Events

Clinexus works to connect you with related industry events that will provide you with networking opportunities, access to key industry stakeholders, relevant information and more. Our list of featured industry events includes:

Funding/Financing

Market Development

Health Technology

Awards & Competitions

Visit www.infoport.ca and find out what other technology events are coming up this month both locally and abroad.

The Canadian Technology Accelerator for Life Sciences

Application Deadline: ASAP (only 2 spaces left)

The Bay Area is an integral part of the global value chain for Canadian entrepreneurs and a strategic access point to the unique resources and the new economic forces of China, Brazil and India. The Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) program provides access to the Bay Area market to support the growth of Canadian companies.  The life sciences accelerator is located at Genentech Hall, San Francisco (CTA@MissionBay).

Program Overview
The CTA, run by the Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco/Palo Alto, provides Canadian companies with access to the resources of The Bay Area. Immersion in the Valley’s business ecosystem provides entrepreneurial inspiration and new perspectives, all of which help Canadian companies refine their business model. Specifically, CTA program participants receive:

Please read the Life Science CTA Description Brochure for more information.

How to Apply
At this time, we are seeking an expression of interest in the CTA. There are a limited number of spots available for the program and all applications will be reviewed by external experts on their growth potential and to ensure companies fit the appropriate criteria. If you are interested in participating in the program, please send your completed application form to Brooke Dugas at Brooke.Dugas@gov.ab.ca.

For questions and further information, please contact Brooke Dugas by email or by phone 780-422-1046.

This program is supported by: Clinexus, The Government of Alberta and BioAlberta

Registration for VenturePrize is Now Open

Closing Date: February 24, 2012

Have a business idea but don't necessarily have the business training to launch your company?

Enter the 10th annual TEC VenturePrize Business Plan Competition offering $150,000 in prizes! VenturePrize is a province-wide entrepreneurial competition and educational opportunity for technology entrepreneurs. For more information and to register, visit tecedmonton.com.

VentureAlberta Summit Series

Edmonton or Lloydminster: February 25 thru 27, 2012
Banff/Calgary: April 14 thru 16, 2012

Startups - Go to BaseCamp to create an Investor Deck, understand investor terms, and learn how to protect you and your investors.

At The Summit, find resources such as business strategy, sales assistance, mentoring, CFO assistance, and potential seed capital.

Company Builders and Service Providers - Find new and interesting startups to be part of. Find ground floor opportunities. Be part of helping at BaseCamp, or just come to see the finished opportunities when they are presented at The Summit.

Investors - Start tracking early stage companies, or get in on the ground floor of Western Canada’s next generation of startups.

For additional information on the Summit Series and Detailed Agenda, please click here.

BioAlberta is a supporter of the VentureAlberta Summit Series and is offering BioAlberta members a 25% discount off the registration fee.

Questions about the Summit Series program? Please contact Randy Thompson at 403-313-2695 or news@venturealberta.com.

Selling to the Federal Government - CICP Info Sessions

Calgary: February 28, 2012
Red Deer: February 29, 2012
Edmonton: March 1, 2012

Are you a business with a ready-to-commercialize product or service and interested in selling to the federal government? This session will help you decide whether/how to participate in the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP). CICP is a new $40 million procurement program by the federal government and one of the four target areas is health.  This info session is in anticipation of the 3rd Call for Proposals. To register, contact Alecia Wittmeier-Townley.

To get an idea of who has been successful in the previous two funding calls, click here.

When: 8:00 - 11:30 am, Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Where: Alastair Ross Technology Centre, 3553 31 St NW, Calgary

When: 8:00 - 11:30 am, Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Where: Red Deer College, 100 College Boulevard, Red Deer, AB

When: 8:00 - 11:30 am, Thursday, March 1, 2012
Where: Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures, 250 Karl Clark Road, Edmonton, AB

BC Digital Health Demo Day

Vancouver: March 29, 2012

You are an entrepreneur, an engineer, a former executive, a student, a researcher, a physician, a nurse, a patient or a government official who has a solution to fix a real problem in BC’s $16.5 Billion healthcare system. You are frustrated with the status quo and cannot wait to share your ideas with the world. You believe that the digital revolution will create a better healthcare at home and globally. You want to be seen and heard. You want to make a difference!
 
If you think you can change the way people access, use and share health information; reduce the cost of healthcare delivery and make the system sustainable; or empower consumers by offering better experiences and outcomes, the RSVP by Feb 29.  Applications of disruptive or sustainable innovation are acceptable. However, we are ONLY interested in digital and mobile solutions (software and apps) that are customer-centric, cost-effective, scalable and can solve Real Problems for the following categories:

There are just three steps to showing off your idea at Demo Day:

What are you waiting for? Send your 100 words today to Michael Bidu

Hiring a Summer Student or New Grad?

Application Dates: Ranging from February 1 - 29, 2012

The following is a list of government programs that are being offered this year to help with the cost of hiring students and new grads.

Summer Work Experience Program - Target: Summer students

Summer Temporary Employment Program (STEP) - Target: Summer students

Small Business Internship Program - Target: E-business projects

Career Focus - Target: People getting their first job after graduating from any post-secondary program.
 
Skills Link - Target: People who might have difficulty getting work for reasons such as:

Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities - Target: People with Disabilities

Aboriginal Futures - Target: Work experience opportunities for First Nation candidates.
 

GSMA Mobile Health University Challenge 2011-2012

Closing Date: March 1, 2012

It’s a real-world opportunity for students to experience and realize their talent and win a chance to showcase their idea at the prestigious GSMA-mHA Mobile Health Summit in Cape Town in May 2012.

Two members of the top 10 teams will be invited, expenses paid, to pitch their concepts to a diverse judging panel made up of venture capitalists, major industry players, and thought leaders in the mobile heath ecosystem at the summit. Full passes to the summit will be provided for the teams to network and engage with a number of the leading lights in the industry.
 
The winning team of the GSMA Mobile Health University Challenge 2011/12 will be rewarded $5,000 worth of training and mentoring towards the future development of their innovation.
 
Registration for entries is now open with the closing date of 1st March 2012. Full details and conditions of entry for the contest are detailed on the BMIC website.

MedTechNorth - Save the Date

Montreal: April 18, 19
Call for Company Presentations: Closes March 9, 2012

MedTechNorth is a unique Canadian medical technologies event where innovators, clinicians, investors, the public health system actors and institutions can meet and discuss around strategic challenges as well as market and R&D opportunities. The event is built around:

 

Clinexus is working with partner organizations in Quebec and Ontario to organize this national event. For more information or to register, click here.

Canada's Rising Stars in Global Health: Round Three

Closing Date: March 23, 2012

We are looking for bold ideas with big impact.  Grand Challenges Canada is pleased to announce Canada’s Rising Stars in Global Health Request for Proposals, Round Three.  This unique program is a call to action to Canada’s early-career innovators to make their contribution to global health.  Grand Challenges Canada’s goal is to tap into the creativity, knowledge and skills of Canada’s scientists, entrepreneurs and social innovators to solve some of the most persistent health challenges in the developing world through Integrated Innovation.

Round Three provides $100,000 in seed grants for up to 20 successful proposals.  If the ideas are robust, effective, and proven, the innovators will be eligible to apply for additional scale–up funds of up to $1 million for each proposal.
 
Proposals must include a two-minute video segment outlining the health problem, the proposed solution, and why it is innovative and bold. Proposals will be required to address Grand Challenges Canada’s Integrated Innovation approach.  Integrated Innovation is the coordinated application of scientific/technological, social and business innovation to develop solutions to complex challenges.

For the Canada’s Rising Stars in Global Health Request-for-Proposals and link to the application site, please click here.

Spain-Canada Virtual Mission in the Medical Devices/ Health Technologies Sector

Video Conference: April, 24th or 25th or 26th, 2012

In partnership with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the Spanish Federation of Health Technologies companies (FENIN) and the Centre for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI), a "virtual mission" of Canadian and Spanish companies in the medical devices sector will be held in late April (exact date TBD). This videoconference mission consists of 2-3 hour sessions of short company presentations (pre-scheduled and targeted prior to the event), so that companies in both countries can build bridges between them. The goal is to facilitate partnerships, possible Canadeka projects, and potential face-to-face meetings in MEDICA 2012.
 
This low-cost, virtual mission is aiming to attract approximately 20 companies (10 from Canada and 10 from Spain). Candidate companies must be partnership-ready, and Spanish participants will be carefully targeted to ensure good matches for Canadian companies.

For more information, or to apply, please contact David Freeman at the Trade Commissioner's Office in Edmonton.

Health Technology Mission to Naidex National

Birmingham, UK: April 30, 2012

Is your company targeting the disability, homecare, rehabilitation or sports medicine markets? Then join the Alberta health technology mission to the United Kingdom being planned for the week of April 30, 2012.

Built around Naidex National, UK’s largest event for this market segment, the mission will offer you an opportunity to learn about the British market and to meet with potential partners and buyers. We will be sending more information in the near future, including a complete program outlining additional site visits or matchmaking opportunities. For more information on Naidex National, please visit the show website.

Interested? Contact Brooke Dugas and she will make sure to keep you updated on the program.

IFESS 2012 Conference

Banff: September 9-12, 2012

The International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society (IFESS) is hosting its 17th annual conference on September 9-12th, 2012, in Banff Alberta.  The attendee's include functional electrical stimulation (FES) researchers, industry partners, and end-users of FES technology. The conference features an exciting program that combines rich accomplishments with new breakthroughs and directions, all intermingled with the breathtaking scenery of the Canadian Rockies.  In addition, IFESS 2012 will host panel discussions hosted by renowned science communicator, journalist, writer and broadcaster, Jay Ingram.

For more information about the conference, see the attached information sheet or visit our website.

New IRAP Program to Encourage Digital Technology Adoption

Are your customers reluctant to change?  Are they seeking productivity, perhaps in the eHealth field, but can’t seem to take the leap past status quo? If so, then this is a program you’ll want to pay attention to…

The federal government has recently announced an $80-million, three-year pilot program administered by National Research Council Canada (NRC) through its well-known Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). It will help small and medium-sized enterprises of all sectors integrate digital technologies into their business models—spurring innovation and increasing productivity.  The Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program (DTAPP) aims to provide much-needed advice and guidance to small businesses on what types of digital technologies are best suited to their business objectives.  It will also provide financial assistance to more than 600 firms to support the integration of the technology into their operations after they've made that important decision to adopt a digital technology.

As a complement to NRC's network of expert advisors, the Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program will also partner with colleges and not-for-profits to support firms with digital technology adoption.
 
For more information please, click here.

The process requires you to speak with a human directly who will connect you with an IRAP Industry Technology Advisor to discuss in greater detail. To engage with DTAPP, please call toll-free at 1-855-453-3940

New Trade Program for Developing Countries

Emerging markets present not only compelling business opportunities but also the chance for your company to build your reputation as a responsible and ethical business. Unlock those opportunities with the help of the Investment Cooperation Program (INC). Through INC, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) shares the costs and helps mitigate the risk associated with evaluating investment opportunities and implementing development projects. Your company can receive up to $575,000 per proposed project for support of any of the following:

You can engage with INC at any of the above project stages—meaning that the TCS is here for you whether you're just starting up or are already well underway.

The Investment Cooperation Program (INC) supports companies that contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction in over 140 developing countries. Note that this program is restricted to companies with over $2M in annual revenue.

To learn more about INC, to contact an advisor in your region, or to apply, click here.

Do business. Do good.

By connecting early-stage businesses with resources from across Alberta and around the world, we can help you accelerate your health technology busine