Tech Advantage Tours to Kick Off WSV with Research and Innovation Showcase

For Web Summit Vancouver this year, Invest Vancouver is hosting Tech Advantage Tours.

The Metro Vancouver region is a launch pad for development and commercialization, according to Invest Vancouver, powered by world-class talent and facilities.

Curated, small-group tours will aim to give investors a firsthand look at the region’s highest potential sectors.

On May 11, three tours will go down—one to the University of British Columbia, one to Simon Fraser University, and one to check out the city’s premier animation and digital media hustlers.

Guests on the SFU Surrey Campus tour will be introduced to areas of Artificial Intelligence, collaborative R&D, and industry training. The tour features visits to the Smart Manufacturing Hub, IoT Lab, and Rapid Prototyping Lab, and includes demonstrations of SFU spinoff technologies.

AT UBC, attendees can choose from three tracks. This includes a Life Sciences Tour that looks at the future of healthcare innovation; a Mining & Critical Minerals Tour that focuses on sustainable mining innovations such as biomining and quantum sensing technologies; and a Cleantech & Renewable Resources Tour, which will showcase scalable solutions in carbon removal, renewable materials, and bio-based alternatives to petrochemicals.

The final track, conducted in partnership with DigiBC and the Centre for Digital Media, will include a visit to Sony Pictures Imageworks, the organization behind hits such as “KPop: Demon Hunters” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” as well as Kabam, maker of Marvel Contest of Champions.

And, at the Centre for Digital Media, guests will experience a studio-based learning environment, where multidisciplinary teams of designers, developers, artists, and managers work on real industry product developments.

Founded through a partnership between UBC, SFU, BCIT and Emily Carr, The Centre for Digital Media bridges industry and education through its flagship Master of Digital Media program, Microcredentials, applied R&D collaborations, and integrated commercial innovation space.