CanCollab Symposium 2026

Join us for conversations and demonstrations at the intersection of creativity, technology and the future of Canadian media production! Creativity. Technology. Collaboration. MRC Studio at Durham College and Sheridan College's SIRT Centre are excited to collaborate once again to present CanCollab 2026. Join us on November 5, 2026, at Sheridan's SIRT Centre at Pinewood Toronto Studios for a day of industry conversations, innovative demonstrations, and opportunities to connect with Canada's creative technology community. CanCollab brings together creators, technologists, researchers, and industry leaders to explore how emerging technologies are transforming the way we create, produce, and collaborate. Through shared experiences and practical insights, the event aims to foster new connections and accelerate innovation across Canada's creative industries. This initiative is made possible in part by funding support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). Updated agenda 10:30am - Doors open and registration 11:00-11:10am: Opening Remarks 11:10am-12:05pm: AIVFX (The State of Play) - Panel discussion with Oleksii (Lex) Koba (Founder & Creative Director, OK_XR Studio), Andrew Macdonald (Executive Creative Producer,/AI Strategy, Cream Productions), Lisa Sepp-Wilson (Producer, VFX Supervisor, VES Toronto Board Member) & J. Lee Williams (Founder and Creative Lead, Invalid Symbol & Occupied VR) 12:10-12:30pm: IP Considerations for the Creative Industries (Dr. Steven Splinter, Associate Director, Centre for Commercialization, Conestoga College) 12:30-1:15pm: Lunch and interactive demos 1:15-1:45pm: From Showcase to Ecosystem: Building a Future for AI Filmmaking (Ruza Licina, Founder and Executive Director, Cinema Shift Festival) 1:45-2:15pm: The Future of Creative Education in the Age of AI (Mark Jones, Dean, Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design, Sheridan College) 2:15pm -4pm: Networking and interactive demos List of confirmed demos: Virtual Production at SIRT: Learn about SIRT’s Virtual Production capabilities and see an example of how the LED wall can help create immersive visuals for industry and creative professionals. XR Apiary, Beekeeping Demo: Explore a virtual beehive and experience hands-on beekeeping in mixed reality, developed by MRC Studio in collaboration with the Barrett Centre. 3D Scanning at SIRT: See how SIRT's Esper full body photogrammetry rig can help create digital double characters that can then be used in a variety of platforms and scenarios. Immersive Classroom, Aircraft Turbine Demo: Discover what's possible with immersive learning as you explore and virtually disassemble a Boeing aircraft turbine engine in mixed reality, developed by MRC Studio in collaboration with Ayrshire College. XReal Aura: Portable spatial computing glasses, powered by Android XR. Experience a 70° optical see-through display, AI assistance from Gemini, and XREAL’s lightweight AR hardware together in a glasses-style form factor. Local AI at SIRT: Local AI vision can turn people’s interactions with a space into triggers for visual effects, training objectives, story events, biometric feedback, and immersive experiences. See how users can stay engaged with the environment instead of looking at their devices. Unitree Go2, Robot Dog Demo: Meet a four-legged robot and discover the future of intelligent robotics in action! Artist's Log (Provenance app for the age of AI): A live demo of the Artist's Log app that allows filmmakers and creatives to document their creative process, store it on their drive in a detailed chain of title, and fingerprint entries on the blockchain with certificates of verification. Even if you can't make it in-person we will be recording the live presentations, as well as some of the demos and extra bonus research talks, and they will be made available to registrants following the event. (Be sure to register for the virtual ticket option if you want to take advantage of this opportunity!) If you're not already part of the CanCollab LinkedIn community, join us here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14719110/