On Monday 15 October, Mr. Dennis Cuku will give a keynote "Cooperation in R&D, Innovation and Business with Canada" at Rīga Stradiņš University, 16 Dzirciema iela, RSU Main building, Auditorium 3. 

This event is open to students, employees and friends. The event will be hosted by the Embassy of Canada, the RSU Student Union and the RSU Technology Transfer Office (TTO) and is an ignition event to raise collaborations between both countries. 

Keynote speaker Dennis Cuku is passionate about self-improvement, productivity, mental health and sustainable development. He is co-founder of the Mosaic Family of Companies, a knowledge-worker collective designed to effect positive social change through business. He is a leadership speaker who helps SME's adapt to the changing business environment and an expert in business development and innovations.

Biography

As a visionary entrepreneur, Dennis operates on the manifesto that Normal is Broken – believing strongly that capitalism need not come at the expense of human values, environmental sustainability or personal happiness. He has founded a number of startups including Oil Country Engineering, the Mosaic Family of Companies, Thrive Collective and InterChange.

Dennis’ most recognised project, The Mosaic Centre for Conscious Community and Commerce, was completed in February 2015 and is the crown jewel of sustainable building in Alberta, becoming the first Net Zero energy commercial office building in Alberta – an example of Alberta’s oil and gas abundance, igniting innovative, sustainable projects. With this project he helped pioneer the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) movement in Alberta – a contract model that is gaining momentum in a marketplace desperately seeking a Better Way. 

Mosaic’s corporate culture was developed around the belief that employees cannot and should not be regarded as tools for making profit, but rather as people – each with unique gifts and talents, all looking to find what they do best and purpose in their work. For Dennis, work is a place we can bring our whole selves ... a place to self-realise and make a meaningful contribution. 

Dennis is a mechanical engineer with expertise in drilling rig design and executive management. Paradoxically, his passion lies in the arena of sustainability – both in the form of the build environment and behaviour change. 

Dennis understands that at the core of every business function are people, not GANTT charts, TPS reports or drawings, and that is represented by his success in numerous start-ups and acquisitions. He endeavours daily to expedite the abolishment of status quo and to help transition the world to outer peace, through inner peace.

Agenda

• Welcome note by the Embassy of Canada

• Mr. Cuku – Keynote speech and discussion

  • Personal background

  • Success and failure (with lessons learnt) in business

  • Impact of innovation in business

  • Opportunities with Canada and in Canada

• Public funding opportunities for R&D projects with Canadian partners
• Face-to-face meeting

The language of the presentation is English.