Hello Everyone,

Have definitely seen some great local, provincial, and national innovation support last week:

– Monday in Quebec City:Board meeting of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) which invests hundreds of millions annually across Canada. with matching provincial investment in innovation infrastructure, state-of-the-art equipment to be used by both tech SME’s and researchers at universities, polytechnics, colleges, and hospitals.
– Tuesday in Calgary:Emissions Reduction Alberta’s (ERA’s)15th Anniversary of investing in emissions-reducing solutions created by entrepreneurial SMEs and intrapreneurs in industry, held at the TELUS Spark Centre
– Thursday morning:Edmonton Research Park for Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API’s)ground-breaking ceremony for the new Canadian Critical Drug Initiative (CCDI) building, hosted at life science entrepreneur innovator Nanospeed Diagnostics‘ new facility
– and back to Calgary Thursday evening: for the inaugural Scale-Up Week Gala at the beautiful new BMO Centre

This investment in innovation – whether through academia and research facilities, cleantech solutions, life sciences manufacturing, and technology companies – is part of what is making Alberta a destination of choice for innovators. The other parts are both the champions that lead these initiatives, and also the champions of these initiatives. From Justin Reimer’s team at ERA, to Andrew MacIsaac’s team at API, to Simon Raby’s team at Mount Royal – these initiatives and more are supporting our innovation sector, and building a better future by supporting our entrepreneurs, through the support they receive from innovation champions in government, academia, industry, and entrepreneurship, including – the GoA Ministry of Technology and Innovation, PrairiesCan, Alberta Innovates, and more.

Each of these outstanding events and organizations warrants a column of their own – so do go to their links to read the full-story. What is clear across the innovation sector, is that we are building momentum. This means that we have more to celebrate and recognize – which will inspire others and support even more future growth. On that note – don’t forget that you still have 3 days to Nominate a worthy Candidate or your team for an ASTech Award at this years 35th annual celebrations (Note: Letters of Support can follow on July 17). 

Thanks everyone – for being part of Alberta’s innovation community and doing your part, knowing that the champions of innovation is every one of us.

See you soon,

Gail
Gail J. Powley, P.Eng
President, Technology Alberta