PROGRAM

Wednesday September 27, 2017
Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal QC

7:45 – 8:45

Registration | Networking Breakfast

8:45  – 9:00

Opening remarks

9:00 – 10:00

Session 1
Innovating at nanofabrication labs

Loïck-Alexandre Gautier, PRIMA QUÉBEC

Key R&D capacities are available within university and research centers. However, only a few industrials know that the available equipment and expertise could help them accelerate their development or solve technical challenges. The Québec’s R&D infrastructure (IRDQ) helps both, industrials and laboratories, by fostering interaction between them and by promoting the excellent services provided by the labs.

Oliver Brand, Georgia Institute of Technology

The presentation will provide an overview of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), which is an NSF-funded network of 16 academic nano-fabrication and -characterization sites and their partners, formed to advance research in nanoscale science, engineering and technology. The NNCI sites are located in 17 states and involve 29 universities and other partner organizations that provide researchers from academia, small and large companies, and government with access to university user facilities with leading-edge fabrication and characterization tools, instrumentation, and expertise within all disciplines of nanoscale science, engineering and technology. In addition, the NNCI program supports a wide range of educational and outreach as well as societal and ethical implications (SEI) activities in the area of nanoscale science and engineering.

Hooman Hosseinkhannazer, Norcada

We all had a vision: design, prototype, test, launch and grow product lines while relying on a fab-less model, in open labs in the heart of the Canadian oil country. Why is a model like this a good fit for high-tech Canadian ideation to commercialization? How can our Canadian open labs foster more companies with such model? This session will also explore how start-ups can focus on growth by exporting collaboratively-developed products while prioritizing relationships and innovation over capital investment.

Session Chair
Martin Giguère, GCM,
École Polytechnique

10:00 – 10:30

Group discussion

10:30 – 11:00

Facilities Tour | Networking Break

11:00 – 12:00

Session 2
Positioning for commercialization and scale-up

Speaker presentations:

Chris Ouslis, NRC-IRAP
Commercializing connections between digital and reality


Christine Alain, INO (National Optics Institute)

INO: A Bridge to Cross the Valley of Death

Lukas Chrostowski, University of British Columbia
A Canadian Silicon Photonics Foundry

Session Chair:
Lesley Landsberger, NRC-IRAP

12:00 – 12:30

Group discussion

12:30 – 1:30

Networking Lunch

Lunch and Learn breakout session
about Silicon Photonics Service

1:30- 2:30

Session 3
R&D Challenges: stories from the trenches

Panelist Pitches:

Gordon Harling, InnoTime Technologies Inc.
Silicon Interposer Future Enhancements

Dino Deligiannis, Intlvac Thin Film
Industrial R&D Gets a Bad Rap in Canada

Hassan Nojoumi, Shimifrez Inc.
Industry trends and needs of Precision Photo Etching and Photo Electro-forming

Behraad Bahreyni, Simon Fraser University
Employing the Canadian Infrastructure for Microsystems for Advanced Research and Path to Commercialization

Oliver Brand, Georgia Institute of Technology, Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology

Session Chair:
Wai Tung Ng, TNFC, University of Toronto

2:30 – 3:15

Panel

3:15 – 3:45

Networking Break

3:45 – 4:15

Group Discussion

4:15 – 4:30

Closing remarks

4:30 – 6:00

Travel to Bromont by coach bus

6:00 – 6:30

Check in hotel Le St. Martin Bromont

6:30 – 8:00

Dinner Reception
Presentation of the PRIMA QUÉBEC Recognition Award

Thursday September 28, 2017
C2MI, Bromont QC

7:15

Coach bus from hotel St. Martin to C2MI

7:30 – 8:00

Registration | Networking Breakfast

8:30 – 8:45

Opening remarks

8:45 – 9:30

Session 4
Bridging discovery to production

Speaker presentations

Alan Renaudin, C2MI

C2MI’s mission is to help companies producing prototypes dictated by market needs in a various field of applications to accelerate their commercialization. Let’s share how we can achieve this together…

Ken Brizel, ACAMP

Developing products and new technologies is not for the faint of heart. Investment is huge from the start of concept all the way to production and Canada is a fantastic place to be developing your startup. The support mechanisms across Canada enable startups to deliver products to all markets, using a wide variety of technologies. I will review market opportunities and applications, the normal pitfalls of developing new technologies and how to overcome them.

Session Chair:
Dominique Drouin, Université de Sherbrooke

9:30 – 10:00

Group discussion

10:00 – 10:30

Facilities Tour | Networking Break

10:30 – 11:15

Session 5
Strategies for achieving high-value outcomes

Speaker presentations

Daniel Sinai, IBM Canada

Despite a decade or so of national innovation agendas, Canada remains near the bottom of its peer group when it comes to innovation and global competitiveness. Countries that are more innovative are surpassing Canada on important measures such as income per capita, productivity, competiveness and the quality of social programs.

Yet, the potential for more Canadian innovation does exist.

It is found at the intersection of people, the supply of innovative technology solutions and business/customer demand: in so called “demand-based innovation ecosystems” where innovators and job creators can easily come together to connect, ideate, build and launch applications and start-ups to help solve industry defined and demand driven challenges.

• Learn more about Canadian demand based innovation ecosystems — what they are and how they work — and how they are helping to unleash powerful innovation in Canada today.
• Hear about some examples of innovative solutions that have been created through the power of open data, cloud-based technologies and exciting cognitive-driven systems such as IBM Watson.

Dan Gale, CMC Microsystems
MNT readiness: explore, integrate, escalate

Session Chair:
Luc Fréchette, Université de Sherbrooke

11:15 – 11:45

Group discussion

11:45 – 12:00

Closing remarks

12:00 – 1:00

Networking Lunch

1:00 – 3:00

Travel to Montréal by coach bus

3:00

Arrive in Montréal