Report from the ACCT Annual Conference

The Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies held their annual conference in Ottawa on 24 and 25 November. The agenda offered many interesting sessions on three tracks: educational, operational and strategic. It was interesting to note in several sessions where metrics were discussed that there is a general feeling that, while metrics are useful, success stories are even more so, as these give life to the data. Both Polytechnics Canada and CONII have made success stories a core facet of how we transmit metrics and the impact(s) of applied research. (Success stories from the GBC Research Labs can be found on our Research Archive).

A session by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada featured data from their publication "Momentum: The 2008 report on university research and knowledge mobilization." This report calls for better collaboration models across the R&D spectrum (a favourite topic of mine) and better mobilization of highly qualified (and skilled) personnel, in particular "the development of skills conducive to entrepreneur sip" and fostering "responsiveness and adaptability of the workforce." This is commensurate with GBC's Research Commercialization and Innovation program and our focus on innovation literacy.

Day 2 of the conference featured an entire track devoted to College and Polytechnic research, innovation and commercialization. In these sessions there were many good presentations on how to engage students in industry research projects, and the general need for and move toward complementarity.