GREAT News

GREAT Program Showcase Event

Thank you for attending the GREAT Program Showcase Event. Thanks to you, the evening was a success! We would like to express our gratitude to our presenters for their hard work, as well as to our partners and funders for their support, and last but not least, to our gracious hosts at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum for making this night memorable (more photos to come).

A full house at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum

After last night’s PechaKucha presentations, what does entrepreneurship mean to you?

What does entrepreneurship mean to you? from UBC UILO on Vimeo.

UBC Magnetic Levitation Technology Video

Researchers at The University of British Columbia have developed a new magnetically-levitating planar motion technology which has the potential to transform many current industrial applications. The technology was invented in the laboratory of Prof. Xiaodong Lu of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The GREAT Program interviewed Prof. Lu and Technology Transfer Manager at the University Industry Liaison Office (UILO), Paul Cyr. The team was invited to Prof. Lu’s lab to film a demo. The result was a video that allowed us and our partners at the UILO showcase UBC as a leader of innovation. Read more about this revolutionary technology, here.

Planar Motor Project Promotional Video from UBC UILO on Vimeo.

GREAT Program Team Update

It is with both excitement and regret that we would like to announce that Zaira Petruf will join the UBC Wine Research Centre in February as Research Communication Coordinator. Congratulations Zaira!

Zaira joined the GREAT program team in April 2014 and has made an exceptional contribution in advancing the program’s activities in its final year. She has made an indelible impact on our team, GREAT partners and stakeholders. We will miss her tremendously, but are pleased that our partners at the Wine Research Centre have such a talented new colleague.

As the GREAT program nears its completion date in Fall 2015, we are fortunate that Zaira will continue to support our program objectives on a part-time basis.

GREAT Partner Project News

Entrepreneurial State of Mind Series

In the ‘Entrepreneurial State of Mind Series’, we interview our team members, collaborators and partners about what ‘entrepreneurship’ means to them. Jeremy Hall (D.Phil., University of Sussex) is a Professor at the Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University and Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, a technology and innovation management journal. He is also a GE3LS researcher for our project research partner Lignin: Harnessing Microbial Diversity for Sustainable Use of Forest Biomass Resources Read More

Innovation Expert Jeremy Hall: Is Entrepreneurship Beneficial or Harmful to Society? from UBC UILO on Vimeo.

Dr. William Mohn and Dr. Steve Hallam Present at Genome BC Symposium

Lignin: Harnessing Microbial Diversity for Sustainable Use of Forest Biomass Resources’s Principal Investigators present at the Genome BC Winter Symposium. Access Williams Mohn’s presentation titled What Do Microbiomes Have to Do with Forestry, here & the Q&A seesion here. See Steven Hallam’s presentation titled From Microbiomes to Biorefineries, here & the Q&A session here.

Entrepreneurship News

The Lean Launch Pad for Genomics Is Back – February 2015

Take the leap and amplify the impact of your research. Our fourth cohort of the Lean Launch Pad for Genomics program begins February 2015. The Lean Launch Pad (LLP) program is not a traditional class or workshop. It is more like a “science laboratory” coupled with a series of “What did we learn in the lab?” and “What should we do next?” classroom session. LLP is designed to engage you in moving potential products out of the lab and into the market through talking to customers, partners and competitors, and encountering the challenges and uncertainty of creating successful innovations. Read More

Lean Launch Pad for Genomics Alumni Incorporate BLAST-seq Genomics Inc.

Congratulations to Timothy Sexton and the team at BLAST-seq Genomics Inc. The UBC spin-off company has embarked on a journey to success. BLAST-seq Genomics Inc. is a genotyping service laboratory in Vancouver focusing on the application of DNA fingerprinting technology in the Canadian forestry, aquaculture and agriculture sectors. Timothy is a Postdoctoral Research Associate working on a Genome Canada & Genome BC funded project called SMarTForests & CEDaR, under the supervision of Dr. Joerg Bohlmann. Read more.

The Value of Naiveté: Three Tips for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Seasoned entrepreneur, Willy Foote, shares three lessons that he has learned since setting out on this entrepreneurial journey 15 years ago:

1. Don’t start by designing fancy solutions; identify underserved needs first.
2. Find your true north and always maintain that direction.
3. Be as close as possible to your clients. via Forbes. Read More.

Intern Updates

Intern Feature: The Creative Team is Taking Over Twitter

g.e@ubc’s Creative Team is made up of interns who are tackling the task of translating science using story telling, animation, film and even some doodles. Katie Verigin uses visuals to synthesize complex workflows by creating info graphics and video scribe animations. Katia Truong uses animation to simplify scientific concepts and communicate them to a general audience. Danie Easton, our videographer, specializes in capturing visuals and telling stories with media communication. The three of them collaborate to create a variety of different tools to tell stories, explain workflows and translate science. Follow them on Twitter for news on science communication, visual storytelling, and anything creative.

Filmed an #interview with @richamelin this am! We had a lot of fun, can you tell? #StayTuned for our @TAIGALab vid! pic.twitter.com/NSJjhwqTqQ

— The Creative Team (@GE_CreativeTeam) January 27, 2015

For more information on our Internship Program, please visit the Internships page or contact us.

Recent Events

The GREAT Program Showcase Event – January 29th

Thank you for attending the GREAT Program Showcase Event. Thanks to you, the evening was a success! If you missed the event, photos and presentations will be available online shortly.

Genome BC Winter Symposium – January 20th

This symposium is a dynamic forum for the life sciences community with input from Genome BC and Genome Canada projects and platforms. This year’s agenda was packed with a variety of speakers including leading genomics researchers and end-users.  Topics included the User Partnership Program (UPP), Microbiome, Energy and Emerging Opportunities. If you missed the symposium, click here to access the presentations online.

Upcoming Events

Jumping Through Hoops? – Overcoming Policy Obstacles that Prevent Your Research from Achieving Its Impact Potential

Mobilizing knowledge to generate impact has become a core requirement for most Canadian research funding bodies. While some genomics researchers choose to address this requirement by translating their research findings into commercial products and services, others seek opportunities to inform public policy.

Through a combination of speaker sessions and hands-on workshops, the GREAT Program will provide tools to assist in the process of developing strategies to address the challenges of mobilizing genomics research to inform policy (and to overcome barriers to research uptake).  More information, coming soon.

Visit our events calendar to see all upcoming events and workshops.

Follow genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC on Twitter.

Newsletter Subscriptions

If you would like to receive monthly genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC updates and notifications of upcoming events, please sign up here. genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC is in partnership with Genome BC and Genome Canada.