Entrepreneurship at the U of A

The University of Alberta is dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship at every stage. Our diverse programs, services, and resources offer support through mentorship, education, and commercialization, along with guidance on licensing and technology transfer. We help provide and connect you with the tools you need to turn your ideas into impactful realities.

Success Stories

The Cohort 1 entrepreneurial fellows are reaching the conclusion of their 2-year journey with the Innovation Catalyst Grant (ICG) program, achieving significant milestones along the way. Funded by the Alberta Ministry of Technology and Innovation, the ICG program empowers the commercialization of STEM-based technologies, particularly those with a hardware component.

Ultracoustics

Jones Microwave Inc.

Synapsis MedicalTechnologies

our key innovation Resources

Health Innovation Hub

  • Advances early-stage health and life-science companies created by UAlberta researchers, faculty and students.
  • Supports ventures that build, test, validate and grow via mentorship, education and workshops.
  • Provides connections to resources and service providers.
  • Co-working and lab space available.
  • Biannual program intake occurs in May and November. Companies are accepted based on program capacity.

ThresholdImpact University of Alberta Venture Mentoring Service

  • Develops strong, capable entrepreneurs through coaching and guidance.
  • Open to all U of A members (alumni, faculty, staff, students) and is modeled on MIT's (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) highly successful VMS program.

Innovation, Creativity, Entrepreneurship (ICE) Engineering Incubator

The ICE Engineering Incubator is a collision space and work area for experiential learning in technology innovation and commercialization. The Explorer program is tailored for students learning about entrepreneurship with a technological focus. The Innovator program targets commercialization of technologies, product development, and venture creation by providing mentorship, advice, workshops, and networking opportunities for students, grad students, postdocs, faculty, staff, and recent alumni.

eHUB

A research-driven ideas lab, eHUB:

  • provides inclusive experiential learning opportunities for students from all disciplines.
  • supports related initiatives and clubs.
  • offers resources, networking opportunities, and mentorship to help transform early-stage ideas into projects, initiatives and ventures.

Student Innovation Centre

  • Modeled after business incubators and startup offices, the Centre is a collaboration – based boot camp where undergraduates turn creative ideas into reality.
  • Student-led activities include competitions, maker projects and ventures. Examples of past initiatives include iGEM, a project to combat diseases in honeybees with genetically engineered organisms, and AlbertaSat, a group of students who designed and launched Alberta's first satellite.

Industry Sandbox + AI Computing (ISAIC)

  • ISAIC is a not-for-profit cloud provider serving industry in Canada. It offers a secure environment featuring Virtual Machines equipped with CPU, GPU, and Storage options—all priced affordably—to facilitate the development of Proof-of-Concepts (PoC), Minimum Viable Products (MVP), and Pilots for various data and AI/ML products.

    What sets us apart from other cloud providers?

    • No egress fees: We ensure that you can access and transfer your data without incurring additional costs.
    • Your Intellectual Property (IP) Rights: With ISAIC, the IP rights to your creations remain yours.
    • Vendor-neutral: Our services are compatible with a wide range of technologies, giving you the freedom to choose the best tools for your project.
    • Local Presence: We are proudly based at the University of Alberta, providing a local option for data storage and cloud services.

ST Innovations

Provides access to:

  • Experts in health, digital, smart tech, devices, artificial intelligence, R&D and applied research, and clinical/end-user validation;
  • Some of Canada's most advanced labs/facilities and equipment including the modular prosthetic limb (the first and only one in Canada), a bilateral Kinarm exoskeleton, VR immersion system, high-throughput cell-culture testing, and a laser microfabrication suite that supports R&D of implantable/wearable medical devices, advanced optics and diverse lab-on-a-chip (LOC) applications.

Northern Alberta Clinical Trials + Research Centre (NATRC)

A collaboration between UAlberta, Alberta Health Services and the University of Alberta, NATRC supports its mission – better medicine, better outcomes. – by helping researchers conduct clinical research, develop new treatments, and explore commercialization.

Additional Resources

Amii
Home to top AI experts, Amii is a U of A research institute that advances AI and machine learning research. In 2018, a business arm was spun-off to become 1 of 3 national AI hubs designed to sustain Canada's AI strength and to help industry build AI capacity and capability.
nanoFAB
nanoFAB is a national, open-access training, service, and collaboration centre, focused on academic and industrial applications in micro- and nanoscale fabrication and characterization.
Discovery Lab
Discovery Lab is a network for academics, start-ups and SMEs to explore commercialization opportunities and pitch to legal, business, marketing, financial and investment experts.
Elko Engineering Garage
Elko Engineering Garage is a 6,000-square-foot makerspace shop where engineering students can bring their ideas to life.
The Shack
The Shack is an open-access facility whose design and manufacturing technologies lets students bring their ideas to life.
Library's Entrepreneurship and Innovation Services

The Library has state of the art entrepreneurial & innovation resources. We can help you in the following ways:

  • Consult on finding the best services, spaces, and resources for your next venture.
  • Help you select the appropriate research strategy to learn more about your target market or industry.
  • Teach workshops related to entrepreneurial research.
  • Connect you to other campus and community partners who have the expertise to support your innovation project.
  • Collaborate on projects with campus partners, such as other Entrepreneurship incubators.
  • Access 3D printing technology through both a mediated service (ie. we print your models for you) and hands on 3D printing in the Digital Scholarship Centre.