Dalhousie University has announced the second cohort of its Ready2Launch summer accelerator, which comprises 12 teams from universities across Atlantic Canada.
Known as R2L, the three-month program is designed for teams that are committed to building research-driven ventures. It is part of the Dal Innovates suite of programs that helps deliver innovation and entrepreneurial skills to students.
A statement from Dal said that one-third of the cohort went through the Lab2Market program, the precursor to R2L. Lab2Market helps academic researchers discover whether their research has a commercial application.
“We are thrilled to be offering our second cohort of Ready2Launch to Atlantic Canadian university students who are developing tech-enabled business ideas,” said Dal Vice-President of Research and Innovation Alice Aiken in the statement. “The teams are coming to this program with a rich diversity of technologies and growth experiences, including those from our Lab2Market cohort who are ready to take their companies to the next stage of growth.”
These are the teams that make up the latest cohort:
Centoro
Zainab Khan
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Centoro is building a cloud-based HR platform that helps to modernize and streamline employee management workflows from recruitment, through onboarding and on to payroll and time tracking.
Drastic Maritime Ocean Plastics Inc.
Adam Starr, Ghazaleh Afrahi, and Spencer Pieczonka
Saint Mary’s University and Saint Francis Xavier University
Drastic Maritime Ocean Plastics recovers plastic waste from the oceans and converts it into a sustainable source of raw material. Serving municipalities and manufacturers, Drastic Maritime Ocean Plastics claims to be the first company in the Atlantic region to create 100 percent recycled feedstock from ocean plastics.
Anita Taylor and Matthew Mizzi
Acadia, Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s Universities
Drinkable Water Solutions uses novel graphene technology to produce an affordable sensor to detect water contamination. When paired with a smartphone, it delivers unprecedented water insight.
Dougal Armour and Mitchell Kane
Dalhousie
Formula Consulting is developing software to reduce the time and cost of civil construction projects through digital solutions that solve many typical formwork problems.
HeAIZe Optics and Photonics
Hao Guo and Alexey Tikhomirov
Dalhousie University
HeAIZe is developing novel Raman spectroscopy technology that allows clinicians and transplant surgeons to obtain accurate measurements of various biomarkers critical to organ diagnostics.
HOLLO medical
David Hodgson and Sara Fedullo
Dalhousie University
HOLLO is building a product for inhaler-users who are frustrated with cumbersome valved holding chambers. It is making a medical device that outperforms the current industry standard and easily fits into a child’s pocket.
Irrigation Management Pro
Stephanie Arnold and Andrew Clark
University of Prince Edward Island
Irrigation Management Pro offers a “precision irrigation map generator” which helps farmers analyze data from several sources to determine the best way to irrigate their crops. The software integrates seamlessly with major agricultural software platforms and irrigation equipment.
Myomar Molecular Inc.
Dalhousie University
Rafaela Andrade and Dylan Deska-Gauthier
Myomar Molecular is developing a diagnostic tool to identify early stages of muscle atrophy. This technology will be used by physiotherapists and medical doctors to access therapy approaches, reduce hospitalization time, and analyze recovery progress.
Neuro Amel Technologies
Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s
Hayam Mahmoud-Ahmed and Estelle Cochingyan
Neuro Amel is building a 24-hour personalized rehabilitation tool that reduces clinical backlog while enhancing patient recovery with live biofeedback and remote monitoring.
Nimei Biologicals
Dalhousie University – Agricultural Campus
Raphael Ofoe and Lord Abbey
Nimei Biologicals is developing organic fertilizer for greenhouse producers to reduce the cost of production and increase crop productivity and resilience.
Quilt HR
Jaime Christian
Saint Mary’s University
Quilt HR helps managers track employee performance so they can improve employee engagement, lower turnover, and increase profits.
The STRATUM: Digital Archaeological Field Notes Tool
Cora Woolsey and Chelsea Colwell-Pasch
The STRATUM is a mobile platform geared toward use by field technicians and project managers.
The statement said teams participating in the program will take part in weekly workshops that are based on the Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework developed by Bill Aulet at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Each group will receive up to $15,000 in funding, along with guidance from a designated mentor and mock board of directors. Resilience training and skills clinic sessions will round out the program, with sessions drawing on expertise from the Atlantic and national innovation ecosystems, and with instruction from industry experts in corporate law, marketing, and product development, to name a few.
Disclosure: Lab2Market and Ready2Launch are clients of Entrevestor.
