Celebrate the rise of Manitoba’s startup scene…

Join CTV News Anchor, Gord Leclerc as he leads Manitoba’s top entrepreneurs, investors, and innovation community leaders and supporters through an entertaining and informative luncheon to celebrate entrepreneurship and hand out over $30,000 in cash and in-kind prizes to Manitoba’s hottest startups.

On June 19, 2013 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Fort Garry Hotel, seven ventures selected from Innovate Manitoba’s Launchpad bootcamp will make formal 10-minute investment pitches to an eclectic panel of judges, followed by 20 minutes of no-holds-barred questions and feedback.

The Celebrating Entrepreneurship Awards Luncheon will follow the competitor pitches and will feature Lane Becker, entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author and Kip Fyfe, Founder of Dynastream and 4iiii Innovations who will present their unique perspectives and expert insights on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013
 at the Fort Garry Hotel

Register at http://www.innovatemanitoba.com/events/venture-challenge/

VENTURECHALLENGE CELEBRATING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARDS LUNCHEON

Gord Leclerc of CTV News Winnipeg will guide Manitoba’s innovation community through the Awards Luncheon program, which, along with featuring two outstanding keynote speakers, will introduce all competitors, announce the finalists, and have them deliver two-minute elevator pitches to the audience before the first, second, and third place winners are announced.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Lane Becker | Entrepreneur & New York Times Bestselling Author
He is co-author of the New York Times bestselling book “Get Lucky: How to Put Planned Serendipity to Work for You and Your Business” and helped coin the term “blog”.  He is flying in from San Francisco to discuss “The Rise of the Global Start-up Scene”. Learn more…

Kip Fyfe | Founder of Dynastream and 4iiii Innovations
An innovator and visionary leader, Kip Fyfe has devoted over 25 years to the high tech industry and has helped redefine sport monitoring technology. This award-winning entrepreneur will share personal insights towards his road to entrepreneurial success. Learn more…

VENTURECHALLENGE COMPETITORS

Advolve Media – Bryce North & Kris Luinenburg
Epicenter AV – Chris Johnson
Eyewear Evolution – Sean Sylvestre
Joist – Justin Kathan & Brendan Sedo
Prairie Food Innovation – Michael Reimer
ScheduleAide – Dustin Refvik
VastCon – Anuraag Shrivastav

Learn more about the competitors online!

PRIZES

1st Place: $15,000 in cash, plus in-kind prizes
2nd Place: $7,500 in cash, plus in-kind prizes
3rd Place: $2,500 in cash, plus in-kind prizes

Major in-kind prizes: Innovate Manitoba has partnered with the Banff Venture Forum and the Canadian Financing Forum to award to the top three VentureChallenge companies an expense paid trip to attend the Banff Venture Forum in September 2013 or the Canadian Financing Forum in February 2014, plus a dedicated program at the Forum to help entrepreneurs further develop their skills.

VENTURECHALLENGE JUDGES

Lane Becker | Entrepreneur and New York Times Best Selling Author
Lane Becker has been hanging out on the Web since it was invented, from his work-study job setting up websites for the University of Texas at Austin in 1994, to his first, sadly failed startup in 1999 (don’t ask), and on to more successful ventures: co-founding Adaptive Path, the first user experience design firm, and Get Satisfaction, an online customer service community platform.

Marc Elrick | Principal, Critical Path Group
Marc Elrick is a Principal of the Critical Path Group, and the Executive Director of the Banff Venture Forum, the Canadian Financing Forum and the Agri Investment Forum.

Aki Georgeacacos | Managing Director, Avrio Capital
Aki Georgeacacos is a co-founder and Managing Director of Avrio Capital, a venture capital firms specializing in food and agriculture. Prior to co-founding Avrio Capital, Aki was a managing Director of FCC Ventures where he led the majority of the fund’s investments.

Jonathon Giller, CFA | Business & Investment Manager
As business and investment manager to James A. Richardson, Jonathon holds a B.A. (Honors) from the University of Manitoba, the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and is a candidate in the Chartered Business Valuation program.

You don’t want to miss this outstanding opportunity to learn about the hottest ventures in Winnipeg and network with Manitoba’s leading investors, as well as both local and international leaders in innovation and entrepreneurship!

For more information: Check out the VentureChallenge homepage or REGISTER NOW

Questions? Contact:

Brent Wennekes
Research & Programs Manager | Innovate Manitoba
Technology Transfer & Communications Manager | Red River College
brentwennekes@innovatemanitoba.com | 204.631.3323

Join Red River College for an intimate look at the mechanical design and performance report behind one of Winnipeg’s newest and most stunning buildings, the Winnipeg James Richardson International Airport.

Opened in October 2011, the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport terminal building has proven to be a high-performing, energy-efficient facility. Enjoy a description of the building systems and design intents supplemented with a report on performance. Russell Lavitt, P.Eng. of SMS Engineering Ltd, will present on the iconic airport facility and its systems. Among the topics to be covered, Russell will explore how SMS Engineering:

• Tackled the challenge of efficiently heating and cooling a 51,000-square-metre structure enveloped by over 500 linear metres of glass.
• Designed an air-ventilation system that services only zones where people are present, leaving the remaining three-storey-high space alone.
• Powered the building with an on-site dual diesel-electric generation system that seamlessly transfers to back up power.
• Designed lighting to complement an abundance of natural light, while emphasizing the building’s architectural features.

Event details

Wednesday, June 12, 2013 

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Green Lecture Theatre (GM-43) | RRC Notre Dame Campus | 2055 Notre Dame Ave.

ATTEND IN PERSON: click here to register. A light lunch will be served.

LIVE STREAMING AVAILABLE: For those who can’t attend in person, a live-streaming option is available: click here to register.

There is no cost to access this seminar, thanks to support from RRC’s Sustainable Infrastructure Technology Research Group.

Russell Lavitt, P.Eng. of SMS Engineering Ltd is the Mechanical Engineer of Record for the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport terminal building and has been involved mechanical engineering for buildings for over 20 years. Russell is well versed in the design and construction of facilities large and small. In addition to the airport redevelopment, he has been been involved with the University of Winnipeg Richardson College for the Environment, and the Investors Group Field (Winnipeg Stadium) project. Russell is currently working on the Winnipeg Convention Centre Expansion project.

Do not come to WINNISPEED June 10-11 if you:

• are happy to let your competitors deliver faster by adopting Agile and Scrum
• do no need to adapt to changing market conditions
• do not need to be innovative
• do not need to stay competitive

Do come to WINNISPEED June 10-11 if you:

• want to supercharge innovation in your organization
• are ready to experience Extreme Manufacturing, Lean, Agile, and Scrum first hand
• want a low-cost, high-value Agile and Scrum learning opportunity
• are a technical professional, team leader, manager, executive, or organizational change leader
• are an Agile practitioner at any level of experience, including exploring Agile for the first time
• would like to meet and work with Joe Justice of Team WIKISPEED
• would love to learn by building a 100 mpg car in a single day
• like the idea of rapidly solving problems for social good

Joe Justice, founder of WIKISPEED, delivers ultra-efficient automobiles and social good projects and 60 times the rate of traditional businesses. Joe will be in Winnipeg for two days only. This is the first ever build of a Team WIKISPEED car in Canada.

• June 10 and 11 will be hands-on Extreme Manufacturing, Lean, Agile, and Scrum.Joe Justice will demonstrate these agile methodologies by leading two separate groups through the building of a 100 mpg Team WIKISPEED car. This is the first ever Team WIKISPEED build in Canada! Do not miss being one of the few able to participate.

For more info, head to the WINNISPEED.ca blog.

Innovate Manitoba and its partners, which includes Red River College, accomplished its mission of increasing the connections between Manitoba’s world-class academic researchers and their industry counterparts at the final part of its inaugural IndustryCONNECTS program on April 23.

“With the outcome of several innovative collaboration opportunities, I found the IndustryCONNECTS event extremely rewarding,” said Dean Staples with MTS Strategic Planning, Emerging Technology Research and Innovation.

The event also linked researchers and their industry counterparts with federal granting agencies. With a partnerships officer from the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and a business development officer from Mitacs on hand, at least one funded academic/industry research partnership was initiated.

“Innovate Manitoba really hit the mark with this event,” said Douglas Reeson, President and CEO of Gossan Resources.  “We were able to sit down with an NSERC partnerships officer and are excited about the possibilities of getting federally-funded, world-class research assistance.”

“With my prospective partner in attendance at IndustryCONNECTS, we took the first steps in initiating an NSERC funded collaborative R&D project,” said Hamid Mumin, Professor and past Chair of Brandon University’s Department of Geology.  ”The IndustryCONNECTS program has proved to be immensely valuable from start to finish.  It helped me quickly expedite my industry research proposal to the formal application stage.”

For the rest of this story, and photos, visit: http://www.innovatemanitoba.com/news/researchers-industry-and-funders-collide-at-innovate-manitobas-industryconnects/

RRC researchers work on testing the air-leakage levels on the 363 Broadway building in Downtown Winnipeg.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) has featured three Red River College (RRC) projects in two reports highlighting the innovations that colleges are delivering in partnership with small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

RRC’s recently opened Technology Access Centre and Air-Leakage Testing initiative are featured on pages 48 and 58 of Smart Investments for Business, which highlights projects funded through the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC’s) College and Community Innovation Program.

The Technology Access Centre provides Manitoba’s aerospace and manufacturing sectors with enhanced access to technological assets, specialized facilities and expert opinions. The Air-Leakage Testing project is a joint initiative between RRC and Manitoba Hydro. Since last year, RRC has tested 5 commercial buildings in Manitoba, including the recently retrofitted 363 Broadway building in Winnipeg, to determine the impact of each building’s airtightness. Airtightness is an important factor in determining a building’s energy use, comfort and structural integrity.

RRC’s Digital Technology Advisory Support Service (DTASS) is featured in Stimulating Innovation for Small Business and Communities, ACCC’s fourth showcase that illustrates and celebrates applied research partnerships that respond to business needs.

DTASS is an integral part of RRC’s work in the National Research Council Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program’s (NRC-IRAP’s) Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program (DTAPP). Since starting the program, RRC staff, faculty and 12 students from the Technology Management and Technical Communications programs have worked directly with several SMEs in the Manitoba construction and manufacturing sectors. Researchers have engaged with these businesses’ staff and facilities to deliver comprehensive recommendations for digital-technology improvements, such as 3D printing or mobile applications.

Click here for more information on the Technology Access Centre.

Click here for more information on RRC’s Air-Leakage Testing.

For more information on RRC’s applied-research activities, check out Applied Research & Commercialization’s 2011-2012 Year in Review.

Following a successful debut, Innovate Manitoba’s IndustryCONNECTS returns for part three of a three-part program intended for academic researchers wishing to gain a better understanding of Canadian business needs, and how to pitch their team’s research capabilities accordingly.

IndustryCONNECTS part 3: Matchmaking and Funding Day takes place on April 23, 2013 from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event will see the Innovate Manitoba team and its supporting organizations work to unite industry with researchers to form federally funded academic research partnerships.

IndustryCONNECTS is specifically designed to assist researchers in linking their research to industry needs to solve business problems. Participants from past events included researchers from the University of Manitoba, Red River College (RRC), University of Winnipeg, and Brandon University.

“I would highly recommend this program to any researcher,” said Deb Gural PhD., Research and Scholarship Committee Co-Chair, Nursing, RRC. “It helps you structure your message so that it is succinct and meaningful to potential industry partners. It’s a useful experience for anyone seeking research funding and it is an opportunity that is not easily obtained elsewhere.”

“Their (the judges’) questions and feedback were most valuable,” said Trust Beta, Canada Research Chair in functional foods and associate professor in food science with the University of Manitoba. “I’ve gained better understanding of how to position my team’s research capabilities in a way that is appealing to industry.”

Event Details

April 23, 2013 | 2 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Networking reception 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

The Roblin Centre at the Exchange District Campus | 160 Princess St. | Winnipeg, MB

Click here to register and for more information.

The federal government has awarded funding to Canada’s largest makerspace.

Last Friday, the Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety and Member of Parliament for Provencher, announced the federal government, through its Western Diversification Program, is investing $467,000 into Winnipeg’s AssentWorks.

Launched in 2011, AssentWorks is a non-profit workshop dedicated to providing access to fabrication and prototyping equipment, knowledge and community support for entrepreneurs and innovators. The funding will allow AssentWorks to expand and enhance its technological capacity to develop new products and processes in Manitoba, while opening new doors for entrepreneurs interested in applied research and commercialization.

“This contribution has given us access to a new level of capability for Manitoba entrepreneurs to prototype innovative ideas and launch new businesses,” said Michael Legary, AssentWorks Chairman.

“AssentWorks is about our Manitoba business community supporting new businesses and entrepreneurial activities not just here in Manitoba but right across Canada. Western Economic Diversification Canada understands the value in this type of initiative and we are excited to have them on-board as a strategic partner helping shape the future of entrepreneurship in Western Canada.”

Red River College is a supporter of AssentWorks, with its campuses having hosting several AssentWorks events. RRC students – including those from nearby The Roblin Centre at the Exchange District Campus – have used AssentWorks’ facilities and advanced manufacturing equipment as a basis for their projects.

Western Diversification news release

Join Red River College and its event partners CTTAM and ABTAM, for an in-depth look at Building Information Modeling (BIM) for technologists and technicians in the mechanical building industry, and enjoy a networking reception too!

Many purveyors of BIM also have a stake in its success. At Mechanical BIM: Case Studies and Implementation, you will learn from your peers through real stories about their experiences with BIM.

Speaker Line-up:

Topics to be covered:

• The use of REVIT MEP and mechanical systems tools; covered through case study presentations of multiple SMS Engineering projects; this will include a look at energy analysis, duct layout, scheduling, technical issues, and more.

• E.H. Price’s library of Revit content, including: rational for creating Families, conforming to Autodesk’s style guide, features of the E.H. Price models, and products that E.H. Price has models for

• BIM implementation in your practice

Registration: Click here to register

Registration deadline: Feb. 25, 2013 at 5 p.m.

This event is specifically designed for any mechanical firm or individual technologist or technician that is considering BIM implementation, or is in the early stages of BIM implementation. Design professionals, engineers, builders, contractors, developers, educators, and students will also benefit from the information delivered and the opportunity to network.

The cost of this event is kept low, thanks to support from the National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program’s Digital Technology Adoption Pilot Program, the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council, and the Sustainable Infrastructure Technology Research Group.

Stirling Walkes, Senior Mechanical Engineer and Principal with SMS Engineering

As one of the first in Canada to achieve both the LEED® Accredited Professional and the ASHRAE High Performance Building Design Professional designations, Stirling has applied his energy modelling expertise to Geothermal projects such as the Oscar Lathlin Collegiate; the Steinbach Credit Union Lagimodiere Branch; Monsanto Phase 2 Addition; various Manitoba Hydro Service Centres and the Assiniboine Park Zoo Redevelopment. Stirling is also a verifier of the BOMA BESt program in Manitoba. Additional projects include the Women’s Correctional Facility in Headingley, Manitoba and the South District Police Station in Winnipeg.

SMS has used REVIT MEP on a number of projects over the past 6 years, throughout our learning curve we have made good use of the mechanical system tools.  The presentation will provide a brief highlight of some of those projects.

Jarvis Penner, Engineering Manager for the development of REVIT content with E.H. Price

Jarvis is a Mechanical Engineer with five years of design engineering experience.  As the engineering manager for the development of the Revit content, he was responsible for developing the Price Revit style guide in 2009. Price was one of the first HVAC manufacturers to create a library of content for all their products.

Presentation Summary

• Why do we create Families
• Do we conform to Autodesk’s style guide?
• Features of the Price models
• What products do we have models for?

Lee McCormick, Principal and Director of Practice with Smith Carter

Lee McCormick, a registered architect, has focused his career on design excellence in the building industry for over 20 years. He is currently Smith Carter’s Director of Practice, responsible for developing the firm’s qualitative performance standards for all projects, and works with discipline leaders to ensure the application across the practice. Lee has championed the implementation of BIM into Smith Carter’s delivery process.

Joe Sam, BIM Manager with Smith Carter

Joe Sam is the BIM Manager with Smith Carter. He is responsible for CAD/BIM Governance, multidisciplinary training of all staff on BIM (Beginner to Advanced levels of training), and strategic procurement and implementation of BIM applications. Joe was responsible for the successful implementation of BIM at Smith Carter and has extensive experience in software development, systems/business analysis, project management and manufacturing. Over the past 20 years, Joe has been working with various CAD/3D/BIM applications, developing custom software solutions, supporting teams and conducting training sessions.

Lee and Joe will provide a succinct presentation on the important factors to consider when implementing BIM in your practice.