Catrina Kronfli

U of T researchers and decision-makers explore how to better support and scale startups

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 17:04:20 +0000

U of T researchers and decision-makers explore how to better support and scale startups

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 03/07/2024 - 12:04

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Shiri Breznitz, director of research at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, speaks at a forum while Derek Newton, U of T’s assistant vice-president, innovation, partnerships and entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurs Aman Thind of Conavi Medical and Deepak Ramachandran of FundThrough look on (photo courtesy of U of T Government Relations Office)

Catrina Kronfli

Topic

Our Community

Entrepreneurship

Subheadline

New Horizons event focuses on the role of public procurement, talent and capital in scaling young companies

The ��Ƶ’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, as well as the talent and networks in the Toronto region, plays a key role in generating and nurturing startup companies – but challenges remain when it comes to scaling those startups into global players.

That was among the takeaways from a recent policy forum hosted by U of T’s Government Relations Office and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.

The forum, part of the New Frontiers for Policymakers series, brought together decision-makers and U of T researchers to discuss how U of T startups’ experience can help inform programs that support companies to grow and scale.

“U of T is inarguably a startup creation engine in Ontario,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives. “Over the past decade, U of T researchers, clinicians and students have launched over 650 startups and created 10,000 jobs.

“Our researchers are commercializing research at the frontiers of knowledge – from AI and medical devices to legal services and materials discovery. These companies are improving lives, creating jobs and supporting Ontario’s economic growth.”

Yet, while the U of T ecosystem has created some of Ontario’s fastest-growing companies, as ranked on lists such as MaRS Momentum and Deloitte Technology Fast 50, Canada continues to face challenges when it comes to scaling up companies into global leaders.

Shiri Breznitz, a professor and director of research a the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy in the Faculty of Arts & Science, moderated the conversation between startup and innovation leaders.

An expert in entrepreneurship, innovation and technology, Breznitz said that despite Ontario’s talent, research and startup generation prowess, investments in research and development, and competitiveness in export markets remain barriers to company growth.

“Achieving scale-up requires a diverse policy approach,” she said.

The panellists – which included U of T alumni Aman Thind, who co-founded medical device-maker Conavi Medical Inc., and Deepak Ramachandran, who co-founded AI-powered invoice-financing platform FundThrough – discussed the supports that startups need in order to grow while identifying several barriers to scaling up businesses in Ontario.

They include:

Procurement: For medical device companies, it is often difficult to get their product into the health-care system due to regulatory barriers and risk-aversion. By becoming a first or early adopter of homegrown technologies, government and the broader public sector can help local companies grow and stay in Ontario. For example, U of T’s Buy Blue Program allows U of T entities to become the first buyer of products or services developed by new U of T startups at a discounted price.
Access to capital: It can be challenging for startups to secure sufficient capital in Ontario, prompting many founders to pursue funding opportunities in the United States. Some of these firms eventually relocate south of the border. For its part, U of T provides founders with exposure to funding and top tier investors through events like “Demo Days,” the more than $100,000 in non-dilutive funding awarded each year during Entrepreneurship Week and the investor-focused Deep Tech Download newsletter.
Access to resources and networks: Navigating government programs and funding opportunities is challenging for startups. Organizations such as MaRS play a valuable role by helping founders identify relevant supports and a path to reach their next milestone. U of T’s 12-plus accelerators provides founders across U of T’s three campuses with a variety of supports, including go-to-market strategies, mentorship, networking events and incubation spaces.
Access to a diverse set of skills: Talent is key to ensuring technology firms remain competitive. And for startups looking to scale, hiring individuals who previously scaled a company and possess strong sales and marketing skills is important. To this end, the university’s Startup Job Board helps startups in the U of T community connect with the talent they need to grow.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a growing number of students who want to pursue entrepreneurship as a career path,” said Derek Newton, assistant vice-president, innovation, partnerships and entrepreneurship.

U of T offers 200 entrepreneurship-related courses, as well as a free Intellectual Property Education Program, noted Newton, who heads the university’s Innovations & Partnerships Office (IPO), a leader in patenting that files 75 priority patents applications and executing over 40 licensing and option agreements every year.

With support from partners, the university is also investing in more spaces for future entrepreneurs, including the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus, the Sam Ibrahim Centre for Inclusive Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership and UTM SpinUp – U of T’s first wet lab incubator.

“U of T is committed to seeing these companies survive and thrive. Understanding what drives successful startup growth has huge implications for Ontario and Canada’s economy,” said Cowen. “This is why we are working to learn from our entrepreneurs and their experiences.”

Smart and clean growth conference draws industry, government leaders

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 20:17:46 +0000

Smart and clean growth conference draws industry, government leaders

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 12/04/2023 - 15:17

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(photo by Liz Beddall)

Catrina Kronfli

Topic

Our Community

Climate Positive Energy

Institutional Strategic Initiatives

Climate Change

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Research & Innovation

Sustainabilty

Subheadline

Event organized by U of T’s Climate Positive Energy and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce brings together researchers and leaders from government and industry

From innovative clean technology to smart building standards, ��Ƶ researchers are working with industry and communities to reduce emissions in infrastructure and transportation – and to support a cleaner energy grid.

That was among the takeaways from the inaugural Smart Growth Symposium, which recently drew more than 250 representatives from industry, academia and government to Hart House to showcase smart and clean technology solutions.

The event was co-hosted by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and U of T’s Climate Positive Energy (CPE) initiative, an institutional strategic initiative that brings together more than 500 researchers and students across U of T’s three campuses to develop social, scientific, technical, economic and policy solutions that will help policymakers reach net-zero by 2050 and ensure an equitable energy transition.

Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, said Climate Positive Energy is working with the university to create a climate positive campus (photo by Liz Beddall)

“While Climate Positive Energy is working to solve global problems, it maintains a laser focus on local impact,” Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives, said in her opening remarks.

“CPE is working closely with other groups across the university to create a climate positive campus by engaging researchers in projects that can be piloted right here at the university, with our campus functioning as a ‘living lab.’”

The Ontario government’s priorities, meanwhile, include balancing housing construction with environmental objectives and increasing green space in the province, said Andrea Khanjin, minister of environment, conservation and parks.

David Sinton, CPE’s academic director, said U of T has deep expertise in all the fields needed to help Canada achieve its climate objectives.

“The critical role of strategic initiatives like CPE is that we bring together those disciplines, and match teams with industry, government, and other partners to achieve those goals,” he said.

The event brought together more than 500 researchers and students across U of T’s three campuses (photo by Liz Beddall)

The symposium included several panels that examined the shifts taking place across various sectors, including:

Building Smart: The building sector is increasingly adopting technologies – from digital twinning to smart energy monitoring to retrofits – to improve overall performance and efficiency. Dima Zreik, director of investments at the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), spoke to the CIB’s Building Retrofits Initiative, which provides financing to decarbonize and improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings in both the public and private sector – including U of T’s Project Leap. Derek Goring, Northcrest Developments’ CEO, stressed that to adopt new technologies in the building sector, there must be shared standards on data governance, referring to his ongoing collaboration with the Centre for the Sustainable Built Environment led by Shoshanna Saxe, an associate professor in the department of civil and mineral engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.

Advanced Mobility: Electric vehicles (EVs) are sparking change across the automotive supply chain. Brian Kingston, president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, noted the auto sector plans to spend nearly $1.2 trillion through 2030 to produce millions of EVs, along with the batteries and raw materials needed to support that production. For Kingston, a key challenge is ensuring EV demand since adoption sits at 13 per cent in Canada amid consumers’ concerns about the availability of charging infrastructure and grid capacity.

Smart Energy Grid: With electricity demand from EVs and a growing population expected to double electricity demand by 2050, concerns about the power grid’s reliability have grown. This is why CPE is spearheading the Grid Modernization, Testing and Simulation Centre with the support of 55 partners, said Shatha Qaqish-Clavering, CPE’s director of strategy and operations. Led by Professor Ali Hooshyar, the Ontario-based, state-of-the-art facility will help small- and medium-sized enterprises commercialize green technologies and develop solutions to ensure Ontario’s grid remains safe and reliable.

Industry partners said the Grid Modernization, Testing and Simulation Centre will accelerate the adoption of new technologies.

“We’re very excited about this centre,” said Frank D’Andrea, Hydro One’s vice-president and executive lead, enterprise strategy and energy transition. “One way to offset affordability issues is to become innovative. We view U of T as a partner and are looking to test technologies, scale them, and bring them to utilities for adoption.”

“Before we implement anything onto the grid, we need to ensure it’s safe and resilient,” said Shitiz Agrawal, vice-president of power systems, sales and operations at Schneider Electric. “What’s unique about this centre is that it’ll provide real-time simulation and engages all ecosystem players.”

The collaborative approach adopted by the Grid Centre initiative is also evident in another effort led by CPE: the CANSTOREnergy project. The project, which recently received a $24-million grant from the federal government’s New Frontiers in Research Fund, involves researchers from 11 Canadian universities, led by Sinton, who are developing clean energy technologies tailored to meet the needs of two Canadian communities – one in Ontario and the other in the Yukon.

Whether the domain is transportation, housing, or energy transmission, all panelists agreed that the time for action is now.

Nolan Andres, chief of technology and innovation for Kindred Credit Union, said the existential threat of climate change is increasingly being met with a collaborative response — one that is "driving us closer together."

Global experts gather at U of T to discuss how ‘self driving labs’ will revolutionize scientific discovery

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 18:44:06 +0000

Global experts gather at U of T to discuss how ‘self driving labs’ will revolutionize scientific discovery

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 08/31/2023 - 14:44

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Linda Hung, manager of Toyota Research Institute, speaks at this year’s Accelerate Conference at U of T (photo by Worker Bee Supply © Acceleration Consortium)

Catrina Kronfli

Topic

Our Community

Acceleration Consortium

Artificial Intelligence

Chemistry

Computer Science

Creative Destruction Lab

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

History

Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy

Research & Innovation

Rotman School of Management

Subheadline

The Acceleration Consortium’s second-annual Accelerate conference focused on talent development, collaboration and commercialization

The Acceleration Consortium (AC) at the ��Ƶ recently brought together more than 350 representatives from academia, industry and government from 16 countries to discuss how “self-driving labs” are revolutionizing the speed and impact of scientific discovery.

Held over four days in August, the consortium’s second annual Accelerate conference focused on key themes such as talent development, collaboration and commercialization – all with an eye to finding and developing new materials and molecules that can help solve humanity’s most pressing challenges, from climate change to pandemics.

Alán Aspuru-Guzik, director of the AC and a professor in U of T’s departments of chemistry and computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, said the conference has quickly emerged as a major draw in a field that’s rapidly gaining momentum around the world.

“The Acceleration Consortium’s Accelerate Conference attracts the world’s leading academic and industry researchers working to accelerate scientific discovery,” he said. “Given the tremendous growth and excitement we have seen since launching the conference just one year ago, it is clear Accelerate is becoming the flagship event for accelerated discovery.”

A U of T Institutional Strategic Initiative that launched in 2021, the AC earlier this year received a $200-million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) to help it achieve its bold vision of realizing the age of materials on demand.

The largest federal research grant ever awarded to a Canadian university, the CFREF grant allows the consortium to bring together researchers and industry to design, develop and implement self-driving lab technologies. These labs combine the power of artificial intelligence (AI) with robotics and advanced computing to create new materials and molecules needed for a sustainable future – at a fraction of the usual time and cost. Applications include everything from life-saving medications to biodegradable plastics.

Chandra Veer Singh, an associate professor in the department of materials science and engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, and Christine Allen, a professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, noted AI will be critical to a variety of careers in the future and that continuous learning is necessary to equip workers with the knowledge and skills needed to fill these roles.

Sterling Baird, the AC’s director of training and programs, spoke about the consortium’s upcoming digital discovery program – the first of its kind in Canada. Thanks to support from the Ontario Micro-credentials Fund, the program will train scientists looking to apply AI to materials discovery. Flora Wan, a technical education specialist with the Vector Institute, shared the programs that the institute developed to help professionals and businesses develop AI knowledge.

As an emerging field, ecosystem development is also important. Anjuli Szawiola, policy analyst with Natural Resources Canada, spoke to the two networks the federal government is co-leading – Materials for Energy and the German-Canadian Materials Acceleration Centre – to promote knowledge sharing and the adoption of advanced materials for clean energy in Canada and abroad.

For its part, the AC has become a magnet for cross-sector collaboration as its partners look to gain access to the wide range of expertise, research and innovation it has assembled.

The consortium includes more than 100 academics from more than 40 research institutes and 30 private and public sector organizations. Together, they are creating a global community to tackle key challenges in the field such as data sharing and reproducibility of self-driving labs.

Michelle Murphy, a professor in the department of history in U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science and a Canada Research Chair in Science & Technology Studies and Environmental Data Justice, spoke about the importance of incorporating social scientists and Indigenous communities in the research process given the ethical implications of speeding up the pace of science.

Murphy will examine critical issues associated with self-driving labs, including ensuring that those impacted most by the technology have a say in its development in order to prevent unintended harms, whether direct or indirect. With this in mind, equity, diversity and inclusion will continue to guide the AC’s project implementation and research design.

On the topic of commercialization, Sonia Sennik, executive director of the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL), shared the non-profit’s history of and philosophy towards supporting entrepreneurs.

“New founders have thousands of things on their to-do list. CDL believes the best judgment an early-stage entrepreneur can get is ‘entrepreneurial judgement’ from an experienced entrepreneur,” Sennik explained. CDL’s program allows select entrepreneurs to benefit from the entrepreneurial knowledge of fellows and associates who help guide CDL ventures.

Co-founded by Aspuru-Guzik, CDL’s Matter Stream is working with the AC to help founders seeking to discover, develop or recycle materials.

What comes next? The AC will assemble a steering committee to tackle various issues facing the sector. In addition to building six self-driving labs and a machine learning and automation lab, the consortium is hiring new scientists, chemists, AI experts, roboticists and more, with the goal of making the Greater Toronto Area and Canada a world leader in accelerated materials discovery.

With files from Erin Warner and Tabassum Siddiqui