Skip to main content

Home/ MaRS/ Group items tagged innovation

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Filter: All | Bookmarks | Topics Simple Middle
Sarah Hickman

Ministry of Research and Innovation - 0 views

www.mri.gov.on.ca/...MRI.asp

government innovation strategy investors research & development ontario canada policy

shared by Sarah Hickman on 06 Oct 09 - Cached
  • Sarah Hickman on 06 Oct 09
     
    MRI maintains the government's commitment to innovation. Its mandate is to: * develop an integrated innovation strategy and guide its delivery * invest in both policies and programs to deliver innovation strategy * foster a culture of innovation & showcase it to world MRI acts as: * listener to advice of experts * matchmaker between innovators and investors * supporter for researchers and innovators (school, culture, business) * promoter of research (lab to marketplace) * pursuer of big ideas (funds) The 4 main branches are: * outreach, promotion, and business development * innovation * research * commercialization
  • Sarah Hickman on 06 Oct 09
     
    MRI maintains the government's commitment to innovation. Its mandate is to: * develop an integrated innovation strategy and guide its delivery * invest in both policies and programs to deliver innovation strategy * foster a culture of innovation & showcase it to world MRI acts as: * listener to advice of experts * matchmaker between innovators and investors * supporter for researchers and innovators (school, culture, business) * promoter of research (lab to marketplace) * pursuer of big ideas (funds) The 4 main branches are: * outreach, promotion, and business development * innovation * research * commercialization
Assunta Krehl

Toronto's $25 million commercialization "engine" celebrates the appointment of its Boar... - 0 views

www.marsdd.com/...ard-of-directors-02062009.html

MaRS Innovation Ilse Treurnicht John Evans Ron Close The Hospital for Sick Children MaRS

shared by Assunta Krehl on 14 Aug 09 - No Cached
  • MaRS Innovation is honoured to announce its permanent Board of Directors, who brings together a remarkable and broad set of experiences and networks to support the development of this dynamic partnership of Toronto research institutions.  Designed to enhance the commercial output of Toronto’s world-leading research cluster, MaRS Innovation is positioned to make a significant contribution to Canada’s innovation economy and the quality of life for Canadians and others around the world.
  • upported by the Government of Canada through the Centres of Excellence in Research and Commercialization (CECR) program, and its member institutions, MaRS Innovation is focused on converting important discoveries into a new generation of products, services and high value jobs. The newly appointed Board of Directors, which includes academic and business leaders from across Canada and the United States, has the targeted expertise to guide MaRS Innovation to deliver on this critical mission.   MaRS Innovation represents a unique collaborative model, which aggregates the exceptional discovery pipeline of 14 leading Toronto academic institutions to build a diversified portfolio of assets, and harness the economic and job creation potential of the best opportunities for Toronto, Ontario and Canada.
  • “MaRS Innovation is privileged to announce a Board of Directors of this caliber and breadth of skill,” said Mary Jo Haddad, Chair of the MaRS Innovation Board and President and CEO of The Hospital for Sick Children. “The collective experience and guidance of these individuals will be critical to developing a collaborative, integrated and agile approach to this transformational organization that will move Canada into its next phase of economic development.”
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • W. Geoffrey Beattie – Deputy Chairman & President, Woodbridge Company Limited, Thomson Reuters Corporation, Toronto Christopher C. Capelli – Vice President, Technology Based Ventures, Office of Technology Commercialization, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX Ron Close – Information technology entrepreneur, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, MaRS, and Executive Entrepreneur-in-Residence, The Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON Nicholas Darby – Formerly Director of Physical Sciences, Corporate Venture Capital, Dow Chemical Company, President, Darby & Associates Consulting LLC, Midland, MI  Mary Jo Haddad – President & CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto Jacqueline H.R. Le Saux – Former General Counsel, North America and Corporate Secretary, Patheon, Inc., Toronto David A. Leslie - Chair, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and Former Chairman & CEO, Ernst & Young, Toronto Michael H. May – President & CEO, Rimon Therapeutics, Toronto Chandra J. Panchal – Founder, President & CEO, Axcelon Biopolymers Corp., Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC Ilse Treurnicht – CEO, MaRS Discovery District, Toronto Donald A. Wright – President & CEO, The Winnington Capital Group Inc., Toronto
  • MaRS Innovation serves as a business accelerator platform with a single point of entry for industry partners and investors.  It will increase the scale, scope and viability of IP offerings, and the quantity and quality of deal flow from partner institutions.  MaRS Innovation will also facilitate strategic research collaborations with industry partners, strengthen the innovation capacity of Canadian industry through adoption of new technologies from its member institutions, and launch a new generation of robust, high-growth Canadian companies that will become global market leaders.   The quality of the combined discovery pipeline will catalyze and attract sources of risk capital for translational research, market validation, company formation and growth.  “MaRS Innovation represents a unique and timely platform to contribute in a meaningful way to Canada’s knowledge economy, leveraging Toronto’s remarkable research excellence.  The vision and serious commitment of its members to work together to transform our commercialization results, and the support of the Federal Government, made this possible.  The announcement of this outstanding group of leaders to the Board of Directors for MaRS Innovation is an exciting step forward,” said Ilse Treurnicht, MaRS CEO and interim Managing Director of MaRS Innovation.
  • Assunta Krehl on 14 Aug 09
     
    MaRS Innovation announced its permanent Board of Directors. MaRS Innovation is focused on converting important discoveries into a new generation of products, services and high value jobs.
  • Assunta Krehl on 14 Aug 09
     
    MaRS Innovation announced its permanent Board of Directors. MaRS Innovation is focused on converting important discoveries into a new generation of products, services and high value jobs. Feb 6, 2009
Assunta Krehl

Pharmafocus.com - 0 views

www.pharmafocus.com/...eature_detail-0-493032,00.html

Canada collaboration discovery district entrepreneur science technology Ilse Treurnicht AstraZeneca GlaxoSmithline MaRS Innovation Primaxis Transition Therapeutics Rafi Hofstein convergence stem cell nitric oxide

shared by Assunta Krehl on 04 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Canada has always had to fight hard to attract talent and investment
  • MaRS Vital to Toronto's life sciences vision is MaRS (derived from Medical and Related Sciences) a non-profit organisation and business centre located in the heart of the city. Its core function is as a biotech incubator and business park, known as MaRS Discovery District. The venture was first established in 2000 to help foster and accelerate the growth of successful Canadian businesses and, after some uncertain times, it is now gathering momentum. A separate technology transfer office, MaRS Innovation, has also been established that, it is hoped, can be a world beater in its own right (see Turning good ideas into world beaters below). The location of the MaRS building in central Toronto is important, as it is just a stone's throw away from an existing cluster of universities and academic hospitals. MaRS has many links with other research-based organisations, including collaborations with three local universities, 10 academic teaching hospitals and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. MaRS occupies the Old Toronto general hospital, where insulin was first discovered by Best and Banting in 1921 and then developed for use in human trials. The 21st Century organisation can build on this heritage in patient-focused discovery and development. Formerly the head of venture capital firm Primaxis, Ilse Treurnicht is chief executive of MaRS Discovery District. She acknowledges the crisis in venture capital funding, and says Canada's sector has always had less access funds through this route than other countries. This is one of the drivers behind the search for a new approach. Treurnicht says the old models of building biotech and life sciences businesses have to be discarded, as they have failed to build companies with critical mass. She says MaRS' new 'Convergence Innovation' strategy of bringing science, capital and business together will pay off.
  • "We call our strategy 'Convergence Innovation' and what we are trying to do is move away from the old linear model of academics struggling in their spare time to build companies or entrepreneurs doing this in a very incremental way."It takes time and it has many risk points along the way. So using this Convergence centre model to create a much more dynamic organisation which can help accelerate good ideas towards the commercialisation." But she says Canada's geography and demographics are always going to be a challenge. "This is a very large country with a small population. If you think in terms of clusters and hub regions, Canada's business hubs are separated geographically, and there is not much in between in terms of people."That means we can't try to be a little United States, because we just won't show up on the radar. We have to take a different approach. We have to think about collaboration as our potential competitive advantage - that means using networks and associations to solve problems and build businesses."So as new opportunities emerge, we can take them to market faster and hopefully with a higher success rate." The centre currently accommodates numerous start up companies, as well as those providing legal and financial services to them. AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline also have offices on site. In all, MaRS provides mentoring for over 200 different companies across Ontario, and runs courses on entrepreneurship and preparing products for market.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • Transition Therapeutics is one of the companies based at MaRS, and is an example of a biopharmaceutical company that is taking a new approach to the science and business of drug development.
  • Now Toronto's MaRS Innovation (MI) has been launched to try to guide and accelerate these promising ideas out of the wilderness and onto the market. MI is a not-for-profit technology transfer company that will channel all the best ideas to come out of Toronto's renowned academic centres. In the Toronto and Ontario area there were between 14-16 different technology transfer offices in the different institutions, and MaRS Innovation resolved to bring these interests together into a single entity after industry partners told them it was an inefficient way to do business. Bringing together the different institutions under one umbrella organisation has been an arduous task for MaRS, but the reward could be considerable for all parties. MI now oversees probably the largest intellectual property pipeline of its kind, representing about $1 billion in annual research spending. This means MI will be a unified route for all of Toronto's academics and their institutions when they want to develop and commercialise a bright idea. Most importantly, investors from industry who are looking to collaborate will now be able to deal with just organisation and one IP process. MI will cover patentable ideas across a broad range of areas, and not just life sciences - the discovery pipeline in physical sciences, information and communication technology, and green technology ('cleantech') will all be funnelled through MI. MI now represents three universities, 10 academic teaching hospitals and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. MaRS Innovation, with support from MaRS and BioDiscovery Toronto, will advance commercialisation through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation.
  • ts chief executive is Dr Rafi Hofstein. Hofstein has been headhunted from Israel where he was chief executive of Hadasit, the technology transfer company of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem and chair of the publicly-traded company Hadasit BioHolding. He brings this considerable experience in technology transfer to what he thinks is a groundbreaking enterprise."MaRS Innovation is a unique global initiative, and I must commend the institutional leaders in Toronto for pulling this innovation powerhouse together to strengthen commercialisation output." He adds: "I believe this is going to modernise the whole notion of tech transfer." He says the scale and diversity of MaRS Innovation's remit puts it into a league of its own. Other research clusters elsewhere in the world have attempted similar projects before, but have been thwarted by the difficulty in bringing parties together. MaRS Innovation will also help launch and grow new spin-off companies and incubate them for 2-3 years to ensure a strong commercial footing. Hofstein says MI will also fund proof of concept trials which will persuade major pharma companies to invest in their development.
  • MI has just announced its first two commercialisation deals with academic partners in the city. The first is with the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital to develop stem cell from umbilical cords to treat cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neurological disorders. "With the Toronto area identified as a world-leading cluster in stem cell research, we are extremely excited to have identified this technology as our first commercialisation opportunity," said Dr Hofstein.
  • "Our partnership with MaRS Innovation on developing methods for using stem cells for diseases such as diabetes will allow us to work towards advancing care for these critical conditions."
  • The second collaboration is between MI and The University of Toronto (U of T) and involves a novel sustained release formulation of nitric oxide (NO) for applications in wound healing, including diabetic ulcers. "There are 300 million diabetics worldwide, of which some 15% develop troublesome foot ulcers. This wound healing technology is extremely exciting, making it an early commercialisation opportunity that MaRS Innovation has identified as being a potential win for some 45 million diabetics globally," said Dr Hofstein.
  • "This is one of many new commercialisation ventures that will be initiated by MaRS Innovation, our partner in commercialisation of research with 13 other academic institutions across the Greater Toronto Area," said Paul Young, U of T's vice-president, Research. "We at U of T are delighted that this innovation from Dr Lee will be taken to the marketplace to the benefit of society and the economy of Ontario and Canada." By aggregating the leading edge science of its institutional members and being a one-stop commercialisation centre for industry, entrepreneurs and investors, MI could really help put Toronto and Canada on the map."MaRS Innovation is deeply committed to facilitating strategic research collaborations with industry partners, strengthening the innovation capacity of Canadian industry through adoption of new technologies, and launching a new generation of robust, high-growth Canadian companies that will become global market leaders," added Dr Hofstein. "We look forward to working closely with all of our institutional members and to continue to jointly announce exciting commercial opportunities."
  • Assunta Krehl on 04 Aug 09
     
    Canada has always had to fight hard to attract talent and investment. As stated in Pharmafocus.com, "MaRS Discovery District helps to foster and accelerate the growth of successful Canadian businesses." MaRS Innovation has also been launched to accelerate ideas onto the market.
Assunta Krehl

MaRS Innovation appoints president and CEO - University of Toronto -- News@UofT - 0 views

www.news.utoronto.ca/...oints-president-and-ceo-1.html

MaRS Innovation Toronto Discovery District Rafi Hofstein Tim McTiernan The Innovations Group

shared by Assunta Krehl on 15 Jun 09 - Cached
  • MaRS Innovation appoints president and CEO
  • A research commercialization leader from Israel, Dr. Raphael Hofstein, has been named president and CEO of the new MaRS Innovation initiative.
  • MI was created as a single, market-facing commercialization storefront for Toronto's university and health research institutions. Located in the MaRS Discovery District complex, with business development and administrative support from MaRS, MI will advance commercialization through industry partnerships, licensing and company creation. MaRS Innovation (MI) was founded in 2008 with $14.95 million in funding from the Government of Canada's Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) Programme, matched by $10 million from the research partners. The MI partnership includes U of T, the 10 partner hospitals and health research institutes affiliated with the university, Ryerson University, the Ontario College of Art & Design, BioDisocovery Toronto, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and MaRS. Hofstein joins MaRS Innovation from his previous position as president and CEO of Hadasit Ltd., the technology transfer company of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • "MaRS Innovation is a unique global initiative, and I must commend the institutional leaders in Toronto for pulling this innovation powerhouse together to strengthen commercialization output. In my experience, good science is the single most important ingredient for success in this business. Toronto is already known as one of the strongest science cities in the world, and it continues to grow. Leading MaRS Innovation is a wonderful opportunity to do something remarkable."
  • Dr. Tim McTiernan, assistant vice-president (research) and executive director of The Innovations Group (TIG), U of T's research commercialization operation, said Mars Innovation will provide significant benefits to U of T.
  • And he said that MI's role as a resource "is like putting a turbo charger on an engine. Having MI working with us and the other member organizations is a huge step in taking advantage of the enormous potential in the Toronto research community. Commercialization offices acting independently will not be able to manage in nearly as effective a manner as will be possible with the expertise of MaRS Innovation."
  • Assunta Krehl on 15 Jun 09
     
    Dr. Raphael Hofstein named president and CEO of the new MaRS Innovation initiative.
Assunta Krehl

MaRS Discovery District - News - News Releases - 2009 - MaRS Innovation selects diabeti... - 0 views

www.marsdd.com/...cialization-uoft-06302009.html

MaRS Innovation Therapeutics collaboration Rafael Hofstein University of Toronto

shared by Assunta Krehl on 05 Aug 09 - No Cached
  • MaRS Innovation and The University of Toronto (U of T) are pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement to collaboratively commercialize a novel sustained release formulation of nitric oxide (NO) for applications in wound healing, including diabetic ulcers. 
  • This wound healing technology is extremely exciting, making it an early commercialization opportunity that MaRS Innovation has identified as being a potential win for some 45 million diabetics globally,” said Dr. Rafi Hofstein, President and CEO of MaRS Innovation. 
  • disruptive technology that facilitates continued therapeutic release of NO over a two week period has been developed by Dr. Ping Lee, Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy and GlaxoSmithKline Chair in Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery at U of T.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • This is one of many new commercilization ventures that will be initiated by MaRS Innovation, our partner in commercialization of research with 13 other academic institutions across the Greater Toronto Area,” said Paul Young, U of T’s Vice-President, Research. “We at U of T are delighted that this innovation from Dr. Lee will be taken to the marketplace to the benefit of society and the economy of Ontario and Canada.” 
  • With the launch of this second commercial opportunity, MaRS Innovation will continue to aggregate the exceptional science of its institutional members by being a one-stop commercialization centre for industry, entrepreneurs and investors. MaRS Innovation is expediting the transformation of the Toronto-based research into a powerful commercialization engine. 
  • “MaRS Innovation is deeply committed to facilitating strategic research collaborations with industry partners, strengthening the innovation capacity of Canadian industry through adoption of new technologies, and launching a new generation of robust, high-growth Canadian companies that will become global market leaders,” added Dr. Hofstein. “We look forward to working closely with all of our institutional members and to continue to jointly announce exciting commercial opportunities.”
  • MaRS Innovation is dedicated to bringing brilliant discoveries to market by converting the outstanding science of its member institutions into outstanding economic results for Canada and the world.
  • Assunta Krehl on 05 Aug 09
     
    MaRS Innovation and The University of Toronto (U of T) announce that they have entered into an agreement to collaboratively commercialize a novel sustained release formulation of nitric oxide (NO) for applications in wound healing, including diabetic ulcers.
Sarah Hickman

MaRS Discovery District - Recommended Resources - Social Innovation - Centre for Social... - 0 views

www.marsdd.com/...centre-social-innovation.html

social innovation

shared by Sarah Hickman on 15 Oct 09 - No Cached
  • Sarah Hickman on 15 Oct 09
     
    "The Centre for Social Innovation is a place-based hub of ideas, people, services and strategies. In partnership with Urbanspace Property Group, they provide 18,000 square feet of shared workspace in downtown Toronto. The Centre for Social Innovation is home to a community of nonprofits, charities, social enterprises, artists, green businesses, and individual innovators. Working together, they lower costs, create synergies, and spark new ideas for advancing their shared interests. The Centre for Social Innovation explores new ideas in collaboration, social entrepreneurship and systems change. These interests guide their work. Their website only offers a subscription to their email newsletter, Social Innovator's Update. Join to receive information on news and events in this space."
Assunta Krehl

MaRS Innovation selects umbilical cord stem cell technology from Samuel Lunenfeld Resea... - 0 views

www.marsdd.com/...ommercialization-06292009.html

healthcare MaRS Innovation Rafi Hofstein Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute Mount Sinai Hospital

shared by Assunta Krehl on 05 Aug 09 - No Cached
  • MaRS Innovation and the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital are pleased to announce that they have entered into an agreement to collaboratively initiate commercialization of an umbilical cord stem cell technology for potential treatment in cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neurological disorders.
  • With the Toronto area identified as a world-leading cluster in stem cell research, we are extremely excited to have identified this technology as our first commercialization opportunity,” said Dr. Rafi Hofstein, President and CEO of MaRS Innovation.
  • MaRS Innovation, along with the inventors and Mount Sinai, will initially focus on the diabetes application for the technology, as research has demonstrated that these cells uniquely secrete insulin in response to glucose, thereby mimicking the “normal” physiological state.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • The technology – invented by Mount Sinai scientists Dr. Ian Rogers and Dr. Robert Casper – offers a proprietary method to create multi-potent stem cells (MPSCs) from human umbilical cord blood.
  • With MaRS Innovation's participation, we are optimistic we will succeed."
  • Our partnership with MaRS Innovation on developing methods for using stem cells for diseases such as diabetes will allow us to work towards advancing care for these critical conditions." With the launch of this first exciting opportunity, MaRS Innovation has embarked on a journey to transform the Toronto-based research enterprise into a successful commercialization cluster.
  • MaRS Innovation is building its own internal infrastructure to support intellectual property and market due diligence to identify the most promising commercial opportunities. MaRS Innovation is dedicated to converting the outstanding science of its member institutions into products and services, making a significant contribution to Canada’s future economic outlook and the quality of life for Canadians and others around the world
  • “We are deeply committed to creating a powerful engine for commercialization that brings together an experienced team to identify and validate market opportunities, develop technologies to market requirements and build the linkages that will advance the exceptional research of all of our institutional members,” added Dr. Hofstein. “We look forward to announcing additional technologies to add to our pipeline over the next several weeks.”
  • Assunta Krehl on 05 Aug 09
     
    MaRS Innovation and the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital are announce that they have entered into an agreement to collaboratively initiate commercialization of an umbilical cord stem cell technology for potential treatment in cardiovascular disease, diabetes and neurological disorders.
Assunta Krehl

Look who just landed on MaRS - The Globe and Mail - 0 views

www.theglobeandmail.com/...article1171592

Ralphael Hofstein MaRS Innovation

shared by Assunta Krehl on 08 Jun 09 - Cached
  • Look who just landed on MaRS
  • MaRS was known for just that – putting a collective roof over the heads of Canada's out-of-this-universe thinkers. Aside from hosting the unlikely duo of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dalton McGuinty at a funding announcement two years ago, the centre seems enveloped in galactic silence.
  • corner of College and University
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • the country's most significant collection of scientific and medical researchers.
  • This week, a program called MaRS Innovation announced the appointment of its first full-time president, Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein, a Harvard-trained, Israeli biomedical wizard who wants to bring together companies, scientists and funding under one roof to create a special alchemy of science and shekels.
  • Since its inception, MaRS has focused on turning big ideas into commercial projects. The difference between the two entities is that pretty much anyone with an idea or discovery could come to MaRS for support, regardless of whether they had their “eureka” moment in a state-of-the-art research lab or in their garage. MaRS Innovation, a separate endeavour with its own board of directors, only works with researchers from its 14 partner institutions, which include some of the most prestigious universities and hospitals in Canada. The goal of that project is to do the kind of work those institutions would normally try to do in-house, but on a bigger scale and, the project's backers hope, with better results.
  • MaRS Innovation is very much in its infancy. Officially launched last June, the project is barely a year old, and the board of directors was only announced this February. It has secured about $25-million in funding over five years to be used for commercialization of projects.
  • Dr. Hofstein is giving himself two to three years to roll out a success story – be it the creation of a new small company founded on the back of a researcher's drug discovery and funded by a big pharmaceutical firm, or a new discovery that, packaged properly, attracts serious venture-capital money.
  • The federal government has also taken notice, naming MaRS Innovation as one of 11 new “Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research,” a designation that came with almost $15-million in funding.
  • California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks at MaRs with Premier Dalton McGuinty after a tour of the building in 2007.
  • Indeed, the MaRS Innovation model of pushing for commercial applications of research seems to be directly in line with the philosophy of the Conservative government, which clearly favours practical results when it comes to funding for scientific research.
  • But those tasks involve two separate skill sets, Mr. Tabrizi suggests, and may be much better suited to a place such as MaRS, where academic and industry heavyweights converge.
  • Many of MaRS's biggest partners are in health care, and Dr. Hofstein is jumping in with a list of priorities that includes focusing on stem-cell research and oncology.
  • MaRS itself has always been good at bringing people from various sectors together, but there's no guarantee that Dr. Hofstein's plan will work, especially in the two-to-three-year timeline he mentions when talking about a rollout date for the first MaRS Innovation projects.
  • Indeed, Mr. Tabrizi says some Silicon Valley insiders marvel at what MaRS Innovation is trying to do. “I think there's something innovative there,” he says. “Something different is being done.”
  • Assunta Krehl on 08 Jun 09
     
    MaRS Innovation announced the appointment of its first full-time president, Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein.
Assunta Krehl

Want to learn about innovation? Head to Toronto - Business Innovation Factory - 0 views

www.businessinnovationfactory.com/...want_to_learn_a.html%2523more

Martin Prosperity Institute MaRS creativity

shared by Assunta Krehl on 24 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Probably most impressive was The MaRS Centre - an old hospital converted into a non-profit innovation centre connecting science, technology and social entrepreneurs with business skills, networks and capital. The building is undeniably cool. Located in Toronto’s “Discovery District” -- two square kilometres have been designated as the city’s center of innovation. The MaRS Centre is a gateway of sorts to Canada’s largest concentration of scientific research. It’s anchored by major teaching hospitals, the University of Toronto and more than two dozen affiliated research institutes.
  • MaRS Centre from the outside
  • MaRS was created in 2000. The founding group raised significant capital (almost $100 million from all three levels of government and both institutional and individual private sector donors and an additional $130 million of debt and credit lease instruments were also secured) to support the development. What’s so clear is that leadership to drive public/private sector collaboration is required to effect real change. Many credit Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty for helping to not only create the MaRS Centre but also invigorate the region as a whole.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Martin has transformed the Rotman School from a mediocre Canadian business school to a world-class institution. It’s one of the few business schools around with an innovative curriculum built around the fundamentals of design thinking. Martin believes designers approaches to thinking and problem-solving can and should be applied to all components of business (He calls it integrative thinking and business design.) Most of our own processes here at the Business Innovation Factory are firmly rooted in design thinking principles.
  • Martin also managed to lure Richard Florida to Toronto in 2007 to direct the Rotman School's new $120-million Martin Prosperity Institute. Spinning off from much of Florida's research, the institute's goal is to build a leading think-tank on the role of sub-national factors – location, place and city-regions – in global economic prosperity. By taking an integrated view of prosperity, the institute will look beyond economic measures to include the importance of quality of place and the development of people’s creative potential. I'm looking forward to ongoing conversations with our new friends at the Rotman school. I suspect there might even be a collaboration or two about to happen as well. Bottom line: if you want to learn about innovation, Toronto is the place to be.
  • Assunta Krehl on 24 Aug 09
     
    Chris Flanagan talks about the benefits of moving to Toronto and the great work happening at the MaRS Centre. Mention of Martin transforming the Rotman School to a "world-class institution" ... that has "an innovative curriculum built around the fundamentals of design thinking." There is also a mention of the Martin Prosperity Institute spin off.
  • Assunta Krehl on 24 Aug 09
     
    Chris Flanagan talks about the benefits of moving to Toronto and the great work happening at the MaRS Centre. Mention of Martin transforming the Rotman School to a "world-class institution" ... that has "an innovative curriculum built around the fundamentals of design thinking." There is also a mention of the Martin Prosperity Institute spin off. Oct 30, 2008
Sarah Hickman

The Design of Things to Come: How Ordinary People Create Extraordinary Products: Amazon... - 0 views

www.amazon.ca/...0131860828

design strategy business*models case*studies

shared by Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09 - No Cached
  • Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09
     
    The iPod is a harbinger of a revolution in product design: innovation that targets customer emotion, self-image, and fantasy, not just product function. Read the hidden stories behind BodyMedia's SenseWear body monitor, Herman Miller's Mirra Chair, Swiffer's mops, OXO's potato peelers, Adidas' intelligent shoes, the new Ford F-150 pickup truck, and many other winning innovations. Meet the innovators, learning how they inspire and motivate their people, as they shepherd their visions through corporate bureaucracy to profitable reality. The authors deconstruct the entire process of design innovation, showing how it really works, and how today's smartest companies are innovating more effectively than ever before.
Assunta Krehl

Sheridan Interactive Multimedia Grad Featured as Design Student of the Month on Micros... - 0 views

interactivemultimedia.wordpress.com

Premier's Innovation Awards creativity awards & competitions

shared by Assunta Krehl on 10 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Multimedia students are being displayed at the Ontario Premier’s Innovation Awards ceremony on May 15th at MaRS in Toronto.
  • The Premier’s Innovation Awards was created to recognize and reward Ontario’s top researchers and innovators that are successfully turning global challenges into the next generation of jobs for the province.
  • There are three categories of Premier’s Innovation Awards:
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The Premier’s Catalyst Awards help build a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Ontario by recognizing excellence and leadership in innovation. The Premier’s Discovery Awards celebrates the research excellence of Ontario’s most accomplished researchers. The third category, the Premier’s Summit Award is administered by MaRS.
  • Assunta Krehl on 10 Aug 09
     
    Mention that Multimedia students from Sherian are being displayed at the Ontario Premier's Innovation Awards ceremony on May 15th at MaRS in Toronto.
  • Assunta Krehl on 10 Aug 09
     
    Mention that Multimedia students from Sherian are being displayed at the Ontario Premier's Innovation Awards ceremony on May 15th at MaRS in Toronto. May 20, 2009
Assunta Krehl

Setting a New Innovation Agenda - Yahoo! News - The Mark - September 8, 2011 - 0 views

ca.news.yahoo.com/novation-agenda-112828617.html

innovation social innovation MaRS Tim Draimin advisors

shared by Assunta Krehl on 09 Sep 11 - No Cached
  • Assunta Krehl on 09 Sep 11
     
    Tim Draimin states "Canadians' future standard of living will depend upon our capacity to innovate." MaRS Discovery District is a Canadian innovation centre that embeds social innovation in its' mission.
Cathy Bogaart

Blogging Innovation » Top 40 Innovation Bloggers of 2010 - 0 views

www.business-strategy-innovation.com/...-innovation-bloggers-of-2010-4

innovation resources

shared by Cathy Bogaart on 06 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Cathy Bogaart on 06 Oct 10
     
    Read up on the best innovation bloggers as voted by the readers of "Blogging Innovation".
Sarah Hickman

Podcast: Wharton's Kevin Werbach Speaks with IBM's David Yaun about the Global Innovati... - 0 views

knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm

globalization technology

shared by Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09
     
    Kevin Werbach, a professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton, spoke recently with David Yaun, an IBM executive, about the company's Global Innovation Outlook project. According to Yaun, "traditionally, companies have identified innovation with gadgets and gizmos, but that thinking is being transformed." The definition of innovation is being broadened -- it is becoming more open, collaborative, global and inter-disciplinary. "The barriers to innovation and collaboration have come down dramatically," Yaun says. This was the second in a series of interviews about themes to be featured at Supernova, a conference Werbach organizes in collaboration with Wharton in San Francisco.
Sarah Hickman

Open Innovation: Amazon.ca: Henry W Chesbrough: Books - 0 views

www.amazon.ca/...1578518377

commercialization ip

shared by Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09 - No Cached
  • Sarah Hickman on 10 Aug 09
     
    In today's information-rich environment, companies can no longer afford to rely entirely on their own ideas to advance their business, nor can they restrict their innovations to a single path to market. As a result, says Harvard Business School professor Henry W. Chesbrough, the traditional model for innovation--which has been largely internally focused, closed off from outside ideas and technologies--is becoming obsolete. Emerging in its place is a new paradigm, open innovation, which strategically leverages internal and external sources of ideas and takes them to market through multiple paths. Arguing that companies in all industries must transform the way they commercialize knowledge, Chesbrough convincingly shows how open innovation can unlock the latent economic value in a company''s ideas and technologies.
Assunta Krehl

SCANSite.ca: MaRS places Israeli biotech veteran at helm - 0 views

www.scansite.ca/...aces_israeli_biotech_ve_1.html

Raphael Hofstein MaRS Innovation

shared by Assunta Krehl on 07 Aug 09 - Cached
  • MaRS places Israeli biotech veteran at helm
  • TORONTO – MaRS Innovation names Dr. Raphael Hofstein (pictured) as president and CEO. Dr. Hofstein comes to MaRS Innovation by way of Israel, where he was president and CEO of tech transfer company Hadasit Ltd.
  • “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Hofstein,” says Mary Jo Haddad, chair of MaRS Innovation, which is a subset of the Queen’s Park-sponsored innovation hub MaRS Discovery District.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • “MaRS Innovation is a unique global initiative … to strengthen commercialization output,” says Dr. Hofstein.
  • Leading MaRS Innovation is a wonderful opportunity to do something remarkable.” Dr. Hofstein
  • Assunta Krehl on 07 Aug 09
     
    Toronto's MaRS Innovation Names Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein President and CEO.
Sarah Hickman

The Well-Designed Global R&D Network - 0 views

www.strategy-business.com/...rr00032

commercialization research*&*development globalization innovation

shared by Sarah Hickman on 14 Aug 09 - Cached
  • Sarah Hickman on 14 Aug 09
     
    Consider the two faces of the global innovation movement. Company A, having grown through acquisition, produces multiple brands for multiple markets and operates a worldwide network of research and product development centers. Each of its R&D sites was initially responsible for its own brands and local market, but with globalization these distinctions have lost their importance. Company B, on the other hand, was built largely through internal growth and has two global brands. It operates one primary R&D center supported by a handful of special-purpose sites around the world. This comparatively sparse network has helped Company B win wide admiration for the efficiency of its engineering. Because expanding the number of nodes in a network exponentially increases its complexity, it is not surprising that Company A's R&D structure is more expensive to operate. Company A has considered closing some sites, but has resisted doing so because it fears losing capabilities and insights, and roiling local markets. Meanwhile, incremental budget cuts have chipped away at engineer and supplier morale. Having built its network to maximize the value associated with market access, it is now forced to manage the network for cost. Most global innovation networks look like Company A's - and suffer the same problems. Company B's R&D structure is clearly more productive, but it is not necessarily ideal either. Its network might be too compact, limiting access to knowledge that could maximize performance. Thus, to identify principles and practices for creating a truly well-designed innovation network, Booz Allen Hamilton and INSEAD, the international business school, surveyed R&D leaders in 186 companies from 17 industry sectors in 19 nations in 2005. The survey results, and our own experience, suggest one central truth: Organizations benefit when they configure their innovation networks for cost and manage them for value.
Sarah Hickman

SIX - 0 views

www.socialinnovationexchange.org

social innovation social entrepreneurship collaboration

shared by Sarah Hickman on 15 Oct 09 - Cached
  • Sarah Hickman on 15 Oct 09
     
    The social innovation eXchange (SIX) is a network that has been set up by a group of organizations to help build the emerging field of social innovation. They believe that many of the big problems that the world faces - from climate change to the care needs of an aging population - will only be solved by experiment, enterprise and innovation, and that innovation needs to tap into the creativity of every part of civil society, business and the public sector.
Miri Katz

How The Private Sector Can Drive Social Innovation - CIO Central - CIO Network - Forbes - 0 views

blogs.forbes.com/...or-can-drive-social-innovation

social innovation social collaboration CSR corporate citizenship

shared by Miri Katz on 29 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • How The Private Sector Can Drive Social Innovation
  • Out of the 100 largest economies in the world, about half are multinational corporations. Given their impact on global communities, it is becoming increasingly essential that these large corporations execute responsibility to society, rather than rely on governments and non-profits to address difficult social issues alone.
  • oday, the world’s largest companies are in a unique position to play a much greater role in driving social change than ever before.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • Aside from pure monetary donations, however, is a new model that is transforming corporate philanthropy.
  • Increasingly, corporations are turning to a shared value model, in which companies work in alignment with society rather than against it, producing mutual benefits to both the community and the corporation
  • It evolves the traditional model of financial and material goods donations, to one in which corporations leverage a range of corporate assets including employee skills, business acumen and partner networks, to drive social change.
  • Here’s the shift: Instead of viewing it as our responsibility to drive business and social value, view it also a valuable opportunity to rethink existing practices.
  • The business case for social innovation
  • there are a variety of benefits for an organization, from brand building, to staff retention, and even improved client stickiness. Shareholders and the investment community are also increasingly considering corporate responsibility when making investment decisions.
  • collaborations can drive innovation through necessity. Non-profits work in extreme environments, faced with limited infrastructure, connectivity and staff. Operating in these situations exposes corporate staff to new sets of customer challenges, which can often deliver innovations in product design or services into the business.
  • by working with a non-profit organization, a corporation can demonstrate its expertise to a new audience, expanding its business network.
  • Increasingly, investors weigh environmental, social and governance  data when making investment decisions. While such data has been a benchmark for European-based companies for some time, we are now seeing a more global adoption and interest in this, which should be another forcing function for more corporations to act as good corporate citizens.
  • Applying social innovation in practic
  • A good starting point is to assess the company’s available skills, expertise, partnerships against the touch-points the company currently has within a given community. From there, establish specific goals to achieve and a strategic plan to meet those goals.
  • Companies that have an expertise in technology, for example, can collaborate with non-profits or social entrepreneurs to provide the infrastructure backbone that turn their ideas into reality. With the social enterprise mPedigree Network, HP leveraged its technology expertise in cloud-based services to design and build an anti-drug counterfeiting service in Africa. Counterfeit medicine is a significant problem in developing countries, causing more than 700,000 deaths each year. The new service helps save lives by enabling patients to validate the integrity of their medicine by sending a free text message.
  • Gabi Zedlmayer is Vice President of Hewlett-Packard’s Office of Global Social Innovation.
  • Miri Katz on 29 Jun 11
     
    Out of the 100 largest economies in the world, about half are multinational corporations. Given their impact on global communities, it is increasingly essential that these large corporations execute responsibility to society, rather than rely on governments and non-profits to address difficult social issues alone
Assunta Krehl

University of Toronto launches new centre to support commercialization of research - Un... - 0 views

media.utoronto.ca/...-commercialization-of-research

University of Toronto entrepreneurship commercialization Banting and Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship innovation entrepreneurs

shared by Assunta Krehl on 24 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • Assunta Krehl on 24 Sep 12
     
    The University of Toronto today launched the Banting and Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a new pre-incubation hub for discovery, innovation and commercialization which is located across the innovation centre, MaRS Discovery District.
1 - 20 of 656 Next › Last »
Showing 20▼ items per page