BURNABY, BC and MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — November 21, 2018 — Today, Refined Manufacturing Acceleration Process (ReMAP) and i-onCONNECT Technologies, together with Singularity University, announced the start of the 2019 SingularityU Canada Global Impact Challenge (GIC). Singularity University is a global community with a mission to educate, inspire, and empower leaders to apply exponential technologies to address humanity’s grand challenges.Canada has a celebrated history of world-changing innovations in medicine, energy, transportation, food, technology, and more. “Canadians have the talent, drive, dedication, and opportunity to succeed,“ said Irene Sterian, Head of the Canada GIC and President & CEO of ReMAP. “Creativity and resourcefulness define Canadians and innovation is a core Canadian value. Let’s rise to the occasion and showcase Canada’s innovative solutions to humanity's biggest challenges and create solutions for millions of people across Canada and beyond.”The SingularityU Canada GIC is a Pan-Canadian challenge to identify and showcase breakthrough ideas developed in Canada. Open to all Canadian innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, and technologists, the GIC will search for moonshot innovations to improve the lives of 1 million Canadians and beyond.“There is so much incredible research and innovation happening in every corner of the country. The SingularityU Canada GIC will highlight many of these breakthroughs and provide an opportunity to showcase and support outstanding Canadian entrepreneurs,” said Oren Berkovich, CEO of SingularityU Canada.
What is your BIG idea to improve the standard of living of a million Canadians using exponential technology? Finalists will be judged on their expertise and experience, as well as the sustainability, scalability, and potential impact of their proposed solutions at the live pitch event on May 29, 2019, hosted by i-onCONNECT Technologies in Burnaby, BC.The winner will be selected by an esteemed panel of judges consisting of representatives from communities across Canada including SingularityU Canada, senior business leaders, and global entrepreneurs. This year’s winner will secure a full scholarship to attend the Singularity University Global Startup Program (GSP) valued at $40k CAD.What innovation would you develop to solve a global grand challenge (environment, energy, water, food, health, disaster resilience, governance, learning, space, security, prosperity, and shelter) using exponential technologies that would impact the lives of Canadians and a billion people around the world in the next 10 years?“Be bold. Be brave. Be Exponential.” –Anne Connelly, SingularityU Canada Blockchain Faculty, and 2016 Graduate of the SU Global Solutions Program. Learn more from Anne by watching this video.
“Singularity really helped me think on a different scale. How do you impact the lives of a billion people? That’s a scale I’ve never thought of before.”—Andrea Palmer, CEO of Awake Labs, and Winner of the 2015 SU Canada GIC. Need more inspiration? Hear more from Andrea in this video.“Singularity expands your mindset, your base, and your options. You begin to realize there are more answers than you believe are even possible.”—Ed Champion, CEO, Smart Villages Canada Corp and Winner of the 2017 SU Canada GIC. To hear more about Ed’s experience, watch this video."Today's leaders need to understand how exponential technologies are transforming every industry. If you have a BIG idea that could change the world, the Canada Global Impact Challenge is for you. Don't worry about whether you are qualified—you owe it to yourself and your community to take the leap and apply to this challenge.– Zachary Lefevre, CEO of ChargeLab and Winner of the 2017 SU Canada GIC.Submission deadline is March 1, 2019. For more information, and to enter the 2019 SingularityU Canada Global Impact Challenge, go to https://su.org/gic/canada-2019/.ABOUT ReMAPReMAP is a network of partners (start-ups, small-medium enterprises (SMEs), large organizations and leading research institutions) from across Canada to form a product-enablement network. Through shared resources and knowledge, ReMAP bridges the commercialization gap between applied research and industry. A collaborative approach accelerates the commercialization of electronics products manufactured in Canada for the global market. Our blueprint, a Product Enablement Value Chain, leverages the strength and synergies from suppliers, manufacturers, researchers, and customers that will enable innovative ideas to products for the global market. To learn more, visit www.remapnetwork.org.
i-onCONNECT links innovation to industry by providing a place to work, learn, connect, develop your products, grow your business, and be a part of a community. We offer co-working space, mentorship, and product hardware development to entrepreneurs looking to commercialize their products and grow a successful business.We are a high-tech company which focuses its core capabilities in the Sensors, IIOT, and Big Data space with the integration of nanotechnologies and advanced materials as part of the product development offerings. To learn more, visit www.i-onconnect.com
GICs are annual competitions created by Singularity University and held in partnership with sponsor organizations worldwide to find solutions to global grand challenges. GICs serve as a platform to identify outstanding entrepreneurs, leaders, scientists, and engineers with the most innovative ideas for positively impacting millions of lives locally and globally within the next 3-5 years. Since 2010, Singularity University has worked with partners to host 130 Global Impact Challenges in 49 countries, awarding 184 winners with fully sponsored seats at the Singularity University’s Global Startup Program (GSP) in Silicon Valley. To learn more about Singularity University GICs, go to https://su.org/gic.
The Global Startup Program brings together entrepreneurs from around the world for structured, immersive workshops and intensive fieldwork in multiple locations around the globe, as well as continued access to support and resources via a best-in-class connectivity platform. We’ll start by helping you cultivate a new mindset and toolset to overcome the challenges of technological disruption. Next, we’ll work with you to accelerate your time to product-market fit, transform your startup from an idea to a venture that can help a billion people (“billion-scale”), and connect you with a global community to catalyze results. In short, GSP is designed to help you create a 10x startup at a global level.
Singularity University (SU) is a global learning and innovation community using exponential technologies to tackle the world’s biggest challenges and build a better future for all. SU’s collaborative platform empowers individuals and organizations across the globe to learn, connect, and innovate breakthrough solutions using accelerating technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital biology. A certified benefit corporation headquartered at NASA Research Park in Silicon Valley, SU was founded in 2008 by renowned innovators Ray Kurzweil and Peter H. Diamandis with program funding from leading organizations including Google, Deloitte, and UNICEF. To learn more, visit SU.org, read the SU Blog, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @SingularityU, and download the SU App.
SingularityU Canada is a not-for-profit organisation committed to inspiring and enabling more Canadians to think BIG, take risks, and drive global impact. We are a grass-roots movement of passionate individuals and forward-thinking Canadian organisations that came together to catalyse a Pan-Canadian community of thinkers and doers. SingularityU Canada was born of uncommon partnerships across communities, governments, and sectors, each of which wishes to have strategic conversations about their collective future and ensure that Canada plays a global role in shaping the way we all live and work. To learn more, visit sucanada.org.Media Contacts:Irene Sterian, Head of SingularityU Canada GIC, President & CEO, ReMAPTrish Hughes, Events & Programs Lead, i-onCONNECT TechnologiesJessica Kersey, Head of Corporate Communications, Singularity UniversityAoife Gray, Media Relations, SingularityU Canada