News

Nanorobots and hydrogen fuel cell technology among i2I Venture Pitch 2023 winners

Oct 20, 2023

Advancements in mRNA drug delivery with nanorobots and hydrogen fuel cell technology took home the prizes at this year’s invention to Innovation (i2I) Venture Competition at SFU’s Beedie School of Business. The annual event is a platform celebrating a group of entrepreneurial scientists graduating from SFU Beedie’s Invention to Innovation (i2I) Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization. It provides an opportunity for six participants to pitch their research-based innovation ideas to a panel of […]

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SFU Beedie Professor Elicia Maine named AVP of Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation for SFU

May 27, 2022

Elicia Maine, W. J. VanDusen Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at SFU Beedie has been named the first AVP of Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation (AVPKMI) in the Office of the Vice-President, Research and International (VPRI). An international expert on innovation and entrepreneurship, Maine is also the founder and academic director of SFU Beedie’s Invention to Innovation (i2I) program and the national Mitacs i2I skills training program. In this new position, starting July 1, Maine will […]

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From spinal cord research to circular plastics: Mitacs i2I Skills Training finale celebrates scientist innovators

May 27, 2022

Janis Kan, neuroscience PhD candidate at Queen’s University, has taken home top honours at the 2022 Mitacs Invention to Innovation (i2I) Skills Training Final Pitch Competition. Kan, co-founder of Dynamiris, which aims to aid clinicians in the early identification of neurological issues, was named the winner and received a $5,000 prize from SFU Innovates and customized mentoring in her regional ecosystem. Dr. Christopher Mueller, professor and founding member of the Queen’s Cancer Research Institute in […]

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Winners named in i2I Venture Pitch competition

Oct 26, 2021

An innovative electrochemical water treatment process and an advanced tool for use in genome sequencing applications were the winning innovation ideas at the 2021 i2I Venture Pitch Competition. The annual event – this year in Hybrid format – saw scientist-entrepreneurs graduating from the Invention to Innovation (i2I) program at SFU’s Beedie School of Business pitching their research-based innovation ideas to a panel of judges with a wealth of experience in mentoring scientist-entrepreneurs and in advising […]

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Winners named in first virtual i2I Venture Pitch competition

Nov 5, 2020

The annual i2I Venture Pitch Competition went ahead in a virtual format for the first time this year, as scientist-entrepreneurs graduating from the Invention to Innovation program at SFU’s Beedie School of Business pitched their research-based innovation ideas to a panel of judges with science commercialization, seed investment, and legal expertise. The year long, part-time Invention to Innovation (i2I) program develops entrepreneurial mindset in graduate scientists and engineers and enables them to create and commercialize solutions […]

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Award-winning entrepreneur training program celebrates inaugural year and expands

Sep 24, 2020

Mitacs and the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University (SFU Beedie) have renewed a partnership to offer the Invention to Innovation (i2I) program for graduate students. Over seven months, i2I Skills Training equips participants with the frameworks, perspectives, and techniques to develop an innovation mindset and commercialize their inventions while overcoming marketplace challenges. Created by SFU Beedie, the program recently won international recognition after AACSB International — the world’s largest business education network — highlighted […]

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SFU Beedie entrepreneurship program wins global award, expands with Mitacs partnership

Apr 21, 2020

Invention to Innovation (i2), offered by SFU’s Beedie School of Business, has won international recognition after being highlighted among the annual Innovations That Inspire named by AACSB International (AACSB)—the world’s largest business education network. i2I is a transformational entrepreneurship experience that equips graduate scientists and engineers with the frameworks, perspectives and techniques to develop an innovative mindset and commercialize their inventions while overcoming marketplace challenges. Innovations That Inspire, an annual initiative run by AACSB, recognizes […]

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Wearable tech and carbon capture companies win SFU science and tech start-up competition

Oct 12, 2017

Start-up companies FlexiPatchR, which makes wearable technology to monitor Parkinson’s disease symptoms, and Flow-Through Solutions, which helps mining companies capture CO2 emissions, were the winners in their respective categories at the second annual “Invention to Innovation” venture pitch competition. The event, which took place on October 11, 2017, brought together six scientist-entrepreneurship students in the second cohort of the i2I program at SFU’s Beedie School of Business. This Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization […]

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The Province: B.C. universities grease the skids for marketable innovation

Oct 3, 2016

The following is an extract from an article published by The Province on September 30. By Randy Shore. 

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