Dalhousie University’s Emera ideaHUB startup support shop will hold its annual demo day for graduates of its ideaBUILD accelerator, a 10-month program meant to help deeptech startups develop and manufacture their products, on September 12.

The event will be held at the ideaHUB’s Queen Street headquarters in Dalhousie’s downtown Halifax engineering school from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and include 10 companies that have spent the last 10 months participating in training workshops, receiving technical help and one-on-one business coaching and making use of the IdeaHUB’s extensive research and development facilities for engineering-enabled startups.

The demo day will be one of the first events to be held under the watch of newly minted ideaHUB associate director Talis Apud-Martinez, who has been hired to oversee the organization’s programming, operations and finances. Erin O’Keefe Graham, who has helmed the ideaHUB since 2021, stays on as director.

“Talis brings two decades of experience co-founding and managing community-based social enterprises dedicated to youth leadership, community building, technology, and education in both the US and Mexico,” said the ideaHUB in a statement. “Most recently, Talis was Executive Director of Crew-for-All, a global (software) platform that trains, equips, and connects communities of youth, educators, and volunteers.”

Apud-Martinez holds an undergraduate degree in Sociology from University of Texas at Austin and a master’s of innovation and entrepreneurship from Technologico de Monterrey’s engineering school in Monterray, Mexico. She also qualified to represent Mexico at the 2008 Olympics in the 3,000-metre steeplechase.

Companies that have previously completed ideaBUILD, which was formerly called simply BUILD, include cannabis quality control specialist Greenlight Analytical, wellwater-testing startup Drinkable, and more recently, St. John’s-based BioLabMate, which is developing biodegradable plastics for use in laboratories and has raised about $40,000 from various sources, including the ideaHUB.

The program is designed for groups of four or fewer entrepreneurs, who are seeking advisors to help them refine their products, are expanding their teams in preparation for fundraising and need to prepare a prototype or proof of concept. By the time they finish the program, the goal is for teams to have an operational prototype that they are preparing to scale for commercialization.

Applications for the next ideaBUILD cohort also close Aug. 11. You can learn more and apply here. Programming starts in October.