“Private equity investment appears to be holding onto the solid impetus developed in 2011 and, in so doing, is playing a key role in priming Canada’s economic engine,” said Gregory Smith, President of the CVCA and Managing Partner of Brookfield Financial. “Importantly, deal sponsors and investors are focusing on the economy’s sizeable population of mid-market firms, and especially those that are seeking to expand operations and undertake M&A strategies, and those that are emerging as spinouts from large corporations.”

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TechVibes

Waterloo is internationally recognized for student innovation and entrepreneurship, and for educating the leaders of tomorrow,” said Feridun Hamdullahpur, president & vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo. “This generous grant will do much to enable our students to develop their cutting-edge ideas into meaningful, profitable ventures.”

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University of Waterloo

Aside from Gilbertson’s state-of-the-economy address, EEDC recognized Edmonton-area organizations with its annual achievement awards: Quantiam Technologies in the innovation category, Homeward Trust Edmonton for community leadership, and Donovan Creative Communications for recognition category.

Based in the Edmonton Research Park, Quantiam recently built one of Canada’s largest private nanotechnology-based manufacturing facilities to provide its proprietary surface coating technology to a global client list, in partnership with the world’s largest chemical company. The innovation award recognizes those which have created or changed a product, process or business practice creating the broadest impact.

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Economic Development Corporation

Hyperdrive, spearheaded by the local tech organization Communitech, is modeled after American incubators such as YCombinator, TechStars and 500 Startups. It will give promising tech entrepreneurs up to two years of support including mentorship and access to early stage financing.

“This is another proof point of Waterloo region emerging as a major tech hub in North America, second only to Silicon Valley as the best place to start a tech business,” Communitech CEO Iain Klugman said in a news release.

Cohorts of 10 startups will be accepted into Hyperdrive three times per year. Startups accepted into the program receive an initial $50,000 in funding during a three-month sprint period. They get another $150,000 after successfully completing the sprint portion. More funding can be awarded if other milestones are reached by participants during the remaining months of the program.

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IT Business

Recent surveys show people who work at the technology parks are young, well educated and together with the organizations they work for, are making a significant impact on the economy of the province and the cities in which they work.

“The impact of our clients goes beyond mere numbers,” Minister responsible for Innovation Place Rob Norris said. “Our clients have developed new pharmaceuticals and ways to detect disease, new varieties of food crops, new ways to use computers that enrich our lives and new ways to minimize our impact on the environment.”

“Innovation isn’t about buildings,” Innovation Place President and CEO Douglas Tastad said. “It’s the people working inside those buildings and the personal relationships they develop with each other that results in innovation.”

Key findings from the 2011 surveys show:
·         The 2011 aggregate impact on the provincial economy is $906 million.
·         More than 5,000 visitors from outside Saskatchewan visited tenants at Innovation Place facilities last year.
·         Seventy-eight per cent of all tenants are Saskatchewan based organizations.
·         Seventeen per cent of private sector tenants in Saskatoon hold or have pending at least one patent.
·         Thirty-five per cent of people who work at Innovation Place facilities are under the age of 35.
·         Seventy-four per cent of all employees have completed at least an undergraduate degree or diploma, primarily from a Saskatchewan post secondary institution.

Economic data is based on an annual survey of the tenants which uses the total value of local goods and services together with staff salaries to determine economic contribution. The model has been used for 16 years and was originally developed at the University of Saskatchewan.

Demographic data was obtained from a survey of tenant employees and a survey of CEOs and on site senior managers.

About Innovation Place
Innovation Place is designed to create clusters of creative energy, fostering success by providing facilities, services and amenities to create unique opportunities for businesses in the science and technology sector.

For more information, contact:
Austin Beggs
Innovation Place
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-933-7464
Email: austin@innovationplace.com
Cell: 306-227-1636

Austin Beggs
Vice President, Corporate Relations
Innovation Place
114  – 15 Innovation Boulevard
Saskatoon SK  Canada  S7N 2X8

Tel 306.933.7464
Fax 306.933.8215
austin@innovationplace.com
www.innovationplace.com

The top 3 companies will receive the Grand Prize of an all-expense paid trip to Banff Venture Forum, Canada’s Venture Capital Forum, courtesy of the Canadian Digital Media Network and Communitech. The remaining seven companies will receive runner-up prizes of cash ad in-kind services of our sponsors.

When you register for Road to Banff, you and your team will receive the opportunity to pitch in front of VCs and Angels, a video of your pitch and feedback, an invitation to a Founders and Funders networking event, educational workshops, and much more!

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Road To Banff

“The Government of Canada is committed to taking innovative ideas into the marketplace where they can generate jobs, growth and prosperity,” said Minister of State Goodyear. “That’s why we have made new investments to support leading-edge research and international collaboration.”

Increasing business investment in research and development is crucial to Canada’s long-term competitiveness, and programs such as National Research Council Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) are helping businesses innovate.

To learn more about Economic Action Plan 2012, please visit the www.budget.gc.ca.

To learn more about the Government of Canada’s S&T initiatives, visit the Science and Technology for Canadians website (www.science.gc.ca).

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Marketwire

It’s unclear if Mr. Harper’s comments are a subtle warning to potential acquirers, or a pledge not to let RIM fall, as Nortel did. The man that Mr. Harper put in charge of a recent federal task force on overhauling federal R&D policy argues that saving RIM at all costs would be a bad idea. Tom Jenkins, executive chairman and chief strategy officer of software maker Open Text Corp., says companies are like people – they’re born, they grow up, and eventually, they die.

“Companies go through life cycles,” Mr. Jenkins explained in a recent interview. “And what we have to be careful of – whether it’s RIM or CAE or Nortel – we have to remember that economic competition is a flow. We can’t just look at it as a static thing.”

Mr. Jenkins knows RIM well. RIM and Open Text are located barely two kilometres away from each other in Waterloo. Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Balsillie run in the same social circles.

The key policy objective for the country should be nurturing the next generation of RIMs, not saving particular companies, Mr. Jenkins argued. Governments should focus their attention on making sure small and medium-sized companies have what they need to grow into the next RIM, he explained.

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Globe and Mail

Starting April 17, the new program will begin accepting applications for the first group of 10 startups with plans to accept three groups per year. Participants will receive $50,000 for the initial three-month period, another $150,000 upon successful completion then an 18-month period of follow-in funding begins with more money being contingent on the company hitting certain growth milestones.
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Ottawa Citizen

The newly announced Ontario-based $210 million dollar research and development initiative sees IBM, the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canada, Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), and academic institutions: University of Toronto, Western University, University of Waterloo, McMaster University, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Queen’s University and the University of Ottawa, come together to create a virtual network – along with 145 new highly skilled jobs in the province.

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Ontario Centres of Excellence