Our day three of Navigate consisted of the Navigate Ecosystem Training Day!
We heard from many important research and granting organizations over the day that support the food innovation ecosystem
Our first speaker of the day was Colleen Christensen Industrial Technology Advisor at the National Research Council Canada / Conseil national de recherches Canada. Colleen spoke about the funding that is offered for small and medium enterprises.
We then heard from Bailey Gervais Provincial Agribusiness Specialist from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Bailey spoke about the programs that they offer for value added products.
Andrew Kudel Director of Business Development at Infinity SRED. Andrew shared about how they offer technical and financial expertise to ensure companies maximize their SR&ED tax credits.
Chris Dekker President and CEO of Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership. Chris spoke about STEPs distinct products and services where they link Saskatchewan suppliers with the global marketplace.
Sara Hipson and Melissa Corey from Mentor Works shared information on funding, advisory and grant support.
Jason Heit Manager at Prairies Economic Development Canada I Développement économique Canada pour les Prairies. Jason spoke about business scale up and productivity program.
Michael Nickerson Acting Department Head at the University of Saskatchewan speaking about the bioprocessing facility, research, and the department capabilities and areas of expertise.
Chartrand Blaine Program Head at Saskatchewan Polytechnic BARC program where work with microbials, something and their applied research.
Anusha Samaranayaka Research Officer and Kishore Rajagopalan Team Lead at National Research Council Canada / Conseil national de recherches Canada spoke about the Sustainable Protein Production which provides funding, their technical capabilities in food at their facility.
Mehmet Tulbek CEO at Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc. shared about the how the food centre works with start-ups and their production.
Amy Carruthers Program Development Manager and Kyle Adams from Ag-West Bio shared about how Ag-West Bio supports commercialization of technologies in the areas of sustainable crop production, value-added food processing, health, environment and bioproducts. They aid strategic alliances, provide support for early-stage businesses, disseminates industry information, and hosts events.
Day Four
The day started with a tour at the Canadian Light Source Inc. / Centre canadien de rayonnement synchrotron. "The Canadian Light Source is the only synchrotron in Canada and one of the largest scientific infrastructure investments in our country’s history.
Since the start of operations, in 2005, CLS has enabled over 5,000 scientists from 56 Canadian academic institutions and 45 countries, to publish over 6,000 scientific papers, highlighting discoveries in a wide variety of fields, in over 1,000 international scientific collaborations.
From helping in the fight against COVID-19 to creating new cancer-fighting drugs, developing more nutritious and climate-resistant crops and supporting clean-tech and green mining processes, CLS’s infrastructure and experts help researchers solve problems, train the next generation of scientists, and support industries to become more efficient and sustainable."
We then headed to the National Research Council Canada / Conseil national de recherches Canada Future Agri-Food Science and Technology.
We then had a lunch with Shannon Hood-Niefer, PhD, MBA from Sunnydale Foods Inc spoke with our participants about product development and commercialization.
Our final stop of the day was with Benjamin Scott and Megha Bajaj at Global Institute for Food Security. They shared how GIFS is working to "Discover, Develop and Deliver innovative solutions for globally sustainable food." They toured the world class laboratory and greenhouses where 83 staff from 24 countries do their research.
For the evening we took the Navigate Participants on a food tour of Saskatoon, trying out some of the great restaurants that we have to offer! And of course the desserts!
