When Dr Uri Shumlack was contacted by a video game developer who wanted to discuss his work on interstellar propulsion, for a game about spaceflight, he was wary. A professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the University of Washington, he was a busy individual, and not exactly an avid gamer. He asked some of his engineering undergraduates whether they had heard of a game called Kerbal Space Program, only to discover that half the class were there because of the game. First playable in 2011, Kerbal Space Program is an idiosyncratic and extremely difficult video game that involves getting little green aliens off the surface of their planet using rockets that you must cobble together from a library of parts. To do this, though – and leave the launchpad without exploding – you have to develop a pretty good understanding of the physics of space travel, calculating orbit trajectories and figuring out how much fuel you need, and whether you can carry it without messing up your thrust-to-weight ratio.

With 194,000 employees and operating in more than 170 countries and regions, Huawei is a leading global creator and provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. Integrated solutions span across four key domains – telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services. Huawei is committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. Huawei Canada focuses on fundamental research and development aimed at solving complex technical problems in emerging technologies like 5G, AI, Human Computer Interaction and Autonomous Driving. With ongoing research initiatives with 10 Universities across Canada and strategic collaboration agreements with several Universities, we support Canada's rich research community.

You might not notice it, but you've likely adopted artificial intelligence into your daily life. It can be as simple as personalizing your news feeds, searching for products on shopping sites or voice-to-text conversion on smartphones. It can also be applied to more sophisticated tasks like predicting court outcomes in cases involving employment law or used for robotic welding applications. The transformative power of AI is also an economic growth driver, which is why the Canadian government has given the green light to advancing the country's AI strategy. According to a recent announcement from Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne, more than $443 million in Budget 2021 is designated for the second phase of the pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Creative Capital is IT World Canada's series that examines the impact digital transformation is having to change the face of communities across Canada. We're doing deep dives looking at the major tech hubs on the leading edge of the 21st-century knowledge economy. Our first five stories will focus on York Regions, exploring the densest ICT hub in Canada, its verticals, startups, and the factors contributing to its success. When the federal government unveils its short-list in contention for the $950 million it has earmarked for innovation superclusters later this year, don't be surprised if a consortium from York Region is on it. Up to five superclusters will share the funding based on the merits of their proposals, with Innovation, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) Minister Navdeep Bains saying the objective is to create Canada's own "Silicon Valley," and create good middle-class jobs.