in Cairo, Egypt in 2022. Daniel completed his first co-op term at KPMG, and is currently completing his second co-op term at MNP, where he works in Specialty Tax as a Tax Accountant.

Elisa Haley

Elisa is in her fourth and final year of Biomedical Sciences with a minor in Psychology at the University of Guelph. In her spare time, she enjoys writing free verse poetry and finding ways to express how she is feeling with creative imagery. Elisa is passionate about mental health and works closely with Student Accessibility Services on campus, leading many initiatives. During COVID-19 she started a poetry club called "The Guelph Poets Society" with a couple of friends to create a supportive space for students during a period of online isolation. She hopes to continue gaining inspiration from these poets in the club and one day publish her collection of poetry.

Jakob Wisniewski

Jakob is a student at the Lang School of Business and Economics and co-founder and co-CEO of travel start-up Split the Tank. Jakob has been highly involved in the Lang School of Business since his enrolment at the University of Guelph, as he holds the position of director of finance on the Marketing Management Students’ Association. Jakob has taken a principal role in leading various teams to success in numerous case competitions. Notably, Jakob’s team placed 3rd at the Lang Sustainability Conference, as well as 1st at the McMaster Degroote Summit. Jakob will be fulfilling a role in wealth management at Aligned Capital in the upcoming summer.

Nader Ganji

Nader Ganji is a faculty member at University Canada West, Vancouver. Prior to that, he taught at several universities in Iran. Nader has many scholarly publications including books, book chapters, and journal articles. He has a PhD in public policy as well as a BA in political science from University of Tehran, the most prestigious university of Iran. He has also an MA with Distinction in public policy from the University of Nottingham in the UK.

Steven Bryson

Steve Bryson has been a high school educator with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board For the past 15 years. In 2021, Steve received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence largely due to the work he has done connecting students to some of the amazing innovators and entrepreneurs in the KW region. In addition to his work inside the classroom, Steve has published a fictional children’s book where the main character uses universal principles such as perseverance, self-reliance, and a positive attitude to overcome the obstacles in his life. In his free time Steve enjoys running and has completed several ultramarathons, as well as driving his kids all over Southern Ontario for their hockey games. Steve also is very passionate about helping students develop their skills of self-efficacy and believes that there is nothing in education more important than helping his students realize their potential. In this talk, we will look at the educational system from the perspective of the adolescent student and what shifts are needed to help them succeed in our ever-changing world.

Yan Markson

Yan Markson is professional mentalist, magician and communication strategist that explores the mental mechanisms behind perception, communication and persuasion. He has performed across Canada and on Penn & Teller's TV Show, "Fool Us". Yan speaks in front of some of North America's biggest companies about perception strategy, the impact of cognitive bias, and effective communication.