The Great White North was well represented at HxA 2024. At last count, there were over 40 HxA members from Canada in attendance. These individuals study or work at 20 institutions, including the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Brock University, Camosun College, Concordia University-Montreal, Dalhousie University, Laval University, McGill University, McMaster University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Simon Fraser University, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Toronto Metropolitan University, University of British Columbia-Okanagan, University of Calgary, University of Saskatchewan, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, and York University.
In addition to giving presentations and participating in panels and discussions, we held a business meeting for the HxCanada group and had two pub nights. At the business meeting, we were joined by HxCanada’s fearless leader, Andy Sellwood, who Zoomed in from Vancouver, and made a plan for widening and deepening the network we’ve already forged through the regular and annual meetings of HxCanada. The first of the pub nights was held at a nice Irish-style pub called Fado and was sponsored by the SFU HxA Campus Community. The other pub night took place at the Chicago Athletic Association, which is a slightly weird place. Not entirely sure how to describe it, really. It’s a bit like the lovechild of an English gentlemen’s club and a frat house. Anyhow, both pub nights were good fun. I think the thing I enjoyed most was meeting people I’d only previously interacted with online. Zoom is an excellent technology, but it really can’t compete with face-to-face conversation over beer.
Overall, HxA 2024 was an excellent event for the Canadian attendees. We’re looking forward to making progress with the initiatives we discussed at the HxCanada business meeting, and to descending on New York for next year’s conference. Very many thanks to the HxA staff and sponsors for hosting us. We greatly appreciate your efforts.
