Connecting @ Global CONNECT

Global CONNECT was the intellectual equivalent to an all-you-can-eat buffet: there were almost too many tempting options, and at the end of the event it takes a few days to digest everything you consumed. Not a surprise, of course – given that more than 200 people from 18 countries descended on MaRS for almost three days of workshops, seminars, keynotes and panels exploring every facet of collaboration and commercialization.

As I reflect on the conference and its component sessions, I’m struck by a few key realizations I wanted to share:

• Canadian innovation – our companies, our institutions, our entrepreneurs, our researchers – are far too unknown to the rest of the world. Mark Bradley – CEO of ATP Innovations in Sydney Australia – captured the entire conference as a series of podcasts. In his accompanying blog, he notes how unfamiliar many attendees were with the the innovation assets across the province and throughout Canada. He also notes our obsession with the Blackberry – a device that’s still a rarity in Australia.
• Political leadership matters. The Hon. Dalton McGuinty – Premier of Ontario and Minister of Research and Innovation – addressed the conference on Thursday morning, and I was struck by how many conversations I had after his remarks around the idea that “your premier really gets it in a way our politicians simply don’t.” The existence of MRI was cited as a key practical and symbolic factor by many speakers, and clearly resonated with the delegates.
• Linking commercialization and creativity can be challenging. To me, one of the highlights of the entire conference was a panel exploring “Innovation and the Creative Environment” – in particular, the notion that innovative communities engage not just the communities of science and technology, but also the arts, culture and creativity. For some people, this discussion was a perfect complement to some of the more technical sessions – but for a few others, this was too far a stretch from the fundamentals of commercialization. Then to really blow their minds, we invited the poet laureate of Toronto to speak after dinner – and he brought the house down.

All in all, it was a fantastic three days, and a conference I think managed to both highlight the incredible energy of this province, and also expose key global innovation leaders to MaRS – a place Mark Bradley described as “the new iconic centre for innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization.”

Conference presentations can be accessed through our friends at Global CONNECT. Take a gander, and let us know what you think – and we’ll see you at Global CONNECT 2007 in 12 short months!

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Tags: commercialization, globalization, innovation, MaRS, policy, public sector, ross wallace