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Virtual fatigue? We get it. But 2021’s Collision is more important than ever.

​​​​​​​Read Time : 2 minutes 

While the tech community had hoped for a bustling, live Collision in 2021, the thought of 40,000 people – from startups to large enterprises – connecting IRL feels like a distant memory. A year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the novelty of virtual events has worn off, and screen fatigue is real. 

But, given the pivotal role technology played in how the world responded and adapted to COVID-19, this year’s Collision is arguably more important than ever. In 2020, technology allowed for resiliency and flexibility. It provided platforms for many operations to continue even when the world shut down. It promoted creativity, fueled adaptation and drove meaningful change.  

For RBC, technology powered our ability to move > 90% of employees around the world working from home in just a few weeks.. It supported the expansion of our self-serve technologies, allowing our clients to do more from home. And it gave us the speed and agility needed to rapidly execute client relief programs. 

What’s more, most organizations will turn to technology solutions as we exit the pandemic and begin economic recovery. How will a hybrid world work? How will organizations pivot to drive both personal relationships and digital connections? What innovations will we latch on to as we fundamentally change the way we work? 

This is information we all want to know. How are others navigating the journey? How are other organizations from start-up to enterprises carving out new paths, prioritizing inclusivity, solving for change and designing with purpose coming out of a global pandemic?

So whether you’re a startup looking to navigate your business growth journey, a venture looking for a partner, or just an aspiring techie hoping to learn the latest and greatest, put your virtual fatigue aside from April 20 – 22 and join us at Collision 2021. 

The speaker lineup includes leaders from tech kingpins like Twitter, Wikipedia and Salesforce, as well as some notable names with links to the tech world, like Ashton Kutcher, Cindy Crawford and Chelsea Handler.

For the third year in a row, RBC will be a premium plus sponsor of the event. And as an organization that is actively working toward gender parity in tech, we are proud to be lead sponsor of the Women in Tech X Event on June 2. We’ll use this focused event to share thought-provoking content from RBC’s top women leaders, and ask the tough questions about how to embrace inclusivity in all its forms. 

Here’s a sneak peek of some of the discussions you can catch: 


  • Hear from Kathryn Hume, Interim Lead, Borealis AI on how to build an enterprise AI culture, and the mindset and process changes that organizations need to make to be successful with AI.
  • Learn from Sahar Rahmani, Senior Director, JSOC Analytics & Distinguished Technologist, about how the cybersecurity industry is leveraging AI and data science to shift from a traditional reactive approach to proactive threat detection. 
  • Listen to the leaders of Canada’s biggest bank discuss the opportunities and challenges of turning data into insights, and the importance of considering trust and ethics when deriving value from data.
  • Join a conversation with our student program lead and some of our tech “up and comers” about their journey to success, and how the next generation can prepare to work with technologies that don’t exist yet. 


Tickets are available here. Visit RBC’s virtual booth for a full list of RBC’s roundtables and masterclasses. We look forward to seeing you there.