Executive Education
For Individuals
Mitacs i2I Skills Training
Canada’s world-class research can transform our most pressing challenges, from clean energy transition, health systems change, environmental clean-up, sustainable agriculture and more, but without the right people, it will remain in labs and publications. This progress requires investment in people: translational skills and entrepreneurial training for scientists and researchers who can transform research into impact and advance Canada’s innovation capacity.
The transformational Invention to Innovation (i2I) programs have been designed based on world-class research and experience specific to science-based translation, and linked to national networks of academic and industrial mentors, helping researchers unleash their entrepreneurial mindset along three complementary paths: entrepreneurial researchers, innovators in industry and venture entrepreneurs.
For general questions and more information, please contact i2i@sfu.ca.
Program Overview
The Mitacs i2I skills training program is custom designed to help scientists and researchers build a compelling plan to take their research and inventions to impact while joining a national network of peer learning and expert mentoring. This part-time program helps participants advance their plans and skills for impact while continuing to grow their research in the lab. The Mitacs i2I skills training program leads participants through 4 asynchronous courses with outcomes that build on each other, continuing to deepen knowledge and culminating in a comprehensive and compelling pitch to transform research from the lab to impact.
On completion of the Mitacs i2I skills training program, participants will be able to:
- Identify and prioritize application areas for their technologies and research
- Identify early-stage strategic decisions that will impact the future potential of their research
- Learn to identify or create market opportunities for their research
- Understand and validate the needs and players served by their innovation
- Develop business models and strategies to go from vision to operational plan
- Create a compelling narrative to get buy-in from key players
- Understand the options and choices for early-stage funding
- Develop an initial funding plan and timelines for implementation
Participants
The Mitacs i2I skills training program is the first step in the i2I suite of programs. The programs have a flexible, asynchronous, part-time pathway that allows science and technology researchers to continue advancing their research while gaining the innovation skills and entrepreneurial mindset required to create new opportunities to grow their respective industries, enhance their innovations in the lab and translate research to impact through entrepreneurial ventures.
Benefits to participants include:
- Masters students, Ph.D. candidates, Post-Doctoral Fellows, and alums five or fewer years out of school and an advanced research degree looking to develop translational innovation skills, explore new pathways for the impact of their research and match their research with a plan to meet a market or societal need.
- Faculty members who have engaged in this program have also experienced a transformational impact in their labs, careers, and research trajectory; their ability to secure translational and interdisciplinary grants; how they train their students, and their ability to spin off or license their research.
- Industry innovators: Individuals in the industry who are advancing science and impact objectives and looking to enhance their skills, which includes early-stage venture founders, Technology Licensing Office (TLO) personnel, and bench or early-career scientists looking to advance their careers.
Originally developed as a non-credit pathway for interns and alumni from Mitacs programs, the Mitacs i2I is also open to prospective Mitacs participants: research students and post-docs seeking to gain industry-relevant skills. Faculty and industry innovators are also welcome to apply and can inquire about eligibility through i2I@sfu.ca
Upon completing the Mitacs i2I, participants receive a completion certificate and a badge for Linkedin. They can apply for the i2I Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization certificate, where their participation in the Mitacs i2I counts toward the first half of the graduate certificate.
Timing and Schedule
Over an 8-month period, from mid-September to April, participants will engage in four asynchronous online topics facilitated by expert faculty members from across the country. In the first two courses (Lab to Market and Opportunity Identification & Assessment), participants work together through online discussions with their regional cohorts. In the second two courses (Business Models and Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurs), participants will move into smaller sector-specific learning groups with peers from across Canada and receive synchronous mentorship from successful scientist innovators.
Three national synchronous sessions, opening, mid-point and closing events, as well as regular check-ins with instructors and mentors, build communities and connections throughout the program.
Download 2023/2024 Cohort Schedule
Funding Opportunities
There are several streams of funding for participants in the Mitacs i2I.
Graduate Students and Post-docs: Funding for the Mitacs i2I is generously covered by Mitacs for participants who hold, have held or are applying for Mitacs Elevate or Mitacs Accelerate programs. Other student and postdoc applicants will be considered for Mitacs funding on a case-by-case basis.
Other sources of funding may be available for applicants without a Mitacs affiliation, including through affiliated research labs and projects.
Faculty: Funding for a limited number of faculty seats is generously provided by the Beedie School of Business through a variety of awards and scholarships or may be covered by funding from research groups, or tuition waivers for faculty at SFU.
Seats can also be arranged for international and/or industry participants through SFU executive education. Please inquire at i2I@sfu.ca.
Credit Laddering
The Mitacs i2I Skills Training counts toward 8 credits in the i2I Graduate Certificate.
COURSES
BUS 790 Lab to Market
You’ll be introduced to innovation management frameworks, and how to apply them to articulate value propositions, assess viability, protect IP, manage uncertainty and guide strategy in the commercialization of science.
BUS 791 Opportunity Identification and Assessment
You’ll learn the process for opportunity identification and assessment. Areas covered will include frameworks for identifying customers, prioritizing target markets, customer segmentation, technology adoption, product development, defining value propositions and product/service pricing.
BUS 792 Business Models
This course is an introduction to creating and validating a comprehensive business model, i.e. the architecture that specifies how a firm, startup or unique science or technology creates and captures value.
BUS 793 Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurs
Find out more about early stage company finance, including financial accounting and analysis, as well as financial models and business valuation techniques relevant to seed and growth stage technology ventures.
BUS 794 Leadership and Managing Teams
You’ll be able to develop and improve your managerial competencies for effectively organizing, motivating and leading organizations.
BUS 795 Financing the New Venture
This course prepares you for the task of raising capital in order to commercialize your technology inventions. You’ll create financial statements for your individual venture, forming the basis for a financial plan that will be incorporated into your venture business plan.
BUS 796 (Business Plan I) and BUS 797 (Business Plan II)
These courses carry on through within one semester consecutively (7 weeks each course). You’ll work with a faculty member who will coach, mentor, and advise you on your business plan, with a validated business model as the result. Business Plan I and II brings all your learning together and culminates in a customized business plan and a practiced elevator pitch, giving you the confidence to take your innovation to the next level.
Students who complete the Certificate (and have met the CGPA and other requirements of the MBA program) may qualify to have some courses in the Management of Technology MBA program waived, including:
- Bus 754 - Marketing Technology based Products and Services (4 credits)
- Bus 764 - Financing the Organization (4 credits)
- Bus 783 - Entrepreneurship (4 credits)
Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization
The i2I Graduate Certificate extends and deepens learning and commercialization planning past the Mitacs i2I, which counts toward the first four courses of the grad certificate. The following four courses augment previous learning and deliverables with leadership, finance and strategy training, and 1:1 business planning classes with expert faculty and mentors.
Program Overview
This part-time program is delivered through synchronous online sessions and provides graduate and post-doc research scientists, faculty, start-up ventures or personnel in existing science-based organizations with essential frameworks, perspectives and techniques to contribute to the translation of knowledge to real-world applications, start ventures, lead business development or new product development and increase commercialization in labs or industry.
In addition to the outcomes of the Mitacs i2I Skills Training, in this program, participants will:
- Create a succinct and refined business plan to commercialize a unique product or service.
- Validate your business model: test and retest business assumptions and hypotheses.
- Develop a well-grounded entrepreneurial plan and compelling pitch for partners, investors or funders.
- Learn leadership skills to drive ideas forward as part of a team, as a designer of organizations and as a leadership team member.
- Improve your communication skills through opportunities for live pitching and storytelling.
- Work with a national cohort of innovators and entrepreneurs.
- Receive a chance to compete in the final i2I Venture Pitch Competition.
This program will be open for applications in September 2023. Please check this site for more updates over the next coming months!
Timing and Schedule
Applicants must complete the Mitacs i2I Skills Training Program to apply and proceed with the Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization (GSCTC) Program.
The i2I graduate certificate is a one semester (Summer term) program with one asynchronous module per week with participants in regional cohorts and then in learning groups creating networks across the country.
Upon successful completion of the Mitacs i2I Skills Training, you will have the opportunity to apply to ladder into the i2I Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization to earn University credit at SFU’s Beedie School of Business, with the option to convocate with the certificate.
Program Requirements
Applicants must complete the Mitacs i2I Skills Training Program to apply and proceed with the Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization (GSCTC) Program.
Undergraduate Degree
Applicants should be either a current graduate student, post-doc, faculty member, or a recent graduate (within 3 years) of SFU or UBC graduate programs in science, engineering, health or environmental sciences. Candidates who don’t meet this criteria, but who are pursuing or have completed a graduate program at another institution, may be considered on a case by case basis.
If you are applying from outside of Canada, please get in touch with us at i2i@sfu.ca prior to submitting an application.
Letter of Reference
We require a letter of reference from your current or previous graduate supervisor. If you are a faculty member, a letter of reference from a colleague is fine.
Resume
We’ll need a complete resume from you, showing employment, volunteer activities, education and other appropriate information.
Official Transcripts
Official transcripts for credit courses from the Registrar of each post-secondary institution you attended, must be sent directly to the Graduate Business program office. Only one copy is required from each institution. If the transcripts are issued to you, they must be signed and sealed by your post-secondary institution.
For more information: https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/apply/applying/gograd.html
Innovation Statement
The Innovation Statement should provide the Admissions Committee with a brief overview of your academic and research background, your motivation for joining the program and an explanation of your proposed research for commercialization (a few paragraphs is fine). Scholarships will be awarded based on the strength of the Innovation Statement in accordance with the criteria of the specific award.
Participants
The i2I graduate certificate has been called a ‘mini-MBA in commercialization’. Participants seeking to earn a for-credit graduate certificate can apply directly into the graduate certificate. Those accepted into the program will start their journey alongside the Mitacs i2I Skills Training participants and continue through the second half of the program as part of a part-time, synchronous, national cohort.
Candidate streams and benefits include:
- Masters students, PhD candidates & Post-Doctoral Fellows, and alumni 5 or less years out of an advanced research degree looking to develop translational innovation skills, to explore new with new pathways for the impact of their research and/or match their research with a plan to meet a market or societal need.
- Faculty members who have engaged in this program have also experienced a transformational impact in their labs, careers, and research trajectory; their ability to secure translational and interdisciplinary grants; how they train their students, and their ability to spin-off or license their research.
- Industry innovators: Individuals in industry who are advancing science and impact objectives and looking to enhance their skills. This includes early-stage venture founders, Technology Licensing Office (TLO) personnel, bench or early-career scientists looking to advance their careers.
Several national research programs have partnerships with i2I for placement in the graduate certificate. Please indicate any relationships with research partners in your application. Faculty and industry innovators are also welcome to apply and can inquire about eligibility through i2I@sfu.ca.
Upon completion of the i2I grad certificate, participants can convocate with the i2I Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Commercialization.
Funding Opportunities
There are several funding sources available to participants in the i2I Graduate Certificate program.
Tuition amount for the full certificate tuition can be found here; however, the i2I team acknowledge the substantial financial commitment that PhD scientists and postdocs have already committed to becoming experts in world-changing research and the need to for equal access to translational skills and mindset training, and are dedicated to finding additional support wherever possible.
In addition to self-funding, other opportunities include funding through partner research projects, grants, competitive scholarships and philanthropic awards.
Candidates do not need to submit a separate funding application. Candidates are assessed for all funding opportunities based on the merits of their application and the strength of their innovation proposal as outlined in their Innovation Statement.
Faculty: Funding for a limited number of faculty seats is generously provided by the Beedie School of Business through a variety of awards and scholarships or may be covered by funding from research groups, or tuition waivers for faculty at SFU.
Graduate certificate seats can also be arranged for international and/or industry participants through SFU executive education. Please inquire at i2I@sfu.ca.
Credit Laddering
The i2I Graduate Certificate counts toward 10 credits in the SFU Management of Technology (MOT) MBA.
Faculty
Dr. Sarah Lubik
Senior Lecturer, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Area Coordinator, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Dr. Terri Griffith
Professor, Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Keith Beedie Chair in Innovation & Entrepreneurship
Visiting Lecturers/Visiting Faculty
Dr. Azadeh Goudarzi
Instructor of Business Plan Writing II - Invention to Innovation (i2I)
Dr. Clay Braziller
Visiting Lecturer, Market Opportunity Identification and Assessment, Invention to Innovation (i2I)
Dr. Fabiano Armellini
TBD
Dr. Greg Bavington
Visiting Faculty,Executive Director, Queen's Innovation Connector, Queen's University
Dr. Jim McLellan
Visiting Faculty, Queen's University
Dr. Pieter Dorsman
Visiting Lecturer, Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurs and Financing the Venture
Dr. V. John Thomson (name in doc does not match linkedin)
Visiting Faculty, Director of SFU Innovation Office
Olivier Dubé
Visiting Faculty, French Cohort
Eric Prouzet
Visiting Faculty, French Cohort
Embedded Mentors
Dave Thomas
Rhonda Wideman
For more details or to schedule an advising meeting please contact i2i@sfu.ca.
The Innovation to Invention (i2I) Skills Training program is offered in partnership with Mitacs.
The East cohort is delivered in partnership with Queen’s Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and Laval University.
The Atlantic cohort is delivered in partnership with Dalhousie University and Memorial University.
Apply Today
Admission is competitive, and space is limited.
Apply Now