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My experience at Socratica's Symposium
I only discovered Socratica two weeks ago, and I wish I had found it sooner. As soon as I learned about the club, I was hooked—but unfortunately, I only learnt about it right at the end of their programming year. Still, in the spirit of curiosity and wanting to immerse myself in the builder community, I decided to attend their annual event: the Socratica Symposium in Waterloo. Socratica is a vibrant, creative club where developers, engineers, artists, and tinkerers come together weekly to work on side projects—completely unrelated to school or work. The focus is on building things you wouldn’t normally have the chance to create, with an emphasis on fun, offbeat, and even absurd ideas. Think Iron Man suits, self-playing guitars, or homemade microchips etched with high-powered lasers and projector lenses. I was fascinated by the community’s spirit and imagination and really wanted to get involved though with the academic year ending, it didn’t seem likely. Luckily, the Symposium offered a perfect way in. It wasn’t a technical conference in the traditional sense; it was more about meeting people who build for the joy of building. And that part exceeded my expectations. I connected with tons of like-minded individuals, especially in the hardware space, which has fueled my growing interest in building quadcopters and fixed-wing drones. In an unexpected but exciting twist, I also met the first VC who showed genuine interest in my startup idea. Since then, I’ve kept in touch with a few electrical engineers I met at the event, as well as the VC, who offered valuable advice on how to position myself for future funding opportunities. Those connections have been incredibly meaningful—and they’ve helped me stay on track with my passions. I’m now looking forward to attending more events like this and continuing to be part of this dynamic builder ecosystem.
I only discovered Socratica two weeks ago, and I wish I had found it sooner. As soon as I learned about the club, I was hooked—but unfortunately, I only learnt about it right at the end of their programming year. Still, in the spirit of curiosity and wanting to immerse myself in the builder community, I decided to attend their annual event: the Socratica Symposium in Waterloo.
Socratica is a vibrant, creative club where developers, engineers, artists, and tinkerers come together weekly to work on side projects—completely unrelated to school or work. The focus is on building things you wouldn’t normally have the chance to create, with an emphasis on fun, offbeat, and even absurd ideas. Think Iron Man suits, self-playing guitars, or homemade microchips etched with high-powered lasers and projector lenses. I was fascinated by the community’s spirit and imagination and really wanted to get involved though with the academic year ending, it didn’t seem likely.
Luckily, the Symposium offered a perfect way in. It wasn’t a technical conference in the traditional sense; it was more about meeting people who build for the joy of building. And that part exceeded my expectations. I connected with tons of like-minded individuals, especially in the hardware space, which has fueled my growing interest in building quadcopters and fixed-wing drones.
In an unexpected but exciting twist, I also met the first VC who showed genuine interest in my startup idea. Since then, I’ve kept in touch with a few electrical engineers I met at the event, as well as the VC, who offered valuable advice on how to position myself for future funding opportunities.
Those connections have been incredibly meaningful—and they’ve helped me stay on track with my passions. I’m now looking forward to attending more events like this and continuing to be part of this dynamic builder ecosystem.
