The week has been busy for our Navigate participants!
Tuesday the participants heard from Lewis Collins of BioScout and Edwin Nichols of Drone Ag Limited about their experiences with exploring the Canadian and Saskatchewan agriculture ecosystem
This was followed by a tour hosted by Dr. Nancy Tout and Olufunke ('Funke) Okochi 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. They ended with meeting Platform Leads and research specialists to connect the participating companies with relevant expertise.
The remainder of the day consisted of curated meetings between the participants and different industry members and collaborators.
Wednesday was a full day of learning about different research and grant programs that are offered for start-up companies in Saskatchewan and Canada hosted at Crossmount Cidery.
We had Danielle Baron from the University of Saskatchewan who spoke about the outreach, technology transfer and information sharing that is important part of their research.
Robin Smith Director of the Sustainability-Led Integrated Centres of Excellence(SLICE) from Saskatchewan Polytechnic. Robin shared how they help you refine your question, set up an applied research program and build prototypes for testing.
Terry Peckham the Director and Chair of the Digital Integration centre of Excellence (DICE) Saskatchewan Polytechnic. Terry spoke about the analysis, storage, transmission, security and integrity of data across numerous verticals and how they work with start-ups.
Pramod Jadhav, PhD Research Specialist, Value-added Processing. Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Pramod shared how the Ministry invests in research and development activities enhancing the diversification and profitability of the agriculture in the province. They fund basic and applied research.
Angela Krauss Senior Vice President, Marketing and Membership Development Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership. Angela spoke about STEPs distinct products and services where they link Saskatchewan suppliers with the global marketplace.
Karen Churchill CEO of 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.
Rob Ziola Sr. Business Office at Prairies Economic Development Canada I Développement économique Canada pour les Prairies. Rob spoke about the funding opportunities that are offered to businesses.
Zsuzsa Papp, PhD Senior Advisor at Mitacs. Zsuzsa shared how Mitacs connects companies with talent and research teams in post-secondary institutions for collaborative innovation and research projects. Mitacs also funds projects of any size.
Rachel Kraynick Agriculture Program Specialist Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. Rachel spoke about the programs that are offered in adoption of sustainable and innovative management practices through technology transfer, program delivery and public trust.
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.
Colleen Christensen Industrial Technology Advisor at the National Research Council of Canada, Industrial Assistance Program(NRC-IRAP). Colleen spoke about the funding that is offered on small and medium enterprises.
The Navigate participants were able to hear from each organization and speak with them separately to find out what programs would be the best for them.
We toured the orchards and the cidery, and may have tasted a few!
We ended the day at the Berry Barn for a fantastic supper!