Innovation. Inspiration. Exploration.

Join us on June 13, 2024, at Calgary Central Library to connect with Calgary's innovation leaders at Avenue's 5th Annual Innovation Event. The day is capped off with a networking cocktail reception featuring entertainment by GreyScreen!

 

Schedule

*Please check back for more information.

 

1:00 P.M. Doors Open & Registration
Join us for tea, coffee and pastries sponsored by Chartered Professional Accountants Alberta. 

2:00 P.M. Welcome Remarks and Land Acknowledgement

Welcome remarks by Avenue and land acknowledgement by Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes.

 

Cheryle Chagnon-Greyeyes is a proud Nehiyaw Esquao (Cree Woman), a member of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Treaty 6, Saskatchewan; and Métis. Her ceremonially gifted Cree name translates to “Healing Woman Who Walks Far.” She has resided in Calgary, Treaty 7, Alberta, since 1993. 

Followed by messages from our sponsors Calgary Economic Development, Mount Royal University, Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Innovate Calgary, Platform Calgary and CPA Alberta.

 

2:15 P.M. Simulation in Education
A look inside how simulation is helping support education and training for MRU and for local companies.

Panellists: 

 

Danaiet Teame is a nurse educator and simulation specialist whose career sits at the intersection of healthcare, education, and technology. Highly regarded in both the healthcare and academic sectors, she is currently the manager of the Health Simulation Learning Center at Mount Royal University (MRU) in Calgary and is completing her PhD in Health Professions Education – Simulation at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions. 

Jeff LaFrenz is the Co-Founder and President of VizworX, an advanced decision support, operations and education software solutions company, Jeff LaFrenz is a serial entrepreneur, international speaker and technology leader with over 30 years’ experience in technology commercialization. 

3:00 P.M. It's Called "Hard"ware for a Reason
Typically when we think of innovation and technology in Calgary, we think of software. But these companies show that designing and even building high-tech products in Alberta is also possible

Panellists: Amadeus Meitner, EMM Labs; Rob Herring, Blackline Safety; Sean Tuff, TuffHill eBikes

Amadeus Meitner leads operations at EMM Labs Inc. and Meitner Audio, companies founded by his father, Ed Meitner. Since the 1970s, these brands have been pioneers in high-resolution audio recording and playback. They continue to design and manufacture award-winning consumer audio electronics at their Calgary facility, which are integral to some of the world's most advanced HiFi systems.

 

Rob Herring serves as Vice President, Operations at Blackline Safety. Unlike many businesses in North America, Blackline has in-sourced its manufacturing operations, using a lean philosophy. With over 20 years of operational management and supply chain experience, Rob oversees the manufacturing, supply chain and logistics departments. 

 

Sean Tuff is co-founder and e-bike designer of the Calgary-based start-up, TuffHill eBikes. Inspired by his years as a bike mechanic and thousands of hours pulling his kids around Calgary by e-bike, Sean designed an e-bike ideal for year-round commuting and recreational riding in Calgary and beyond. TuffHill eBikes creates comfortable, practical low-maintenance electric bikes that remove the most common barriers to biking. Sean is motivated to help Calgarians discover a more active and sustainable form of transportation.

 

3:30 P.M. Break
Grab a coffee and a snack Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta coffee bar and then take a look at the demonstrations in the lower level of the library.

 

4:15 P.M. Using Captured Carbon
Hear the stories of local companies making products from captured carbon. Re-using waste has never been so clean (literally), strong or tasty!

Panellists: Madison Savilow, Chief of Staff, Carbon Upcycling; Jaeson Cardiff, CEO, Clean 02 Carbon Capture Technologies; Hans Doef, Blindman Brewing

 

Madison Savilow is the Chief of Staff at Carbon Upcycling and is accountable for the finance, human resources, and legal activities of the company. Her experience in corporate services has provided a critical foundation for the continued development of the company. Madison is also the Co-Founder and Venture Lead for Oco, the company's consumer brand. 

Jaeson Cardiff is the CEO and visionary behind CleanO2 Carbon Capture Technologies, and the inventor of the innovative CarbinX micro scale carbon capture system. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Jaeson leads a dedicated team of 20 staff members committed to reducing carbon emissions and making a positive impact on the environment.  His ultimate goal is to transform CleanO2 into a world-class success story and inspire others to make meaningful contributions to society.

 

Hans Doef is the Co-founder of Blindman Brewing which began in 2015 trying to get good beer to the good people.  Since that time Blindman has won numerous awards including Brewery of the Year 2023 in Canada and Best of Show 2023 in Canada as well as an esteemed Emerald Award in Sustainability with their first in Canada C02 Capture utilization system.  

4:45 P.M. Innovation Ecosystem Supports
Calgary has transitioned to being a large tech market with more than 50,000 tech jobs, which represents about 7% of employment. Calgary now ranks as one of the top 60 tech ecoysystems in the world according to Startup Genomes Global Startup Ecosystem Report. We'll look at what it has taken to get us to this point and what we the next steps are in growing the local ecosystem.

Panellists: TBD

 5:15 P.M. Technology and Indigeneity
Technology and traditional ways of lives are often seen as being at odds, but the work of USAY and Untethered Technologies shows how Indigenous tech companies can create technology solutions that further the reach of Indigenous ways of knowing.

Panellists: LeeAnne Ireland, Executive Director, USAY (Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth); Jessica Hawryluk, Managing Director, Untethered Technologies; Su Spotted Bull, AR game designer.

 

5:45 P.M. Food of the Future
Since before confederation, Alberta has been Canada's bread basket. As we look to the future we are becoming the home to some fascinating food technology companies.

Panellists: Lourdes Juan, Knead Technologies

 

Lourdes Juan is an award winning, 6x, Calgary-based Founder and Urban Planner, with a Masters in Environmental Design. She has founded a diverse array of companies and organizations in urban planning, food security, hospitality, and food tech. Lourdes’ community advocacy is vast and also includes serving on numerous local and national boards related to urban planning and design, affordable housing, entrepreneurship, and impact investment.

6:00 P.M. Cocktail Reception Featuring Kevin Stebner and the GreyScreen Project
Featured in the Innovation Issue of Avenue magazine, Kevin Stebner creates music and art centred around video games.

 

 

Kevin Stebner is a multi-disciplinary writer, musician, and artist from Calgary, Alberta. Stebner's poetic work delves into an astounding array of typewritten visual poems, letraset concrete explorations and a variety of constraint based works. He has spent over two decades dedicated to the DIY music community in every capacity, notably from his bands Cold Water and Fulfilment, and videogame music project GreyScreen. He is also the proprietor of Calgary's best bookstore that's in a shed, Shed Books.

Through circuit-bending, hacking, writing new code, etc., I make the technology do things that were never intended for the hardware, changing the way we see concepts such as digital decay, glitches, or nostalgia to expand towards creating new possibilities.