Innovation Bridge

Welcome to the Innovation Bridge series, designed to help you discover aspects of innovation and the entrepreneurial mindset. The series is open to all University of Alberta students and postdoctoral fellows (PDF) who want to explore how their skills can open opportunities, whether your goal is to start a new initiative yourself or assist other organizations in successful ventures.

Students and PDFs are in a unique position — they are talented, creative, analytical, problem solvers and innovators, yet they rarely rank themselves high in their business skills. Having an entrepreneurial mindset means more than starting a business that sells a product or service. You need innovation and creativity to create solid policies, develop new processes and establish best practices. These are the skills that graduate programs and fellowships build and can be transferred to any organization.

The Innovation Bridge series will explore questions that relate to the entrepreneurial mindset and will help you bridge your skills with the larger entrepreneurial ecosystem — an ecosystem that needs you.

Upcoming Sessions

Developing a customer mindset

January 29, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. MT | Online

Register in campusBRIDGE     Zoom Link

Description:
Ever find that you have a great idea or an approach to do something differently?  What should be your next steps?  Many first-time entrepreneurs get very focused on their solution but forget to focus on understanding the problem they are supposed to be solving. In this workshop we will discuss strategies you can employ to properly understand your customer-base and what their needs and wants are.

Presenter: Peter Keith
Working his way from 14-year-old dishwasher to an award-winning chef and entrepreneur in just ten years, Peter Keith won international cooking competitions, worked in some of Canada's top restaurants, and earned a U of A BCom and MBA before opening his first business in 2018. Peter has quickly become a sought-after voice in Western Canada's food and small business community and was awarded the Culinary Federation's "Canadian Chef of the Year" and  Edmonton's "Top 40 under 40" in 2022. Today, he teaches the undergraduate entrepreneurship capstone course at the University of Alberta School of Business.  He is the Director of the eHUB Ideas Lab, where he supports students with their business ventures.

Accelerators, Incubators, Scale-Up and Seed Stage Start Ups

February 26, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. MT | Online

 Register in campusBRIDGE     Zoom Link

Description: You have a great idea for a product or service that you want to implement and you know it is going to cost money. How do you do this when you can barely feed yourself and don't know how to "raise capital" for their budding venture. Is raising money even where you should be spending your most energy? You have heard there are grants and loans available - what does equity free mean? What does scale-up mean and should you be talking to "venture capitalists"? Where should I begin with getting my idea off the ground?

Presenter: Dr. Paramita Chaudhuri Basu, PhD, MBADr. Paramita Chaudhuri Basu is the Director, Programs & Ecosystem Development at Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation. She is a life science enthusiast with a passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. With a rich background and subject matter expertise in life science, biotech and healthtech, Paramita has worked with several startups supporting them with their business readiness and technology commercialization needs. She is a trained facilitator, mentor and coach. She leads the Health Innovation Hub, a community incubator for early-stage entrepreneurs, and facilitates community events and programs to build up the life sciences innovation ecosystem in Edmonton.

Why don't you become a consultant?

March 26, 2025 | 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. MT | Online

Register in campusBRIDGE     Zoom Link

Description: Have you ever heard, ″Why don't you become a consultant?″ As graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, you may be developing expertise that could make you well-suited to starting your own consulting practice. There are many factors to consider in becoming a professional consultant or being self-employed. In this session you will gain some key insights about running your own consulting business, what it takes to be self-employed, and some first steps to consider.

Presenter: Kristina Wormald (Polziehn) is an independent agronomist, working as a Professional Agrologist (PAg.) and Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) in Alberta. Soon after completing her MSc in Plant Science (UofA), she started Axiom Agronomy Ltd., based in Sturgeon County, providing agronomic services to the area surrounding Edmonton and the Peace Country region. Kristina's experience in the agriculture industry comes from working for nearly 20 years in agronomy, research, grain marketing and sales with companies such as BASF Canada and Viterra. She has served on the boards of the Canadian Weed Science Society and the Alberta Institute of Agrologists. Kristina was the recipient of the 2017 Nuffield Canada Scholarship.

More sessions are to be announced for 2025. Stay tuned...

Previous Presentations

To see previous presentations, view the list below. Past presenters welcome questions from current graduate students and PDFs. To connect with them, email gradpd@ualberta.ca.