New funding expands lab-to-market training for researchers at UVic and across Canada
January 15, 2025
UVic is partnering with Dalhousie University and 49 other institutions on Lab2Market, Canada’s national network for innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship skills training of students, researchers and highly qualified persons. This “network of networks” will receive $32 million in federal government funding over the next five years.
As well, the ³Ô¹ÏÍø is one of 13 institutions across Canada partnering with Simon Fraser University to expand the Pacific hub of the program.
Almost $23 million over five years will help the 14 institutions to expand the award-winning Invention to Innovation (i2I) suite of programs, which provide innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship training for graduate students, researchers and faculty in STEM and healthcare fields.
The flexible, hybrid and part-time program allows researchers to advance their research while gaining innovation mindset, skills and competencies. The i2I skills training program helps to unlock the potential of highly educated researcher talent.
Through the i2I network, UVic will receive up to $1 million and will start delivering the program through the Innovation Centre in 2026.
Via training and mentorship, these programs will bridge the gap between invention and innovation, helping researchers acquire and hone skills to flourish as industry leaders, translational scientists or entrepreneur-innovators.
“We at UVic are excited to bring our innovations to this collective effort. This funding will boost UVic’s capacity to provide greater innovation, commercialization and entrepreneurship training for graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty,” says Fraser Hof, associate vice-president research.
The funding was announced today by the Honourable Terry Duguid, Minister of Sport and Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, at Red River College Polytechnic.
Lab to Market grants are administered by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).