Latest news with #AlbertaInnovates
Calgary Herald
12 hours ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Alberta Innovates invests $340k in province-wide wearable technology
Alberta Innovates is supporting a province-wide wearable technologies initiative to the tune of $340,750. Article content The funding will allow small and medium-sized enterprises to access facilities at the Canadian Sport Institute Alberta, and help move products from prototype to final, releasable product. Article content Article content The Sport Product Testing program had already been working with large clients such as Under Armour and Adidas. The funding will instead go directly to providing smaller teams with that same opportunity to test and validate their emerging wearable tech, otherwise a struggle in the province. Article content 'They are doing things internally, potentially, and they are doing things, if I will say, not properly,' said business development manager for the sport institute, Pro Stergiou. Article content Article content Wearable heart rate monitoring tools from small Albertan developers will be able to compare their results to a full electrocardiogram, allowing them to refine their algorithms and give more accurate results. Sport-specific technology will be granted access to the world-class athletes who train in the facility for their testing data. Without that access to these validation tools, smaller organizations can struggle to make it to market. Article content Article content Stergiou still thinks the industry has plenty of room to grow. After working with some of the largest wearable technology companies in the market, he sees plenty of gaps for smaller teams from Alberta to fill, not just with data collection, but with information analysis. Article content 'Apple, Garmin, Fitbit, all these companies in the wearable device space, they're introducing more and more and more data to the consumer, but they're not helping the consumer — as a health-conscious consumer, as a sport consumer — understand what the data means,' Stergiou said. Article content Article content Adam Kingsmill uses wearable technology every day. He's a Canadian Paralympic sledge hockey goalie who played on the teams that won silver at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics and the world championship in 2024. Article content Kingsmill tracks the miles he runs, bikes or skates. Throughout the long training period of a full season, he says it is a powerful tool to monitor load management and keep himself and the team away from injury.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Foes on the ice, not in the oilpatch: Danes, Canadians to collab on carbon capture
Social Sharing After Denmark's stunning upset over Canada in the hockey world championship, Danish and Canadian researchers are teaming up for a different sort of high-stakes challenge: developing carbon capture technology. Denmark's Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Alberta Innovates to collaborate on advancing the technology and driving down costs. The agreement will last four years. During that time, both sides will meet regularly to compare notes. Bryan Helfenbaum, associate vice-president of clean energy for Alberta Innovates, joked the two countries' budding hockey rivalry won't stand in the way of much-needed collaboration. "As a Calgary Flames fan, I frankly wasn't aware hockey was being played anywhere anymore," he said at a media availability on Thursday. Helfenbaum added that Alberta has many of the key ingredients needed to develop carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), including reservoirs for storage and incentives offered by both the federal and provincial governments. "As much as we have all those key ingredients, we still need to bring down the cost of CCUS to really enable widespread adoption," he said. "And so this MOU provides a four-year framework for collaboration between Alberta and Denmark to advance those CCUS opportunities, to facilitate those cost reductions." The partnership opens the door for cross-border research projects and exchange trips for students and professionals, Helfenbaum said. Denmark ambassador to Canada, Nikolaj Harris, signed the agreement on behalf of his country, which has set an emissions reductions target of 70 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. The country aims to be a climate-neutral society by 2050 at the latest, according to Harris. "The Danish government has very, very ambitious goals in terms of emission reductions," he said. "In order to achieve these goals and achieve the targets that we set in the emission area, CCUS is a very important instrument and a very important tool." Alberta Innovates facing funding cut The new partnership comes on the heels of another much more sombre announcement from Alberta Innovates. On Wednesday, CEO Mike Mahon revealed the Crown corporation is facing a $53-million funding cut starting next year — about one-fifth of its roughly $250-million annual budget. The organization plans to cut and merge some of its programs as a result, but will look for other funding sources, including the federal government, private sector and international partners, Mahon added. "In the world of innovation, we all recognize that things move rapidly," he told CBC News. "Things that might have been priorities five or seven years ago really are no longer priorities in the same way." Even as the Crown corporation looks for savings, Alberta Innovates said it's open to deepening ties with Denmark in other areas of mutual interest, like hydrogen development and energy storage.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Alberta Innovates will have to end, amalgamate some programs, CEO says
Alberta Innovates will back innovation in energy, environment, health, aerospace and associated technologies — but some support programs will end, according to the Crown corporation's newly permanent CEO. CEO Mike Mahon said the company, which offers funding, services and expertise to boost research and innovation, will have to consolidate and eliminate some of its work, as it faces a 30-per cent provincial funding cut next year and is armed with a review of its programs. "In the world of innovation, we all recognize that things move rapidly," Mahon told CBC News on Wednesday. "Things that might have been priorities five or seven years ago really are no longer priorities in the same way." Most organizational changes will come in the next four-to-six months, he said. But Opposition NDP innovation and technology critic Nathan Ip said now is the worst possible time for the government to reduce funding available to the province's inventors and entrepreneurs. "There's a sense of uncertainty here," Ip said. "That's ultimately the wrong message to send to the innovation sector at this time." The Alberta Innovates board announced earlier this week that Mahon, the former president of the University of Lethbridge, will become its permanent CEO as of June 1. Mahon held the role on an interim basis since June 2024, when board members appointed by Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish fired the former CEO, Laura Kilcrease. Glubish has said he replaced the previous board because it failed to review all the organization's programs to his satisfaction. Alberta Innovates is facing a $53-million operating funding cut starting in 2026, about one-fifth of its roughly $250-million annual budget. Mahon said his previous work as a university president prepared him for his current position. While president of the U of L, the institution faced a 25-per cent cut in provincial funding. Alberta Innovates will look for other sources of funding, including the federal government, private sector and international partners, Mahon said. "We have to be nimble enough to be able to respond to those [funding] changes," he said. He wouldn't specify which programs will be phased out, saying the Alberta government is still reviewing the agency's business plan for approval. Innovators concerned about help for startups Ip said layoffs are inevitable with such a substantial planned budget reduction. Job reductions have already begun. Alberta Innovates, an organization of 600 people, earlier confirmed at least eight people at the executive level have left since January. Alberta Innovates has not provided a target number of full-time equivalent jobs it hopes to reach in restructuring. There is value in reviewing the organization's programs and focuses, Ip said. But cutting a key support agency for entrepreneurs — when growth in technology and innovation is exploding — is shortsighted. "It's introduced anxiety amongst folks, and those are the kinds of things that are radioactive to business," he said. News of the budget cuts concerned some entrepreneurs who attended the Alberta Innovates Inventures conference in Calgary this week. Meagan Leslie, CEO of NanoTess, which makes a product that accelerates wound healing, is especially worried about how cuts could affect the help available for startups in their infancy. She said Alberta Innovates helped her company get going and secure product approval from Health Canada. "If there is a lack of funding, there tends to be a lack of opportunity — whether that means programs, or just general amounts of startups that can be supported," Leslie said. Economic conditions are prompting governments across Canada to pare back funding for innovation, creating another hurdle to which startups will have to adjust, according to William Fraser, contracts and regulatory administrator for tech company ENA Solution. "It'll be more on the businesses themselves to prove themselves," Fraser said. "I don't want to say, 'trial by fire,' but they have to prove the legitimacy of their product, their service, their industry." Mahon, the head of Alberta Innovates, said more details about the company's changes are expected once it releases new strategic and business plans, which could be in a couple of months.
Calgary Herald
21-05-2025
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Alberta Innovates braces for 'significant' funding cuts as annual conference kicks off at BMO Centre
Calgary's BMO Centre was buzzing on Wednesday as thousands of people, including entrepreneurs, investors and innovators gathered for Inventures 2025, Alberta Innovates' flagship conference focusing on fostering collaboration and global partnerships in technology and innovation. Article content Article content The three-day event, running May 21 to 23, comes at a pivotal time for Alberta Innovates, as the provincial government prepares to cut its funding to the agency by nearly 30 per cent over the next two years — a roughly $60-million annual reduction that CEO Michael Mahon called 'fairly significant.' Article content Article content Despite the looming cuts, Mahon sounded optimistic about the organization's future as it prepares to unveil a new strategic direction later this week. Article content Article content 'Innovation evolves, our ecosystem changes, and so our programs need to change in response to that,' said Mahon on his first day as permanent CEO, after serving in an interim capacity since last summer. 'Our programs are really meant to respond to that evolution and to ensure that the funding that we provide is focused in areas that really are areas that are going to help push and pull Alberta along.' Article content Provincial funding is set to fall from $197.6 million in 2025-26 to $137 million in 2026-27, before dropping further to $131.5 million in 2027–28. That includes a $20-million reduction in project-specific grant funding starting in 2026-27. Article content Mahon said the cuts present an opportunity for the agency to focus on high-impact areas and diversify funding sources, noting his organization is not alone in seeing its funding slashed. 'This is not singling out Alberta Innovates,' he said. 'This is the reality of the world that we're in at this moment — that we have challenges from an economic standpoint.' Article content Article content Alberta Innovates is set to unveil a new strategic plan on Friday — the result of an 11-month review of all Alberta Innovates programs, led by Mahon, that he said will see some initiatives being scaled back or phased out. Article content 'Part of our responsibility as an organization is to . . . look at new ways to do what we do to make sure that we're doubling down on the areas that are most important, but also look for new funding sources to help to support the innovation ecosystem,' he said. 'What I've been asked to do in this next phase of my journey (as permanent CEO) is to help bring that strategy to life.'
CBC
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Government cutting Alberta Innovates budget, setting new direction
A government agency that funds research and innovation — and helps inventors get their products to market — is set to lose a third of its provincial funding in the next two years. Alberta Innovates has existed for more than a century under several configurations and names, such as Alberta Research Council. The provincial government is the organization's primary source of funding. The 2025-26 budget says that a $53-million operating funding cut is coming next year. The overall budget is about $250 million. "My job is to make sure that Albertans are getting the best bang for their buck with their tax dollars," Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish said last month in an interview with CBC News. Glubish said his ministry and Alberta Innovates are reviewing all of the agency's programming to decide what's working and what isn't. Some agency programs are also coming to a planned end, he said. Innovators say the uncertainty at the agency comes at a time when when global economic instability and trade chaos has made it harder to find investors to back new products that could help people. Women's Health Coalition of Canada chair Carmen Wyton says her organization is waiting on word from Alberta Innovates about how the agency will support a global conference on women's health planned for Edmonton this September. "If there's anything taken away from the systems that are empowering and motivating the entrepreneurs and the investors and the developers and the leaders in doing things in new ways, then that will have long-term impacts that will not only affect our well-being ... but also, our economy," Wyton said. Alberta Innovates has been in transition for several years. Since becoming minister in October 2022, Glubish has completely replaced the board of directors, and appointed a new chair. The board fired former CEO Laura Kilcrease in June 2024 and replaced her with an interim CEO, former University of Lethbridge president Mike Mahon. Glubish also appointed board chair Tony Williams, who said they were taking the agency in a new strategic direction. Glubish's press secretary, Jonathan Gauthier, said in an email Alberta Innovates plans to approve a new strategic plan this month that focuses on "empowering Alberta's innovators, maintaining provincial leadership, and driving economic growth in key, high-impact areas." Zack Storms, the co-founder of Edmonton-based Startup TNT, says his organization relies on Alberta Innovates funding to host networking events where inventors and investors can meet, get mentorship, and strike deals for financial backing. The organization has raised nearly $20 million for 110 startup companies, the majority of which are based in Alberta, he said in an interview last month. Scientists' and entrepreneurs' circumstances can change rapidly, and they need clarity soon on any changes coming to Alberta Innovates, he said. "Speed is your friend," Storms said. "As a large innovation-serving entity, I think I can speak for everyone when I say we'd love to see the new strategy ready to go — rock 'n' roll — and as soon as we can." Staff and board departures Alberta Innovates is also parting ways with employees. Neither the government nor Alberta Innovates would say how many employees have left since Jan. 1, 2025, except to say eight people have departed who were at the executive director level or above. Alberta Innovates spokesperson Nicole Shokoples said she did not yet know how many full-time jobs would be affected by the planned provincial funding cuts. The agency referred all other questions to the government. Glubish has appointed 15 people to the board since he became minister. Twelve of those people remain on the board. The minister said the previous directors, who were appointed through a public recruitment process, "did not respect my requests." Glubish said after becoming minister, he asked the board to provide a line-by-line review of every Alberta Innovates program. "I gave them two years to do it, and they never gave me anything," Glubish said. "That's why they're the former board." CBC News has seen an email dated April 19, 2024, sent from the organization's former CEO to David James, then Glubish's deputy minister. "Please find attached the Alberta Innovates Program Review for 2024," the email reads. Glubish's press secretary, Gauthier, said in a May 2 email that after a year-and-a-half of asking to see an analysis, what Alberta Innovates submitted was "unacceptably vague and full of deficiencies." Gauthier also says disagreement over the review was one factor, but not the only reason for replacing the board. "We need the right people in the right places to ensure Alberta is the most innovative jurisdiction in all of Canada," he wrote. Another evolution of Alberta Innovates Subsequent provincial governments have split apart, then re-amalgamated Alberta Innovates, along with cutting and boosting its funding. In 2016, medical scientists at universities fretted that a 25 per cent cut to health research funding at Alberta Innovates would reduce opportunities for students and risk the province losing out on matching federal and private funding. In 2019, the Jason Kenney UCP government said it would eliminate 125 of 670 jobs at Alberta Innovates. The most recent provincial budget says the organization had 603 employees. Wyton, of the women's health coalition, said the partnership has been unwavering, but staff turnover and unexpected changes at Alberta Innovates has left the coalition uncertain about what kind of help they might receive. "It is very hard right now with any partnerships to lock them down because of the current state of economic conditions, political situations," she said. Entrepreneurs said if Alberta Innovates is going to limit the number of programs, or streams of available funding, it should focus on making grant applications smoother. In 2024, Alberta Innovates reported administration made up 13 per cent of its expenses. Storms, of Startup TNT, said a program review at Alberta Innovates is justifiable if the organization is still delivering as many grants, and dispensing them with more efficiency and agility. He also emphasized the economic value of consistent investment in innovation over time. "A lot of it doesn't lead anywhere, but maybe five, 10, 15 years later, it actually leads to a whole new innovation ecosystem that you didn't anticipate," he said.
