News

Innovative use for ancient plant takes top prize in pitch competition

Oct 28, 2024

Liz Mahon and BryoSphere Biotechnologies won first place and $5,000 at this year’s Invention to Innovation (i2I) Pitch Competition for their work turning moss into sustainable biofactories to make bioactive ingredients for skincare. The annual event at SFU’s Beedie School of Business celebrates entrepreneurial scientists who have completed the Invention to Innovation (i2I) Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization program. Five finalists are selected from the graduating cohort to pitch their science innovation to […]

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2024 Coast Capital Venture Prize winner drives sustainable transportation forward

Apr 15, 2024

A micromobility hardtech startup is the top winner of SFU’s 13th annual Coast Capital Venture Prize competition. Fingerprint Technologies will use the $10,000 cash award and in-kind business development services towards bringing its novel e-bike to market in 2025. Co-founders Anthony and Hannah King launched Fingerprint Technologies in 2021, with a current product focus on the most widely-used and fastest-growing form of micromobility—the electric bicycle. Fingerprint’s reinvention of the e-bike will reduce car trips and attract new […]

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Inspiring the Transformative Synergy of Entrepreneurship: Opportunity Fest 2023

Dec 8, 2023

The entrepreneurial spirit continues to thrive at Simon Fraser University, as seen at Opportunity Fest, which brought over 250 community members together on November 23, 2023 at SFU’s Surrey campus. SFU’s largest showcase of student entrepreneurial projects is hosted annually by Beedie School of Business’ Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship. This year  it was held in-person for the first time since 2019, filling the SFU-Surrey mezzanine to capacity in celebration of interdisciplinary and intergenerational innovation. […]

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SFU MOT MBA students help Harbour Air’s ePlane project take flight

Aug 31, 2023

A team from SFU Beedie’s Management of Technology (MOT) MBA program is playing a pivotal role in developing the world’s first fully electric commercial aircraft by recently completing an industry consulting project with Harbour Air Seaplanes. Starting in early May 2023, the students delved into the business case for ePlanes to analyze the potential market, regulatory environment, and strategic directives necessary for the ePlane project to realize the HAAS (Harbour Air Aerospace Services) electrification vision. […]

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Celebrating innovation: SFU Beedie’s Andrew Harries inducted into BC Tech Innovators Hall of Fame

Jul 19, 2023

SFU’s Beedie School of Business is proud to announce that faculty member Andrew Harries has been inducted into the 2023 BC Tech Innovators Hall of Fame. This honour comes as BC Tech celebrates its 30th anniversary, and the Innovators Hall of Fame is a joint initiative with the Government of British Columbia to recognize outstanding leaders in the tech industry who have left a lasting impact on the province. Andrew Harries has a remarkable track […]

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SFU’s leadership in impactful entrepreneurship recognized with international award

Jun 8, 2023

Simon Fraser University is being recognized with the 2023 Deshpande Symposium Award for The Entrepreneurial University, in recognition of its leadership in entrepreneurial programming and innovation support. The award, accepted June 6 by Director of Entrepreneurship Sarah Lubik on behalf of SFU, is given to a university that demonstrates excellence in curriculum innovation and student engagement in entrepreneurship. The award is announced annually during the Deshpande Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education, held this year […]

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SFU named Canada’s top university for innovation in global WURI rankings

May 18, 2023

Simon Fraser University is Canada’s top university for innovation and industrial application, as well as number two in the world for entrepreneurial spirit, according to the 2023 World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI). It is the third consecutive year that SFU has ranked as the top university in Canada in the overall innovation category, as well as for the entrepreneurial spirit and industrial application categories. SFU moved up globally among innovative universities to 13th in the world—up […]

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From regenerative brain treatment to renewable packaging: Mitacs i2I Skills Training finale showcases the impact of science innovators

May 2, 2023

Dr. Nitzan Letko Khait has taken home top honours at the 2023 Mitacs Invention to Innovation (i2I) Skills Training Final Pitch Competition and received a $5,000 prize from SFU Innovates for her compelling plan for controlled delivery of specialized cells and proteins to promote regeneration of the injured brain in stroke patients.   Dr. Yeling (Yale) Zhu, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia, was named the second-prize winner, receiving a $2,500 prize from […]

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MOT MBA graduates make aerial intelligence accessible with drone software start-up

Mar 16, 2023

For Bill Lakeland and Peter Szymczak, SFU Beedie’s MOT MBA program proved to be exactly what they were looking for—a place where they could network with other business-minded individuals and gain valuable knowledge on the marketplace. They met in the program and co-founded Spexi Geospatial, a SaaS start-up that’s shaking up the geospatial data industry with an innovative software platform that uses drone technology to make aerial intelligence more accessible. The geospatial data industry has […]

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SFU Beedie represented among The Globe and Mail’s 2023 Changemakers

Mar 3, 2023

SFU Beedie congratulates two of its own, Pat Chaisang and Leejoo Hwang, for being named to The Globe and Mail’s 2023 Changemakers list. The annual list recognizes 50 emerging Canadian business leaders who are making a positive impact on their industries and communities. The list, which covers a wide range of industries and sectors from tech to healthcare to finance, showcases individuals who are innovative, socially conscious, and committed to driving positive change in their […]

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