The Innovation Ecosystem with Alice Reimer

In this episode, we speak with founders from three startup companies that were part of the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking’s inaugural Summer Accelerator cohort: TurnCO2, MLCan and MHCombiotic.

The Summer Accelerator is a 12-week program designed to help UCalgary community startups continue to build and develop their companies, validate their business, and leverage resources in the UCalgary ecosystem. 

The three startups featured in this episode are comprised of UCalgary graduate students, alumni, and a former postdoctoral scholar. We will learn more about the research behind each of their companies, and the potential impacts of their technologies on their respective industries. We will also explore how the UCalgary innovation ecosystem has supported them on their entrepreneurial paths, including Hunter Hub resources such as the Summer Accelerator, Innovation Sandbox, and the Academic Entrepreneurs in Residence Program. 

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Listen to Now Innovating Season 4, Episode 4 to learn more about Molecular Organic Frameworks and the technology behind TurnCO2 with Dr. George Shimizu.

In this episode, we explore the experiences of the Parex Resources Innovation Fellowships that provide resources for UCalgary faculty researchers to concentrate on innovative projects that positively impact society. This spans a wide spectrum, including technological advancements, social initiatives, and novel approaches to addressing complex challenges. 

We speak with Belinda Heyne, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, and a former Parex Fellow about her innovation journey to advance a discovery, the risk she took to pursue a startup company, and how she has applied these learnings to her current research and teaching practices. 

We will also hear from Houston Peschl, a current Parex Fellow in the Haskayne School of Business, about his research in regenerative agriculture, and Pierre Kennepohl will tell us more about the opportunity the Parex fellowships can provide to all UCalgary faculty.  

In our season 5 premiere, we are celebrating UCeed, a series of early-stage investment funds, backed by philanthropic support from the University of Calgary and managed by Innovate Calgary. 

We speak with Lorian Taylor of LyfeMD, an evidence-based application to support diet and lifestyle solutions developed by health professionals. This social enterprise out of the University of Calgary has received investment from UCeed’s social impact fund.  

We will also hear from Pete Santosham to learn more about UCeed and the impacts it has had in only three short years. 

Learn more about the LyfeMD application.

Learn more about UCeed.

The main interview for this episode was recorded at Innovate Calgary’s Social Innovation Hub.  To learn more visit: 

Learn how to move your research-to-impact in the UCalgary innovation ecosystem.

This episode is also available as a video that you can watch here.

In our season 4 finale, we chat with Dr. Chris Hugenholtz, PhD, and Thomas Barchyn from the Faculty of Art’s Department of Geography. They are behind the technology and the research program for PoMELO, a vehicle-based methane emissions management system for the upstream oil and gas sector. They discuss how their research and technology for detecting methane emissions, a greenhouse gas, is an important step to help mitigate climate change. We also discuss their innovation journey and the decision to license their technology through the university versus creating a startup company. 

Learn more about PoMELO.

Learn more about Innovate Calgary’s Energy Transition Centre.

Learn how to move your research-to-impact in the Innovation@UCalgary ecosystem.

This episode, we chat with Dr. Anderson Hoff, PhD, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science. Anderson discusses how his research in new organic compounds and large-area coating of functional films has led to advanced printing techniques for flexible organic photovoltaics (or solar cells). He shares about the potential impacts of this technology for the energy industry and how it has started him on an innovation journey towards commercialization. 

Learn more about Dyes Materials Energy.

Learn more about the University of Calgary’s future-focused programs, world-class energy research, and opportunities to engage with us at the 2023 Global Energy Show. 

Learn how to move your research-to-impact in the Innovation@UCalgary ecosystem.

Learn more about the Faculty of Nursing’s graduate programs. 

Learn how to move your research-to-impact in the Innovation@UCalgary ecosystem.

This episode we chat with Dr. Kathleen Sitter, PhD, an associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary, and a Canada Research Chair in Multisensory Research and Knowledge Translation. Kathy discusses centering accessibility in her research, and the social innovation model she has implemented into the community to create inclusive digital stories. She also shares the thought behind the design of the future Multisensory Research Storytelling Studio and the impact this space will have on conducting inclusive research and for the disability community. 

Visit the Multisensory Studio website.

Learn how to move your research-to-impact in the Innovation@UCalgary ecosystem.

This episode we chat with Dr. George Shimizu, PhD, a professor of inorganic chemistry in the Faculty of Science. George discusses how his research led to the development of a unique carbon capture technology and how its impact was demonstrated through research partnerships with industry. He also shares his experience with licensing his technology, mentoring students to encourage innovative ideas and finding the right partners for both. 

Learn how to move your research-to-impact in the Innovation@UCalgary ecosystem. 

Learn more about UCeed’s early-stage start-up investment funds. 

Learn more about the university’s research partnership support offered by Industry Engagement.