Canada’s Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks has added two organizations based in British Columbia as its latest members.
New Ventures BC and Innovate BC have joined CENGN, immediately adding benefits to the Centre’s Living Lab Initiative.
Designed to help Canadian startups and scaleups bring their solutions to market, CENGN’s Living Lab Initiative provides expert support and real-world testing environments that ensure an innovative tech solution is reliable, scalable, and market-ready.
“Canada’s technology companies need more than access to cutting-edge infrastructure,” believes Evan Solomon, minister of digital innovation for Canada. ‘They also need the knowledge and support to protect the ideas they develop.”
The Living Lab—which features sector-specific testbeds for areas like mobility, agriculture, and manufacturing—will now include access to New Ventures BC and Innovate BC’s IP education and mentorship services.
The CENGN Living Lab Initiative is “actively accelerating Canada’s homegrown leadership in transformative technologies that advance key Canadian and global sectors,” according to Angie Schick, Executive Director of New Ventures BC.
The latest expansion of Lab services will enable innovative Canadian startups to make informed, strategic decisions about intellectual property, according to a statement.
“IP is not a side conversation,” argues CENGN chief executive officer Sandra Cutrona. Rather, “it plays a pivotal role in a company’s success.”
New Ventures BC and Innovate BC services go beyond IP creation, Cutrona says, recognizing that the right outcome is not always a patent.
The optimal strategy for some may be trade secret protection, or trademark registration, or utilizing open source software, or perhaps the priority is around avoiding costly mistakes.
Regardless, IP education and mentoring helps founders choose the protection strategy best suited to their technology, market, and goals.
“Being able to provide fundamental IP strategy services as a part of a CENGN Living Lab project enables a more holistic offering to the innovative Canadian startups and scaleups we support,” Cutrona stated.
“We are thrilled to partner with New Ventures BC and Innovate BC on this critical piece of complete commercial success,” she said.
Schick says that New Ventures BC, says the organization is “pleased to join CENGN in a partnership to deliver IP services to Canada’s most innovative startups and scaleups.”
“Through IP support, we can protect Canadian innovation while it flourishes abroad,” she remarked.
A strong IP strategy “can help companies make smarter business decisions, attract investment, and position themselves for growth,” agrees Innovate BC CEO Peter Cowan.
“Through our partnership with CENGN, we’re helping more Canadian startups and scaleups access the IP education and mentorship they need to make informed decisions that support their business goals,” stated Cowan. “That foundation can help companies reduce risk, build long-term value, and scale with confidence.”
CENGN is powered by a $45M investment from Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada.
“Canadian innovators need the right tools and expertise to turn great ideas into successful businesses,” says federal Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly. “By bringing intellectual property support directly into CENGN’s Living Lab Initiative, this partnership will help Canadian startups and scaleups protect their innovations, strengthen their commercialization strategies and compete with confidence here at home and around the world.”
“By combining real-world technology validation with intellectual property expertise, this partnership will help Canadian innovators bring stronger solutions to market, scale their businesses, and compete globally,” stated Solomon.
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