Tech Week and Hack the North Light Up September

September brought a surge of tech energy to Waterloo and Kitchener. **Waterloo Tech Week** ran from Sept. 12 to 17, with decentralized events scattered across both cities—a chance for folks curious about the work happening in our backyard to get a closer look. Right on its heels came **Hack the North**, the University of Waterloo's flagship hackathon, which ran Sept. 18 to 20. It's the kind of week that reminds us we're living in a place where ideas get built into something real. Whether you caught talks about AI, military technology, or just loved watching students pitch their wild ideas, it was a reminder that innovation in Waterloo Region isn't just about the big companies—it's about the energy people bring to the table.