University of Waterloo talent is not just keeping pace with artificial intelligence, it is helping define how organizations actually use it.

At Toronto Tech Week, Waterloo students and alumni will join the digital and technology arm of Compass Group, North America's largest hospitality provider, for a forward-looking event exploring how companies are integrating AI into everyday operations in ways that create real value.

The talk focuses on what it takes to turn promising ideas into systems that work at scale and the kind of talent required to make that happen.

Among the featured speakers are Waterloo alumni and current Compass Data and AI staff Meghan LaCoste (BASc '24) and Sahir Bandali (BMath '25). Their careers reflect how expectations in the field are shifting as AI matures.

LaCoste, Manager of AI Engineering, began at Compass as a co-op student. Today, she leads work that integrates AI across multiple areas of the business.

"My journey was shaped by a wide range of co-op experiences across health care, advertising and hospitality," LaCoste says. "Each one helped me build a different part of my skill set and gave me a broader perspective on how technology can create impact across industries."

That perspective informs her current approach. Rather than focusing on the latest model, her work emphasizes building responsible systems that can evolve over time.

"Like any powerful tool, AI needs the right guardrails," she says. "It's important that we use it in a way that still upholds strong engineering practices, governance, and accountability."

Bandali, an AI Engineer, followed a similar path shaped by Waterloo's co-op program. A graduate in Mathematics and Business Administration through the double degree program from Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University , he gained experience across the full data lifecycle.

"My journey was defined by variety," Bandali says. "I explored roles as a Data Analyst, BI Developer, Data Scientist and Data Engineer. I joined Compass Group for my final co-op in September 2024, and that role naturally evolved into AI Engineering."

That breadth shapes how he approaches his work today.

"Having experience in everything from data cleaning and visualization to trend analysis allowed me to step into my full-time role with a holistic understanding of how data fuels AI," he says.

Both alumni point to a broader shift in how AI is changing day-to-day work. For LaCoste, it's creating space to focus on more meaningful problems.

"AI has helped reduce some of the tediousness that comes with coding," she says, "and allowed us to spend more time thinking about the bigger questions: why we're building something, who it serves and what outcome we're trying to create."

For Bandali, the pace of change demands constant learning.

"It's a constant cycle of research and application," he says. "At Compass, we share new ideas and test emerging technologies in real time. In this field, your ability to learn is just as important as your ability to code."

Together, their experiences highlight that employers are increasingly looking not just for technical skill but adaptability, curiosity and the ability to translate ideas into real-world solutions.

That combination has always been at the heart of Waterloo's approach to education. With the world's largest research-intensive co-operative education program, more than 70 per cent of undergraduate students gain paid work experience alongside their studies, building both technical capabilities and practical confidence.

"We were constantly presented with difficult problems, and the answer was never 'I can't,'" LaCoste says. "You learn to understand the constraints and figure out a path forward."

As AI continues to reshape industries, the advantage will go to those like LaCoste and Bandali who can move ideas into practice.