Innovation

TEC EDMONTON NAMED WORLD’S THIRD-BEST INCUBATOR LINKED TO A UNIVERSITY

UAlberta Health Accelerator revs up in TEC Centre Labs

AUTHOR

ROSS NEITZ

PHOTO BY

LAUGHING DOG PHOTOGRAPHY

ALBERTA-MADE HEALTH INNOVATIONS

now have a new stimulating space in which to seed and grow, thanks to the opening of the $2.3-million TEC Centre Labs.

Located in downtown Edmonton’s Entreprise Square, with nearly 8,000 square feet of wet lab and collaboration space for health technology companies and entrepreneurs, TEC Edmonton’s TEC Centre Labs will be home to two accelerator programs. The Merck Invention Accelerator will focus on advancing emerging health technologies to save and improve lives globally and the University of Alberta Health Accelerator will be driven by the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.

The UAlberta Health Accelerator will support and inspire healthsciences innovators with a stream of programming for faculty members to identify and advance early-stage commercial opportunities, plus a student stream to train the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“I think our researchers and trainees are going to love being downtown in this vibrant collision space to connect with other like-minded people,” said Deborah James, executive director of innovation for the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. “It’s a piece to a bigger picture of instilling a culture of innovation within the faculty.”

“IT’S A PIECE TO A BIGGER PICTURE OF INSTILLING A CULTURE OF INNOVATION WITHIN THE FACULTY.”

Deborah James with Chris Lumb, CEO, TEC Edmonton, at the TEC Centre Labs

TEC Centre Labs funding partners

TEC Centre Labs were made possible by the Government of Canada’s investment through Western Economic Diversification Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and support from the University of Alberta, Government of Alberta, Edmonton Economic Development and the University Hospital Foundation.

TEC Edmonton, a joint venture of the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation and the University of Alberta, has been named the world’s third-best accelerator linked to a university according to UBI Global, a Swedish firm ranking and benchmarking global business incubators.