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Highlights of the Annual Meeting

The Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) celebrated 20 years of knowledge mobilization, application and collaboration with one of the most praised annual meetings in its history.

Beginning with a day of events geared towards the delegates of the networks and centres, the meeting offered an opportunity for participants in various disciplines to network with those in their respective sectors, a new event this year. Many were pleased to meet with people in their sectors with whom they could exchange ideas and collaborate to identify and solve the most common concerns within those sectors. Janet Wilson-McManus of the PROOF Centre of Excellence stated that  “we found the sector sessions useful for knowledge of how we can better partner with other CECRS and NCEs”.

Keynote speaker Alex Jadad, Chief Innovator and Founder of the Centre for Global
e-Health Innovation, both informed and challenged us with his discussion on innovation and the future.

The afternoon included private program sessions, meetings of the Private Sector Advisory Board and the NCE Steering Committee, and a gathering of embassy officials with representatives of the networks to exchange information and best practices.

The evening was completed by a reception with guests such as Industry Minister Tony Clement and astronaut Julie Payette. The reception was held on the showcase floor, where many networks and centres had displayed their achievements. This proved to be the perfect venue for such an event. Vice-President of NSERC, Margaret McCuaig-Johnston said that “everyone was really energized” and Minister Clement spoke to the audience about the value of the NCE and its programs.

The second day of the meeting welcomed special announcements from Minister of State (Science and Technology) Gary Goodyear. Minister Goodyear announced a new competition for the Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR) program worth $57 million and also introduced the three newest networks of the Networks and Centres of Excellence program. Minister Goodyear commended the NCE initiative for “two decades of serving the public in an outstanding way”, and discussed some of the positive impacts the networks and centres have had on Canada and on Canadians.

Following the exciting news from Minister Goodyear, keynote speaker Julie Payette took the stage and proceeded to captivate her audience with a visual montage of her space flight. Ms Payette, a gifted storyteller, discussed the excitement and difficulties of being in space, and pointed out the necessity of teamwork on a mission. Her presentation garnered much discussion and praise. Eliot Phillipson of the Canada Foundation for Innovation described the meeting as “impressive, informative and entertaining – all in all, a wonderful celebration”

The first panel discussion of the day was entitled “How Can Canada Step Up and Lead in the 21^st Century Economy”. The panel brought together experts from academia, industry, government and health to discuss how to turn a country into a leader, and how to demonstrate that leadership on a global scale.

Keynote presenter Andrew Abouchar, a prominent venture capitalist, then spoke about the many dos and don'ts of attracting the interest of a venture capitalist. His list of 11 things never to say to a VC was well received by the audience, and several questions demonstrated a great interest in the subject matter.

The afternoon brought two further panel discussions, The Pillars of Commercialization and Innovation, and Open Innovation, which was proud to welcome the participation of Andrew Kaniki, Executive Director of Knowledge Management and Strategy at the National Research Foundation in South Africa. The panels were praised as being both intelligent and relevant, and panel members participated in a lively forum of ideas and potential for the future. Janet Scholz, who moderated the Pillars of Commercialization and Innovation panel, summed up the many compliments about the annual meeting by stating “…congratulations…for the best NCE annual meeting – this was confirmed by many I spoke with regarding next year… a very high bar has been set.” There was a significant industry presence, both in the membership of the panels, and in the audience which added to the level of discussion and debate.

The closing reception was a warm and enjoyable event, with a focus on celebrating 20 years of the NCE. With the final event of the evening came many accolades for the NCE and its programs. Mark Servos, Scientific Director of the Canadian Water Network, called the meeting “without a doubt the best one I have attended… it created real value for me and the CWN”. The NCE is proud to have created an environment of networking and collaboration, and hopes to continue this tradition for many years to come.