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SFU’s Beedie School of Business invite you to participate in an open house event for start-up companies and small to medium sized enterprises (under 100 employees) seeking to connect with talented MBA and BBA students. Whether you are seeking a part-time bookkeeper, market research support or a high level strategic planning consultant, you are invited to participate in this low-cost event. As an added value, students from the School or Engineering, School of Computer Science and Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology will also be in attendance.

Entrepreneurs In Action 2.0 takes place on the evening of July 20th, with tickets available now for $25.00 per company. Space for this session is limited and pre-registration is required. This event will be held at 500 Granville Street, Vancouver.

A major report released today by Canada’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council (STIC) says that harnessing an excellent talent pool is the key to lifting Canada into the top tier of innovation leaders.

State of the Nation 2010: Imagination to Innovation – the second public report from STIC – charts progress from a baseline set in 2008 and compares Canadian performance to global science, technology and innovation leaders. The report also proposes a core list of 20 indicators for future monitoring. The list covers talent, science and technology and other innovation indicators.

The report shows that Canada’s strengths are a strong talent pool and a robust public research capacity. Its two main challenges are to increase private sector investment in innovation and to improve Canada’s capacity to transfer knowledge into the marketplace. State of the Nation 2010: Imagination to Innovation shows that Canada is settling in as a mid-level player despite having an excellent talent pool.

Canadian talent and Canada’s funding for R&D and higher education research continues to rank near the top; young Canadians excel in science, math and reading; Canada is attracting international talent, and innovative excellence can be found in virtually every region and economic sector.

Our challenges include reversing the trend of Canadian industry investing less in R&D than our key global competitors.  Despite some real Canadian success stories, low levels of collaboration among companies and between companies and researchers in universities, colleges and government laboratories continue to limit our business potential.

A less innovative economy results in fewer ideas transferred into the marketplace, lower productivity rates and less economic and social benefits for Canadians.

Canada has strong public research capacity

• Canada ranks # 1 in the G7 in terms of research and development performed by the higher education sector (HERD), as a percentage of GDP.
• Canada has a strong international reputation and is attracting new talent.

Canada’s talent pool is holding its own

• Our young people continue to outperform most countries in reading, math and science.
• Among economically advanced countries, Canada has had one of the highest growth rates in university graduates in science and engineering, especially at the doctoral level.
• Canadian universities rank well in lists of the world’s top institutions.

Canada must increase investment in innovation

• Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD), as a percentage of GDP lags behind the G7 and other leading innovators. It declined from 2006-08.
• 8 out of 16 Canadian industry sectors had lower R&D intensity (BERD) than the OECD average.
• Over the 2000-07 period, machinery and equipment investment was less than 75% of US levels and ICT investment was less than half US levels.
• Although Canada is a global leader in indirect support for industry R&D (through tax credits), it ranks low in terms of direct support for business R&D.

Canada must strengthen knowledge transfer

• Business financing of R&D performed by universities has grown substantially but knowledge transfer indicators such as contract research, licence applications and spin-off companies could be better measured to benchmark future performance.
• In 2009, venture capital to support small companies was the lowest since 1996 ranking 7^th in OECD with lower rates of return than US.
• Canada must measure collaboration between private and public sector.
• Fostering research collaboration between the public and private sectors will help ensure that Canada’s world-class public research can be successfully translated into benefits for Canadians.

STIC members span business, academia and government.  Members said the following about the State of the Nation 2010 report:

“Canada’s biggest opportunity lies in our excellent talent pool. We score very highly in a number of education related indicators. The challenge is how companies and government can deploy and empower our people so we can win in the knowledge economy.” – Dr. Howard Alper, Chair of STIC. Read the rest of this entry »

A $302,525 federal investment will support Simon Fraser University (SFU) in delivering the BC-India Innovation, Exchange and Mobility Initiative. The project will facilitate partnerships between the two regions that will lead to collaborative research, trade and investment activities.

“Investments like this are crucial to strengthening Canada’s international linkages, promoting our educational institutions, and helping maintain British Columbia as the ideal place to invest,” said the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification (WD). “Today is an important step toward creating economic opportunities, while increasing Western Canada’s international visibility and reputation.”

Over two years, SFU students will be placed within Indian organizations, Indian professionals will visit B.C. and sector-focused workshops will be hosted in both B.C. and India. The clean energy, health and life sciences, and new media/film sectors will be targeted.

“Undergraduate and graduate students benefit tremendously from work terms in India. This program will elevate SFU’s efforts to connect companies and organizations in India and Canada by means of exchanges as well as Indian visitors and workshops,” said SFU president Andrew Petter. “Through this funding support and that of our India Advisory Council, SFU is well-placed to play a major role in India’s declared Decade of Innovation.”

India is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and is projected to be the world’s third largest economy by 2050. WD and SFU see this as a fitting time to undertake activities that capitalize on the emerging opportunities India presents.

With eight faculties across three campuses in Burnaby, Vancouver and Surrey, Simon Fraser University currently has more than 30,000 students, 110,000 alumni, and over 900 full-time faculty members. Student-centered, research-driven, and community engaged, SFU is Canada’s leading comprehensive university. In 2006, SFU was the first Canadian university to launch an India Strategy which has its secretariat at SFU Surrey and is guided by an India Advisory Council comprised of leading community and business leaders.

WD works with the provinces, industry associations and communities to promote the development and diversification of the western economy, coordinates federal economic activities in the West and advances the interests of western Canadians in national decision making.

Hatch Inc., a North Carolina provider of classroom technology innovations for early learning and SMART Technologies Inc. have announced the creation of CoreFocus by Hatch^TM. The content solution, designed to work within SMART Notebook™ collaborative learning software, includes more than 2,500 research-based math and literacy activities for kindergarten and first grade and is aligned with the new U.S. national Common Core State Standards.

The robust set of activities will assist teachers in integrating SMART Board interactive whiteboards into their daily lesson plans and curriculum and also provide a content management system for all of their existing interactive whiteboard content. Early learning experts designed CoreFocus by Hatch to provide critical math and literacy skill development for young learners.

“Hatch is excited to work alongside SMART Technologies to develop a comprehensive content solution that supports teachers in accessing research-based math and literacy activities, with a focus on Common Core State Standards for kindergarten and first grade. The team who developed the TeachSmart® Learning System, the first interactive whiteboard solution proven to impact math and literacy outcomes for early education, led the development of CoreFocus. This product will have a definite impact on the development of children and provide teachers with proven strategies for success,” said Hatch President Ginny Norton.

“We are pleased to enter into a new phase of our relationship with Hatch, collaborating with their research and development experts in the creation of standards-based activities for SMART Board interactive whiteboards that educators can easily integrate into their curriculum,” said SMART Products Vice President Linda Thomas. “CoreFocus by Hatch supports our commitment to meet the needs of educators with innovative products and services to further engage their students with high quality content made in SMART Notebook software and fully aligned to Common Core State Standards.”

Toon Boom Animation Inc. has announced that Flip Boom Classic for K-6 students and its respective curricula, are now compatible with the SMART Board™ 600 series interactive whiteboard. Compatibility with the SMART Board 800 series will be completed in time for the International Society for Technology in Education Conference, to be held in Philadelphia from June 26-29, 2011. Demonstrations will be given at Booth 1403 during the conference.

Porting Toon Boom’s entry-level educational product to SMART Board interactive whiteboards is a natural step towards offering engaging creative applications on collaborative and interactive learning devices. Students will be able to create and export finished files for easy inclusion in the teaching resources of SMART Notebook collaborative learning software.

“Having Toon Boom products integrate with SMART Board interactive whiteboards raises the creative learning and visual communication potential,” says Linda Thomas, Vice-President, Products, SMART Technologies. “The combination of these products will create a more dynamic and stimulating classroom environment by getting students truly involved in lesson activities.”

“All our award-winning software applications and curricula targeted for K-12 are a perfect fit for SMART Board interactive whiteboards, which will surely make cross-curricular learning a whole new experience,” states Joan Vogelesang, President and Chief Executive Officer at Toon Boom Animation Inc.

In conjunction with this announcement, Toon Boom is launching the Flip Boom Classic Teacher Kit for SMART Boards, which includes a license of Flip Boom Classic as well as its respective curricula for $149.99. A Classroom lab license is also available for $499.99. Flip Boom Classic runs on MAC and PC.

Annex Pro will be hosting a free seminar session along with Atempo titled Managing Digital Content Throughout Your Workflow with Backup and Archive. This July 7th evening session will be held at the Annex Pro office on Dunlevy in Vancouver, and will teach attendees how to:

• Preserve and protect your digital content throughout the workflow
• Optimize your SAN or NAS storage by rolling out a low cost disk or tape archive
• Create a content archive that’s easily accessible to all your users
• Reduce clutter in shared work areas through automatic archiving
• Manage your content’s metadata for more effective search and retrieval

This event is recommended for:

• Creative or IT professionals who manage digital content and/or the storage systems supporting creative workflows
• Anyone looking for a better way to control storage growth, especially HD, 3D and stereoscopic
• Anyone wanting to simplify content reuse and monetize their existing content

The doors will open for registration, refreshments and networking at 5:30pm, with the speaker session running from 6pm to 7pm.

Merging Media Productions has added three new 2011 Advisory Committee Members who will be assisting with advice and support for the upcoming October 2011 Conference+ Masterclass:

• Katie Jeffs Director Membership Development and Outreach, CMPA (National)
• Jonathan Carringan, President & Co-Founder, MOBCOM Consulting Inc.
• Lynda Brown, CEO/Founder of ZuluMe

Merging Media also extends its gratitude to its 2010 Advisors Betsy Chaly, Ravi Singh, Fiona McAuley and Ted Nugent for their generous support during their 2010 event.

Merging Media Productions Inc. in partnership with the Canadian Media Production Association BC is proud to be a part of SIGGRAPH 2011 this August 7-11 in Vancouver. Merging Media and CMPA will be facilitating the International B2B Matchmaking Program that is being organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT) and the Government of British Columbia. If you’d like to meet visiting International Media professionals during the event, here are the full details:

• B2B Matchmaking Program – August 8 – 11

The Business to Business Matchmaking Program will help facilitate meetings between Canadian domestic companies and international/ US companies attending SIGGRAPH. The B2B online platform will allow you to profile your company, view the profiles of other companies and request meetings with international/ US companies of interest. Meeting requests will be coordinated through the Canadian Media Production Association and booked into meeting rooms reserved onsite (unless otherwise specified).

• SIGGRAPH Welcome Reception – Sunday, August 7

Supported by BC Film, DFAIT will be hosting an International Delegate Welcome Reception from 6-8pm on Sunday, August 7th. The welcome reception will offer an opportunity to meet some of the US & International business delegates at SIGGRAPH 2011 as well as local industry and support organizations. This event is invite only with limited capacity, so please indicate your interest to Marc Coderre if you would like to be added to the invite list.

• Transmedia Vancouver Meetup – June 29

The Transmedia Vancouver Meetup Group will be having its first Guest Speaker event featuring Merging Media’s Advisory Board Member Matt Toner of Zeroes to Heroes on Wednesday June 29th, 5pm at CMPA-BC. This is a not to be missed event for those keen on meeting like-minded folk involved in Transmedia.

Submissions are now open for the brand new Desire2Learn Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning which was announced last week by Desire2Learn Incorporated and The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at the STLHE 2011 Conference, held at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon last week.

This Award, to be initially awarded in June 2012, has been established to celebrate and recognize innovative approaches that promote learning in new ways at post-secondary institutions. Up to five awards will be presented annually. Recipients will be the basis of a community of knowledge, expertise and innovation that can be drawn upon globally to enhance learning for all.

“With the launch of the Desire2Learn Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning, STLHE is proud to offer the most comprehensive national awards program in the world,” explains Arshad Ahmad, Ph.D., President, STLHE and 3M National Teaching Fellow. “Recognizing innovation not only complements existing STLHE awards in teaching excellence, educational leadership, collaborative learning, and lifetime achievements, but also fits strategically in the Society’s mission to promote learning through change.”

Instructors currently teaching at a post-secondary institution are eligible to apply. A demonstrable record of innovation(s) in areas including pedagogical approaches, teaching methods, course design, curriculum development, assessment methods, various tools and technologies that enhance learning and have had a significant impact on post-secondary education is required.

Ahmad adds, “The Desire2Learn Award also promises to build community as cohorts, who will be recognized each year, will have the opportunity to spend time together, learn from each other and collaborate in future undertakings. Desire2Learn’s legacy of innovation is matched by its enthusiasm to unlock the potential of learners globally. This is one of the many reasons why there is a natural fit between our organizations. Above all, we share a mutual interest in improving the quality of the student experience before anything else. We look forward to a long-term partnership with a common purpose to make a qualitative difference in the lives of our students.”

Patrick Lyons, Director, Instructional Technologies Educational Development Centre / Carleton University OnLine, Carleton University has been appointed as the inaugural coordinator. Lyons is well known in the Canadian post-secondary community as an advocate for effective teaching and use of technology.

“STLHE is the most important organization in Canada supporting the development, recognition and encouragement of excellent teaching and learning practices,” notes Lyons. “The Desire2Learn Innovation Award in Teaching and Learning is a powerful and concrete opportunity to encourage and promote innovative learning initiatives in post- secondary institutions across North America and from around the world.”

“We are pleased to be partnering with The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher in Education in recognition of teaching that is truly innovative,” states John Baker, President & CEO, Desire2Learn. “Through this award, instructors who are providing a notable and sustained impact on student learning and development will be acknowledged for their inventive approaches to education. These individuals emulate our mission of transforming teaching and learning.”

TD Bank Group today announced a multi-year, $3.7-million renewed investment to the program to help Library and Archives Canada, Toronto Public Library and CNIB run the TD Summer Reading Club through to 2014.  As Canada’s largest reading club, more than half a million children are expected to participate and will read more than two million books in both English and French each year.

“The TD Summer Reading Club is a great way to keep young minds stimulated over the summer months,” said Frank McKenna, TD Bank Group deputy chair and literacy champion. “We are proud to help kids discover the joy of reading this summer and make a splash using their imaginations.”

From scuba diving for treasure to studying mythical water creatures, the award-winning TD Summer Reading Club’s theme, Splash! Celebrate Summer will inspire children to use their imaginations to explore lakes, rivers and oceans through reading.  Children in participating provinces will make a splash at their local libraries by registering for a free TD Summer Reading Club kit. Each child is encouraged to set a reading goal for the summer and at the end of the summer, the local librarian will present each child with a reading certificate.

“Children and their families are encouraged to dive into a good book at their local library,” said Jane Pyper, Toronto Public Library’s City Librarian. “Thousands of children participate in the program every year, building confidence in their reading abilities and providing a safe place to have fun during the summer.”

Summer reading clubs have a positive impact on children’s reading, but family really plays an important role by encouraging children to read for pleasure at home. Studies show that reading as little as six books over the summer will help young children maintain their reading levels.

“Nothing stimulates a child’s imagination like reading,” said Dr. Daniel Caron, Deputy Head and Librarian and Archivist of Canada. “It brings them to a world where magic can happen, the kind of world we once all believed in and a sense of wonder that we yearn for as we get older.”

In 2009, CNIB joined the program in an effort to increase accessibility for children with print disabilities. “We are thrilled to make the TD Summer Reading Club available to children with vision loss, by bringing stories to life with French and English audio recordings and Braille,” said Al Jameson, Chair, National Board of Directors, CNIB.

Ivey School of Business case studies are now available anywhere, anytime through Apple’s iBookstore. One of the world’s leading business case publishers, the Richard Ivey School of Business is the first publisher to make business case studies available on the iBookstore. Starting today over 500 cases from Ivey’s inventory are available to download for $3.99 each. The iBookstore is available through the free iBooks app for iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

Since the Ivey Business School’s inception in 1922 the case method has been the keystone of its highly regarded approach to teaching general management. Students and executives at universities around the world use Ivey cases to learn by doing. Business students, executives or anyone can now benefit from enhanced convenience, quicker delivery, and more flexibility in accessing published cases.

“Making Ivey cases available through the iBookstore provides an opportunity to reach a new and wider audience that may not have been exposed to business case studies previously,” said Paul Beamish, Director of Ivey Publishing. “It supports our emphasis on making Ivey cases easily accessible to everyone.”

Each case provides readers with an opportunity to stand in the shoes of the decision-maker, analyzing the business issue presented, making judgments and determining a course of action. Ivey is the second largest producer and distributor of business case studies in the world.

Over 500 cases are currently available, with newer cases to be added regularly.  More than 200 new cases are created each year from business faculty at Ivey and from other partnered universities. Articles from the Ivey Business Journal will also be available through the iBookstore.

Richard Ivey School of Business, the world’s largest producer of Asian cases, will continue to offer its inventory in printed or digital PDF form through its network of 18 traditional academic publishing partners including Harvard Business Publishing and the European Case Clearing House.