The 2012 SME4SME Program Launches to a Full House at the University of Ottawa
It was standing room only at the University of Ottawa when Sean Flanigan, of the OTTN and University of Ottawa launched the 2012 round of the popular SME4SME program. Participants from the University of Ottawa research community, and Ottawa’s business community learned how they could access up to $100,000 in funding to work on research projects that will help grow Ontario’s economy.
Sean Flanigan launches the 2012 SME4SME program to a packed house
Last year, the SME4SME program provided funding to 15 research labs at the University of Ottawa to help small and medium sized enterprises of less than 1,000 employees solve a technical problem that was core to the enterprise. Projects in the past included developing a device that improves productivity for an infrastructure rehabilitation company, computer algorithms that improve telecommunication equipment, and chemicals with potential to extend the use of a medical research product for new market applications. These project werte designed to help the partnering companies work to improve competitiveness in the global economy. Many of the projects are leading to further collaborations between the university and the industry partner. (more…)
Students in the Start-up Garage Program discuss Operations and Business Development with Peter O’Blenis
Setting goals and implementing a system to help achieve those goals is key to building a successful business. This is a critical part of the Start-up Garage, the OTTN program that helps students build their own companies. On Wednesday January 18, 2012, Peter O’Blenis, the VP Business Development and COO of Flick Software gave students practical advice to help students vying for one of 8 spots in the 2012 Start-Garage.
Wednesday’s event was the third of four events designed to help students develop a proposal to the 2012 Start-up Garage which runs annually from June 1st to August 31st. Over thirty students took advantage of this opportunity to learn from Peter, an experienced entrepreneur with over 18 years in the software industry.
Students get one on one time with experienced entrepreneur, Peter O'Blenis
Peter stressed to students the importance of making concrete and measurable goals and objectives, and then setting up a system to ensure everyone in the venture has ownership of specific tasks, and is working towards their achievement. He is a big fan of detailed planning in short term segments (such as 90 days like Start-up Garage), and having team meetings on a daily basis, whether in person or by phone.
This active management of the venture helps teams drive towards success, and makes sure the team members are performing up to the demands required by a start up company. He stressed the importance of good employment agreements and practices that recognise the importance of each member in a small team to the success or failure of the venture. Lucky for the students, our final event this winter is on employment issues with Melanie Polowin, partner at Gowlings Wednesday February 15, 2012, 5:00 pm to 6:30, University of Ottawa. Students can register online at http://startupgaragefeb15.eventbrite.com/
Start-up Garage is looking for student entrepreneurs who want to build their own business. It offers $20,000 in funding and other support through the summer of 2012. Visit www.startupgarage.ca to learn how to participate. Submissions into the 2012 program are due February 22, 2012.
uOttawa Professor Illimar Altosaar helps students learn about intellectual property
OTTN would like to recognise Dr. Ilimar Altosaar, of the University of Ottawa’s Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology, for his efforts over the years in helping students understand intellectual property. His biotechnology class challenges students to write a patent application, and then think about how to commercialise it. Over the years, his class has won cash prizes for their work in competitions such as the Ottawa based Technology Venture Challenge, and the global open innovations company, Innocentive. Dr. Altosaar’s efforts have recently been highlighted in a recent University Affairs article, which can be viewed at http://www.universityaffairs.ca/what-your-students-need-to-know-about-intellectual-property.aspx
SME4SME connects industry to uOttawa researchers – Industry and researchers are invited to the January 24 information session.
Up to $100,000 is available to researchers for applied research collaboration with companies located in Ontario through the SME4SME program.
The Technology Transfer and Business Enterprise office (TTBE) is seeking applications to its SME4SME program in 2012. The program can be used by uOttawa researchers to develop relationships with Ontario industry by working on a research problem identified by the industry partner. The research lab receives the funding, and the industry partner receives the intellectual property. In past projects, researchers have identified new directions for research, opportunities for students, and additional funding possibilities.
Important Dates:
Information Session: Tuesday January 24, 2012, 10:00 am Location: To be announced
Submission Deadline: Friday March 16, 2012.
For more information, please visit www.sme4sme.ca or contact TTBE at (613) 562-5399 or ttbe@uottawa.ca . SME4SME is brought to you by the Technology Transfer and Business Enterprise Office, and FedDev Ontario.
Jusqu’à 100 000$ est disponible aux chercheurs aux fins de recherche appliquée en collaboration avec des compagnies situées dans le sud de l’Ontario, dans le cadre du programme PMIpourPME (SME4SME).
Le bureau de la Valorisation de la recherche et transfert de technologie (VRTT) recrute des soumissions pour le programme PMIpourPME pour l’année 2012. Ce programme peut être utile aux chercheurs pour développer des partenariats avec l’industrie ontarienne. Les chercheurs reçoivent les fonds, et les partenaires reçoivent la propriété intellectuelle. Les chercheurs ont su bénéficier des projets antérieurs en identifient de nouvelles directions pour leur recherche, de nouvelles opportunités pour les étudiants, et des ouvertures vers des nouvelles demandes de subventions.
Dates Importantes :
Session d’information : Mardi, le 24 janvier 2012, 10h00, Lieu à déterminer
Date de soumission : Vendredi, le 16 mars 2012
Pour plus d’information, visitez le site-web http://www.sme4sme.ca/fr , ou contactez le VRTT à (613) 562-5399, ou vrtt@uottawa.ca. PMEpourPME est présenté par le bureau de la Valorisation de la recherche et transfert de technologie, et FedDev Ontario.
uOttawa/OTTN members in Canadian and International tech transfer organizations
Although the academic technology transfer community is small, it is unusual to have two individuals from one institution in senior positions at a national and international level.
In November 2011, Sean Flanigan (Assistant Director, Technology Partnerships, uOttawa) was elected to the Board of Directors of AUTM http://www.autm.net/Home.htm as President-Elect. Sean begins his three year term on the AUTM Board in March. AUTM’s members come from more than 350 post-secondary institutions engaged in the management and licensing of innovations derived from research. Sean has previously served as AUTM VP for Canada.
Later in November, at the Innovation 2011 meeting in Montreal, Joe Irvine (Director, TTBE and founder, OTTN) was elected as Chair of the Board of ACCT Canada http://www.acctcanada.ca/ Founded in 2005, ACCT Canada provides a unique nation-wide platform for all proponents in the Canadian innovation ecosystem to collaborate at the institution-industry interface.
We congratulate both for their leadership, their commitment to the profession, and for the visibility this brings to uOttawa and the OTTN team.
OTTN at National Angel Capital Organization annual meeting in Ottawa
Joe Irvine represented OTTN as many members of the Ottawa entrepreneurship community participated in the National Angel Capital Organization. OTTN Board member Michelle Scarborough was the conference co-chair and several others from OCRI and the RIC (Bruce Lazenby, Peter Becke) and many local entrepreneurs and angels were in attendance. Two other ACCT Canada Board members also attended the event (Janet Scholz and Lanis Anthony)
OTTN participates in Innovation 2011 ACCT Annual Meeting in Montreal
Five members of the OTTN team participated in the ACCT Canada Annual Meeting in Montreal last week. Anouk Fortin (OHRI), Catherine Geci, Perry Kim, Sean Flnaigan and Joe Irvine (ACCT Canada Board member) attended the conference. Over 350 participants from post-secondary institutions, hospitals, government and industry in the industry engagement and technology transfer business shared best practices, provblems and solutions. On Monday Nov 21, Joe Irvine was a panelist in the session on Commercialization Systems and Supports. The next ACCT Annual Meeting Innovation 2012 will be held in late Fall 2012 in Ottawa.
On Tuesday Nov 22, it was announced that Joe Irvine had been elected as the new Chair of the ACCT Canada Board . In that role On Wed Nov. 23, he and Janet Scholz (President & CEO) represented ACCT Canada in a workshop on the Canadian Commercialization Consortium (c3) initiative of the International Commercialization Alliance.
uOttawa researchers and industry connect to improve the security of Canadians
OTTN, in partnership with uOttawa’s Faculty of Engineering, NRC-IRAP, and NSERC Ontario hosted an industry / academia connector event this morning. The event centered around the theme of safety and security, and included talks ranging from the use of robots to inspect vehicles for explosives, securing data and personal information while balancing the need to protect the community from malicious behaviour, and cost effective methods to fortify buildings to withstand bomb blasts and natural disasters.
Judging from the spirited discussions after the presentations, the topics resonated well with the industry participants at the event. This provided an excellent opportunity for the students, professors, and industry participants to look for common interests to engage in applied research projects. To help facilitate the creation of new research partnerships between the university and industry, NSERC Ontario highlighted their popular Engage program, which provides $25,000 in funding for new industry – academia collaborations.
Student Entrepreneurs learn how to better engage customers at Wednesday’s Start-up Garage event.
Start-up Garage hosted an impressive group of student entrepreneurs Wednesday night to learn the techniques used by the best sales people to engage customers, and turn selling into buying. The session was developed and run by Trevor Wilkins, who brought to the students insights from over 35 years of experience influencing people to buy his products, services, and ideas.
The session was dynamic and interactive, and kept the students wanting more. Trevor demonstrated how to fully engage with customers, and use elicitation to understand what they expect to take away from the purchase. Judging from the interactions between Trevor and the Start-up Garage participants, there is little doubt that these students have taken away with them techniques that are sure to enhance their businesses, as well as their careers and everyday lives.
Start-up Garage is looking for student entrepreneurs who want to build their own business. It is offering $20,000 and other support through the summer of 2012. Visit www.startupgarage.ca to learn how to participate. The next event is January 18, 2012.
Harley Finkelstein presents “The DNA of an entrepreneur” to potential Start-Up Garage candidates
Version francophone à la suite
On Monday night, Harley Finkelstein visited the University of Ottawa to present “The DNA of an Entrepreneur”, to student entrepreneurs vying for $20,000 and entry into the 2012 Start-up Garage.
Finkelstein commented on the make-up of entrepreneurs and their success. He also used his first hand experience as an executive at Shopify to highlight the potential behind “Software as a service” as a compelling model for delivering value to clients in the software sector today.
At the age of 27, Harley Finkelstein is well on his way to achieving his goal of making Shopify a billion dollar company. He believes that being an entrepreneur is the best job in the world, and that there is no better time to start that job than in your twenties. This is when individuals have the greatest freedom to take risks, one of his key success factors in becoming an entrepreneur. The over 30 students attending could not help but find inspiration through Harley’s youthful and captivating success story built on a decade of being an entrepreneur.
Start-up Garage will be hosting another event on November 9th, 2011. Joined by Trevor Wilkins,
Turning Selling into Buying® – words, actions and insights that lead people to buy from you
shouldn’t be missed by young entrepreneurs and alike.
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Lundi soir dernier, Harley Finkelstein a visité l’Université d’Ottawa pour présenter « The DNA of an Entrepreneur », une présentation visée aux entrepreneurs étudiants en lice pour 20 000 $ et l’entrée dans le programme Start-up Garage 2012.
Finkelstein a commenté sur l’identité de l’entrepreneur et de certains facteurs contribuant à leur réussite. Il a également utilisé son expérience personnelle, en tant que membre exécutif de Shopify, pour mettre en évidence le potentiel derrière les « logiciels comme service », un modèle convaincant pour offrir de la valeur aux clients dans le secteur des logiciels aujourd’hui.
A l’âge de 27 ans, Harley Finkelstein est bien équipé pour atteindre son objectif pour faire de Shopify une entreprise valant des milliards de dollars. Il croit qu’être entrepreneur est le plus beau métier du monde, et que le meilleur moment pour s’y lancer est durant ses vingtaines. C’est un moment ou les individus ont la plus grande liberté de prendre des risques, l’un de ses facteurs clés pour avoir du succès comme entrepreneur. Les 30 étudiants qui ont fréquenté la session d’information n’ont pas pu s’empêcher d’être inspirés par l’histoire de Harley. Son caractère jeune et passionné lui a bien servi.
Start-up Garage sera l’hôte d’un autre évènement le 9 novembre 2011. Présenté par Trevor Wilkins sera une présentation intitulé Turning Selling into Buying® – words, actions and insights that lead people to buy from you. Les étudiants (e)s intéressés à l’entreprenariat ne devraient pas manquer cette session.
