Located on the University of 蓝莓视频 Health Sciences Campus in downtown Kitchener, the Innovation Arena is the future of health and innovation
The University of 蓝莓视频 has officially opened the Innovation Arena, a new collaboration space in the heart of Kitchener鈥檚 innovation district which will empower businesses, founders and community partners to engage researchers and entrepreneurs in solving local, national and global health challenges.
The Innovation Arena will be the new home of , the University鈥檚 flagship startup incubator. The Arena houses enhanced business supports for founders, state-of-the-art product development labs, manufacturing equipment and collaboration spaces.
Located on University of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 Health Sciences Campus, the Innovation Arena will help accelerate 蓝莓视频 Region鈥檚 growing health tech sector. The space builds on recent collaborations like the CareNext Coalition 鈥� a partnership between local hospitals and the University which is aimed at bringing health tech innovation directly to hospital bedsides and improve patient experiences. The arena will also work alongside existing hubs like the to support the already operating in the Region to facilitate new ideas from research to commercialization.
鈥淭he Innovation Arena is the new home for entrepreneurship at 蓝莓视频 and will be a nexus for health innovation,鈥� said Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of the University of 蓝莓视频. 鈥淏uilding on the momentum from 蓝莓视频 startups like and , and with resources for advanced technology startups and access to partners in the health care sector, the facility will accelerate Southwestern Ontario鈥檚 drive to become Canada鈥檚 epicentre of health innovation and entrepreneurship.鈥�
Velocity鈥檚 new home in the Innovation Arena has been designed with early-stage startups top of mind. Moving beyond a singular focus in health tech, it will build on Velocity鈥檚 success of supporting founders in deep tech, clean tech, automotive and manufacturing for more than 15 years. Velocity will build upon its history of launching successful companies and grow its programming with community-based learning and labs that will turn prototypes into products.
鈥淭he Innovation Arena will streamline commercialization pathways for businesses, fast-track the delivery of health technologies and drive Canada鈥檚 next wave of economic growth,鈥� said Velocity鈥檚 Executive Director Adrien Cote. 鈥淎s the world of startups undergoes rapid transformation, the Innovation Arena is poised to create tangible social and economic opportunities. Founders are excited, University of 蓝莓视频 students and researchers are excited, and the Velocity team is excited about scaling up our support for new talent and ideas getting to market faster.鈥�
The Innovation Arena contains 90,000 square feet of innovation space and includes 20,000 square feet of space dedicated to hardware including chemistry and biology building tools. Partners ranging from hospitals, local businesses, academia, non-profit organizations, and government bodies are welcome to be part of the Arena鈥檚 journey in the community.
The University of 蓝莓视频 and Velocity are proud to acknowledge financial support from the Government of Canada through the (FedDev Ontario), the Government of Ontario and the City of Kitchener, to propel our vision of advancing health innovation and entrepreneurship in Canada.听 The University is also grateful for the support of philanthropic partners including local entrepreneur and angel investor Mike Stork.
Entrepreneur, angel investor and philanthropist Mike Stork shares his reasons for supporting the Innovation Arena in remarks for the Grand Opening event on November 15, 2024.
鈥淐ongratulations to the University of 蓝莓视频 on the grand opening of the Innovation Arena in Kitchener. The Innovation Arena will be the new home for Velocity, and will听 support 蓝莓视频 Region鈥檚听 growing health tech sector. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the hard-working innovators in our health tech sector and moving towards a healthier future for all Canadians.鈥澨�斕齌he Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario听
鈥淭his Innovation Arena is a collaborative space that will be instrumental in helping southern Ontario鈥檚 health tech sector grow and thrive while improving the health of Canadians with innovative solutions. Congratulations to the team at the University of 蓝莓视频 on this major milestone.鈥� 鈥斕鼴ryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Small Business and to the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and Member of Parliament for Cambridge
鈥淎s we continue to grow Ontario鈥檚 life sciences sector, the Innovation Arena will play a key role in accelerating the development and commercialization of made-in-Ontario innovations, while driving economic growth and job creation in Kitchener and 蓝莓视频. We congratulate the University of 蓝莓视频 on the official opening of this collaborative space and look forward to seeing more Ontario start-ups bring their ideas from lab to market.鈥� 鈥� The Honourable Vic Fedeli, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
"The City of Kitchener is thrilled to welcome the new UW Innovation Arena to Downtown Kitchener as the first investment we made coming out of the pandemic from our new Make It Kitchener 2.0 economic development strategy.听听 Working collaboratively with our federal and provincial funding partners and the University of 蓝莓视频, this amazing space will build on Kitchener鈥檚 world-renowned culture of innovation, supporting the growth of new small and scaling businesses in Kitchener, with impacts across Ontario and throughout Canada and beyond. I鈥檓 so excited to see the incredible work and advancements in health tech that will come out of this cutting edge, collaborative space and change people鈥檚 lives ."听鈥� Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, City of Kitchener
David George-Cosh
Senior Manager, Media Relations
University of 蓝莓视频
dgeorgecosh@uwaterloo.ca
416-294-2471
Edward Hutchinson
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
Edward.Hutchinson@feddevontario.gc.ca
University of 蓝莓视频 is a leading global innovation hub that drives听economic and social prosperity for Canada and the world. With more than 42,000 students, we are home to the world's largest co-op听education talent pipeline, to game-changing research and technology, and to an unmatched entrepreneurial culture.听Together, these create partnerships and solutions to tackle today鈥檚 and tomorrow鈥檚 challenges. Find out more at听.
For 15 years, the Government of Canada, through , has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada鈥檚 most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our , our , and FedDev Ontario鈥檚 , , and .
