麻豆传媒

Creating a culture that fosters innovation and creativity is a passion of Isha Katyal鈥檚, associate vice-president of innovation, and her enthusiasm to support innovators, both inside and outside CUE, have been instrumental in growing the new CUE Innovation Hub to great heights.

All her accomplishments have led Isha to being recognized by Edify as a leader in Edmonton. The selection committee chose her for 鈥渂ringing non-academic thinking to academia鈥�.听

From scientist to innovator听

Isha describes herself as a scientist at heart, who is always 鈥渧ery curious and looking for new challenges to solve.鈥� As a university student, she was always asking herself, 鈥淲ho needs my research? Who cares if I find a new genomic biomarker? What can I do with it?鈥�

This led Isha to exploring a career path after her PhD to see what happens to university research after it鈥檚 been published. 鈥淚’ve had incredible mentors over time, who encourage me to stay curious and think outside the box. Not everyone has to become a professor after a PhD!鈥�

Isha gained inspiration from her entrepreneurial family 鈥� her parents and grandparents owned their own business in India. 鈥淭hey have all made something for themselves,鈥� she said.听

Vision for CUE鈥檚 culture of innovation

It seemed like a natural progression for Isha to join CUE鈥檚 BMO Centre for Innovation and Applied Research, shortly after the Allan Wachowich building was completed in 2019.听

鈥淭he vision for the Innovation Hub first began in 2016,鈥� says Isha. 鈥淢any universities were putting together proposals for the from the federal government. CUE put together a proposal that was a mixed call for both infrastructure and resources. The Allan Wachowich building was one of the outcomes of that multi-million dollar funding. CUE鈥檚 partnerships in Brazilian universities, where most campuses have a tech-park, contributed to the vision of the CUE Innovation Hub鈥�

When Isha joined, the applied research and innovation initiatives were at early stages, which was what Isha was looking for – A blank canvas!

鈥淔or the external community, we did have a lab built and offices to offer to early stage entrepreneurs but we couldn鈥檛 just be a property management unit. Universities are much more than just infrastructure,鈥� says Isha.

Building connections between CUE and industry

Isha ensured that if businesses were contacting CUE they were not only going to benefit from our infrastructure, but were also going to 鈥済ain valuable connections with academics, hire talented students, and get quality business development support,鈥� she says.听

鈥淚f they are looking to promote their business offerings on CUE鈥檚 campus and with our post-secondary network, we assist them. We build a special connection with start-ups to help them grow and CUE鈥檚 small size definitely helps in getting things done quickly.鈥� 鈥� Isha

For industries involved in biological work, 鈥渨e have a level two designed biosafety lab,鈥� says Isha, 鈥淭his means a company does not have to worry about passing public and environmental health related accreditation processes.”

One of our clients, TestnTravel, for example, obtained the prestigious College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta accreditation to offer third party testing and validation for diagnostic tests. CEO and co-founder of TestnTravel, Mathew Diggle, told us, “We cannot actually operate without CUE’s state-of-the art facilities, and they have provided us with infrastructure and business development support that have helped us grow.”

The Centre for Applied Artificial Intelligence (CAAI), part of CUE Innovation Hub, is equipped with state of the art computing infrastructure that reduces machine learning model training time. 鈥淲e have five GPUs (obtained via our partnerships with Nvidia and Artificial Intelligence Pathways Partnership), that allow for development of applied artificial intelligence based tools in the areas of finance (lending and borrowing), standardizing analyte detection, companion assistive technology, smart material detectors, sustainable energy and environmental calculators among others,” Isha explains.听

Speaking about Isha鈥檚 work, Mike Wade, CUE鈥檚 director of the CAAI, says that Isha has been instrumental in the success of the Innovation Hub, including the Centre for Applied Renewable Energy and CAAI.听

鈥淭hese areas are all doing really well, and that鈥檚 a testament to Isha鈥檚 enthusiasm, her work ethic, her intelligence and her ability to rally the team. She has gone above and beyond the call of duty and I鈥檓 really proud to call her my colleague.鈥� 鈥撎� Mike.听

A small university with a big impact

CUE is very comparable to other larger institutions for applied research, entrepreneurship and innovation support, despite being a smaller university. 鈥淲e have outstanding entrepreneurial coaching and mentoring programs, infrastructure and academic support and strong connections with the Edmonton Regional Innovation Network.听

鈥淐UE goes head to head with large universities in Alberta, and in my opinion performs even better in many areas鈥� 鈥� Isha

By 鈥榖etter鈥� than the big universities, Isha points out that 鈥淐UE鈥檚 strengths lie in the fact that we are a small, close-knit community. For many entrepreneurs this means less competition, one-on-one personal attention, and there is less bureaucracy, for example approvals to move forward with a project might be made more easily than at a larger institution.鈥�

For instance, she says 鈥渋f an artist wants to put their paintings in the library or bookstore, we can make it happen really quickly, or, a small business can participate in a pop-up shop on campus to engage with customers and understand their needs before putting their money and efforts into something that may not be desired. It may be done on a smaller scale, but it鈥檚 done faster and is more personalized than larger institutions might be.鈥�

Students and researchers are realizing their entrepreneurial dreams

For students wanting to learn entrepreneurship skills, they can sign up for Innovation Launchpad Mentorship Program, between now and December 23, 2022.听

This six-week program matches mentors with mentees who are current CUE student entrepreneurs.听

Mike Wade describes Isha as the driving force behind Innovation Launchpad, and he spoke about the 鈥渉uge amount of passion鈥� necessary to bring a program like this together.听

Many students have seen commercial success through the program, including, Kelton Libich, founder and owner of and graduate from the Faculty of Arts program.听

The Mentorship Program maximizes opportunities for participants to learn necessary skills and access valuable entrepreneur support in a practical, experience-based learning environment.

鈥淭he program helps build the soft skills: creative thinking, communication, problem solving, network building and enhancing your resume,鈥� Isha points out. 鈥淵ou can even get some seed money, to help cover the costs.鈥�

A leadership team that encourages creativity and innovation

Isha is quick to point out that the success she has achieved has been in part because of the open minded, creative and encouraging spirit of the CUE community and the leadership team.

鈥淟eaders here do not shut you down when you have an idea, even if it鈥檚 way out there. They allow me to be creative and get things done! I鈥檓 so proud of the culture at CUE.鈥� 鈥� Isha

鈥淚nnovation Launchpad, incubation support; AI Pathways, partnerships to develop more machine learning courses and initiatives 鈥� none of this would have happened without the open-minded and creative culture we have at CUE.鈥�

鈥淧resident Tim Loreman is a leader who allows for that flexibility and freedom, he has always been steering the ship in the right direction,鈥� says Isha.听 鈥淎nd all the vice-presidents and deans of each faculty have been so supportive and encouraging. They have provided me with the right feedback and criticism when it鈥檚 needed.鈥�

That support from leadership is instrumental to support the big goals in the strategic plan for the Innovation Hub. 鈥淲e have built the framework, but a lot of people don鈥檛 know about the Innovation Hub yet, or understand what we do,鈥� says Isha. 鈥淥ne of my biggest priorities is to educate the public and our CUE community on what we do. My other big priority is sustainability 鈥� we are working hard on getting funding to support our excellent programs and initiatives.鈥�

We continue to grow our connections with external partners

Isha鈥檚 time is mostly spent building connections with external partners. 鈥淎bout 60-70 per cent of my time is spent looking for external funding,鈥� says Isha.听 External funding partners like Alberta Innovates, Employment and Social Development Canada, PrairiesCan and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada have been hugely supportive of CUE’s mission, she says.

For business development, there is so much potential for industry to get involved with the Innovation Hub. “We have academic expertise in many areas, and have an executive in residence that provides business development support in areas such as听market research, coaching and advice on听next steps to progress them forward,” Isha explains.

CUE President, Tim Loreman, says because of Isha鈥檚 efforts 鈥淐UE is increasingly seen as a vibrant and key player in the innovation ecosystem in Edmonton and beyond.鈥� He attributes it to her 鈥渘ever ending can-do attitude and her infectious optimism.鈥�

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