Former WIRED Summer Program student Michael Saunders is a Science and Business student at the University of Waterloo, Canada, where he is studying at the intersection of biotechnology, finance and innovation. He was part of the inaugural WIRED Summer Program class of 2025.
Why did you choose to study with us at WIRED Summer Program?
My dad has been a big WIRED fan since the 1990s and even did research with Nicholas Negroponte at the MIT Media Lab, so I grew up surrounded by conversations about technology and innovation regarding WIRED. I’ve always been fascinated by emerging tech and have followed creators like Marques Brownlee since I was around ten years old. The University of Waterloo has a strong culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, so WIRED Summer Program felt like a natural extension of my academic and personal interests. When I saw the advertisement in my dad’s WIRED magazine, I knew I had to apply.
What was the most valuable lesson or skill you learned during your course?
The biggest lesson I learned was understanding the difference between research in academia and research in the startup world. At WIRED Summer Program, I saw this first-hand during our site visit to Victoria House, an incubator for biotech startups, where we explored how ideas are rapidly developed and commercialized. I would also like to credit Harriet Lester for her guidance during that experience. Beyond that, the course strengthened my networking skills through meeting industry professionals and building meaningful connections.
Did WIRED Summer Program influence any decisions you made about your education?
WIRED Summer Program definitely influenced how I think about my education and career. It strengthened my perspective on the importance of startups, particularly how technology can be implemented to solve real-world challenges. It made me realize how valuable it is to have a strong foundation in technology and to understand the underlying systems that drive innovation. The program also inspired me to take a more proactive approach to entrepreneurship. I have become much more intentional about balancing my studies with hands-on startup work, and I am now exploring ways to combine my interests in science, business, and technology to create real impact.
Which industry would you like to work in once you have graduated?
I am most interested in the intersection of financial markets, venture capital, and biotech entrepreneurship, with a strong focus on innovation and the future of technology. I want to be part of building solutions that make people’s lives better, whether that involves funding new ventures, developing start-ups, or creating tools that solve real problems. WIRED Summer Program reinforced my passion for exploring how finance, science, and technology can work together to drive meaningful change.
What advice would you give to a student that is attending WIRED Summer Program for the first time?
Ask questions and be a sponge. Be as innovative as you can be and take full advantage of every opportunity the program offers. Participate in all the site visits and do some research on them beforehand, it makes the experience much more meaningful. Speak with and engage the guest lecturers, as they are all incredibly knowledgeable and bring years of real world experience that you can learn from.
Ask questions and be a sponge. Be as innovative as you can be and take full advantage of every opportunity the program offers. Participate in all the site visits and do some research on them beforehand, it makes the experience much more meaningful.
Talk us through your Final Project
Our final project was Elara, a startup concept designed to rethink how people move between suburbs and cities. The idea came from a clear pain point: young people are driving less, yet congestion keeps getting worse, costing commuters hours of wasted time every year. We wanted to solve both problems through a connected, intelligent mobility platform.
Elara uses artificial intelligence and networked vehicles to create a dynamic transportation grid that makes travel smoother, faster, and more sustainable. I believe that the pieces are already there, we just need to assemble them together to integrate the system into society. The concept envisions an interconnected mobility network that enhances communication between vehicles and yields true fluidity on the roads.
Working on Elara taught us how to merge research, business strategy, and design thinking into one cohesive vision. It was exciting to see how an idea that started from identifying everyday frustrations could evolve into a scalable solution for the future of transportation.