ADVENTOR Week | Ingenuity Labs Research Institute

The ADVENTOR Program spans 5 universities in Canada: Queen's University (Kingston, ON), McGill University (Montreal, QC), The University of Toronto (Toronto, ON), The University of Waterloo (Kitchener-Waterloo, ON), and The University of Ottawa (Ottawa, ON).

ADVENTOR Week is a special opportunity for everyone involved in ADVENTOR to connect, share and learn from each other in-person.

Taking place at rotating institutions, this week-long event consists of hands-on technical training, a design competition, student presentations, and a symposium.

Keynote Speaker

Each annual ADVENTOR Week is different, introducing new topics for learning and discussion. The keynote speaker each year is chosen based on the needs and wants of ADVENTOR trainees to bring fresh ideas and interdisciplinary pathways to ADVENTOR. To enhance the ADVENTOR programs' interdisciplinary approach, keynote speakers relate robotics with another field or specialty towards inspiring innovation amongst the ADVENTOR team.

The keynote speaker for ADVENTOR Week 2025 was Dr. Heather Knight, College of Engineering, Oregon State University presenting: Entertainment Methods in Social Robotics.

Summer School

Throughout ADVENTOR Week, trainees participate in hands-on technical training modules. These modules are designed to enhance the technical skills of ADVENTOR trainees in direct relation to the program's themes and objectives: Robots in the City and Robots at Home. Integrating robotics safely and effectively towards coworking with humans in society. The training modules are Research Ethics and Approaches in Testing with Human Participants, Hands-on Design Thinking, Human-Robot Interaction, IP/ Commercialization, Ethics/ Law, Planning, Machine Learning, and Control and Navigation.

More information can be found using the link below:

Training Modules

Trainee Presentations

The ADVENTOR Symposium gives trainees the chance to share their research and findings with everyone in attendance, including ADVENTOR collaborators (industry and academic), unofficial and prospective partners, peers, and faculty members. All ADVENTOR trainees are working towards their graduate research thesis, in collaboration with their ADVENTOR-affiliated supervisors, and mentors. This is a wonderful opportunity for trainees to share their findings, answer questions, and practice conveying their research effectively to a wide audience.

Design Competition

The ADVENTOR design competition is a chance for trainees to apply their skills, knowledge and experience to solve real-world challenges. The goal is to design a mobile robot that can safety and accurately be used within the deliverables of that years' design competition. Each year, the theme and scope of the design competition changes based on interest and linked to other aspects of the ADVENTOR Program, such as the site visit or a guest seminar. ADVENTOR trainees work together in randomized groups, allowing for cross-institutional collaboration. Once the competition is rolled out, trainees are given time to work together and use materials at their disposal to plan their pitch. During ADVENTOR Week, they present their work to collaborators, the keynote speaker, and other invitees who will determine a winner.