The first Innovation Week in Newfoundland and Labrador will kick off on May 5 in St. John’s and will highlight the rapid advancement of the startup community in the province.

Startup NL, which has recently been incorporated as a not-for-profit organization, didn’t exist two years ago and now has 200 members. Though its largest affiliated body is Startup St. John’s, it is now working at getting Startup Corner Brook off the ground. And the co-working space Common Ground has opened its doors at 30 Harvey Rd. in St. John's, providing a workplace for several entrepreneurs and a meeting place for the community.

Innovation Week will serve to celebrate the achievements the group has made in the past two year and promote the growth of innovative companies in the province.

“The last six months have been very exciting and we can't wait to share what's in store for the next six months,” said Startup NL Co-Founder Jason Janes in an interview.

Innovation Week will begin with a Fireside Chat at Common Ground on Monday, May 5, to be followed that evening with a DemoCamp. Janes said the demos will include presentations by some of the more established startups in St. John’s to show the potential of knowledge-based companies in their growth phase.  Organizers are looking for more companies to make presentations.

On May 6, there will be a youth and innovation event, at which about 500 high school students will learn about technology.

The next day, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries, or NATI, will host its annual Knowledge Summit, which brings together leaders of the local advanced technology sector. The theme of this year’s summit is Igniting Innovation. TEDxStJohns will be held in the evening.

Thursday, May 8 will be Innovation Day at the Genesis Centre at Memorial University, after which a closing event will be held Thursday evening.

Like the Startup Weekend event held at Memorial University in November, Innovation Week is a reminder how much Janes and Co-Founders  Chris Gardner and Roger Power have achieved in just a couple of years.

“We never had something like this before,” said Ron Taylor, the Chief Executive of NATI. “From the very beginning, when you’ve had that idea in your head and you had that burning ambition, there really hasn’t been a place to go to. Now, with Startup St. John’s and Common Ground, there is that sort of place.”