Media Releases
Kingston Technology Council hosts inaugural “Innovation Expo”
Dec. 13, 2007
KINGSTON, ON -- The Kingston Technology Council is excited to announce its new signature event, Innovation Expo 2008.
The event, scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, 2008, will profile Eastern Lake Ontario’s unique strengths in environmental technologies, advanced materials and manufacturing, information and communication technology and life sciences while bringing together, for the first time, Eastern Ontario’s technology innovators, entrepreneurs and researchers with leaders in the industry, business and finance communities from
The day’s offerings will include display booths, technology demonstrations and a dynamic roster of speakers addressing the issues that drive success in developing a thriving “innovation economy.”
Breakout sessions will focus on starting and growing companies, recruiting talent and building sector strength.
The event will also showcase the yet-to-be-named
. The facility is home to Performance Plants Inc.,
"As a region with top-ranked research-intensive universities, a strong industry presence, a leading technology transfer office, and one of
The event is the next-generation version of the KTC’s Awards of Excellence Gala, Mr. Hanley says. “Over the past seven years, our awards gala showed us that our local innovators need opportunities to tell their story, and to meet with other entrepreneurs,” he explains. “Innovation Expo is our response to that need, and we’re tremendously excited about its potential.”
“As a founder of many companies based on locally generated technologies, such as Performance Plants, we are pleased to take part in this capacity-building initiative,” says John Molloy, President and CEO of PARTEQ Innovations, the technology transfer office of Queen’s University, Royal Military College, Kingston General Hospital, and local industry.
“Experience has shown us that partnerships and shared expertise are key to building a community’s high-tech economy. An event such as this is a valuable starting point for growing opportunities within the
The Kingston Technology Council welcomes participants from across the region’s innovation sectors. Details can be found on the KTC website: www.kingstontechnology.net
Contact:
Mark Hanley, Chair
Kingston Technology Council
P: 613. 544. 2725. ext 229
C: 613. 561. 1373
Volker Thomsen honoured with Champion Award at seventh annual Kingston Technology Council Awards
Volker Thomsen honoured with Champion Award at seventh annual Kingston Technology Council Awards
Feb. 5, 2007
For immediate release
KINGSTON, ON – Volker Thomsen, a nationally recognized advocate for technological education, apprenticeship training, alternative energy and the arts, among other things, has received the Kingston Technology Council’s Champion Award for his role in promoting the growth of knowledge-based enterprises in Kingston and area. Mr. Thomsen, President & CEO of St. Lawrence College, was honoured Saturday at the seventh annual KTC Awards of Excellence Gala.
Two area software companies focused on worldwide printer/copier and retail sales sectors, an innovative seed funding program supporting entrepreneurship among Queen’s students, and local technology educators were also honoured for their achievements in the area’s technology sectors.
Mr. Thomsen was recognized for being the driving force behind an innovative revamping of Ontario’s apprenticeship program, and for propelling St. Lawrence College to the front ranks of Ontario’s community college system. Also highlighted was his dedication to sustainable energy alternatives, made real through construction of wind and solar technologies on St. Lawrence campuses, the establishment of the $400 million Wolfe Island wind park, and the formation of the World Wind Energy Institute, a global network of educators devoted to student exchanges and training in renewable and sustainable energies. One of his best known projects, Energy House, a learning environment and alternative energy technology demonstrator at St. Lawrence College, was a nominee for this year’s KTC Innovative Program Award.
The black-tie event also demonstrated a new commitment by the council to broaden its networking activities from Kingston proper to the entire Eastern Ontario region. Among the award winners was PrintFleet Inc. of Gananoque, which received the Commercial Achievement Award for its success in developing and marketing print management and assessment software. In addition to nominees from Kingston, candidates in the three juried awards categories included companies from Napanee, Brockville and Prince Edward County.
“It is always rewarding to be able to honour the innovators in our community, and it was especially gratifying this year to extend that recognition across the region,” says Gord MacDougall, Chair of the Board of the KTC. “As the people who work in these knowledge-based sectors will tell you, there’s precious little time to stop and celebrate success. That’s the role that the KTC is proud to play. Our awards are about making those invisible achievements, visible. It’s about showing our communities the incredible potential for technological innovation that exists in this region.”
About the award winners:
DAS Software of Kingston was awarded the Emerging Technology Award for its Squash Point-of-Sale software for small and medium sized retailers. DAS has clients across North America, including Canadian university campus retailers, a Colorado specialty grocery business, and a San Francisco facilities support manager.
Contact: Doug Stewart, President
www.das.ca
www.squashpos.com
PrintFleet Inc. of Gananoque, which develops print management and assessment software, received the Commercial Achievement Award. Its “vendor-neutral” software enables dealers and distributors in the imaging industry across five continents to remotely monitor and manage printing equipment and supplies.
Contact: Norm McConkey, President
www.printfleet.com
The Atherton Entrepreneurship Award at Queen’s University was recognized with the Innovative Program Award. Established through the generosity of Professor David Atherton, this award offers up to $34,000 in seed funding to promising technologies developed through student-faculty research collaborations.
Contact: Anne Vivian-Scott, Vice-President, Commercial Development, PARTEQ Innovations (see below)
www.parteqinnovations.com/randi-Atherton.htm
John Esford, of Kingston’s Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School, was awarded the Dick Hopkins Innovation in Education Award. A former audiovisual production professional, Mr. Esford was honoured for encouraging innovative uses of technology by students for projects such as yearbooks, dramatic productions and sporting events, for exploring social issues, and for assisting community nonprofit organizations. In addition to the award, Mr. Esford’s school received a cheque for $1,000, to be applied to programs related to innovation using technology. Alan Hesketh of the Limestone School Board received honourable mention for his technology-based iniatives at the elementary school level, including a Lego robotics program.
More than 250 guests, including judges from technology-based enterprises in Ottawa, Toronto and Guelph, attended this year’s event, which was held at the Four Points Sheraton.
Contact:
About the Kingston Technology Council and the Awards Gala:
Gord MacDougall, Chair
Kingston Technology Council
gmacdougall@slc.on.ca
For further information about the winners:
Nancy Churchman
Executive Director, KTC
nchurchman@kingstontechnology.net
About the Atherton Entrepreneurship Award, winner of the Innovative Program Award:
Anne Vivian-Scott
Vice President, Commercial Development
PARTEQ Innovations
avivianscott@parteqinnovations.com
Eastern Lake Ontario Region Innovators Wanted!
Kingston Technology Council Awards of Excellence now available to businesses, organizations in Eastern Lake Ontario region
October 5, 2006
KINGSTON, ON -- We know you're out there.
The Kingston Technology Council is looking for high-tech innovators involved in developing cutting-edge products, growing companies, or offering programs or services to the high tech sector for its annual Awards of Excellence program.
Originally focused on high-tech enterprises in the Greater Kingston area, eligibility for this year's awards has been expanded to include companies, organizations and individuals in a broad geographical area, from Belleville to Brockville, and north to Smiths Falls.
"For nearly 20 years the KTC has worked to grow high-tech business sectors in Kingston. Now it's time to expand our mandate to our neighbouring technology communities," says Gordon MacDougall, Chair of the KTC.
"As an organization that promotes connections between and among the many players in our high-tech sectors, we have become increasingly aware of the growing pool of innovation and talent concentrated along this end of Lake Ontario," he says. "We felt that taking a more regional focus could create many more opportunities for all of our members."
The annual competition highlights advances in technological research and development through three juried awards: Emerging Technology, Commercial Achievement and Innovative Program or Service. Senior executives from high-tech sectors outside the region judge the entries. As well, individual contributions to innovation are recognized through two additional awards, the Champion Award, and the Innovation in Education Award, which are chosen by committees of the KTC.
Deadline for applications is Monday, Nov. 13.
Winners will be announced at the KTC's seventh annual Awards of Excellence Gala. The sellout black tie event takes place Saturday, Feb. 3, 2007 at the Four Points Sheraton, Kingston.
"Over the years we have seen the incredible excitement and energy that these awards generate in the highly specialized, yet often invisible, technology sectors of our local economies," Mr. MacDougall says. "For our high-tech innovators, the gala has proven to be a wonderful opportunity for recognizing, and celebrating, their contributions to the broader community, and to the world."
Information about the awards is available on the KTC website:
www.kingstontechnology.net.
Potential candidates can also call Nancy Churchman, Executive Director, at 613. 547. 9387, or email admin@kingstontechnology.net
Contact:
Gordon MacDougall,
Chair, Kingston Technology Council
P: 613. 546. 9387
About the Kingston Technology Council Awards of Excellence:
The KTC awards of Excellence celebrate outstanding individuals, companies and organizations that, through the development and application of innovations in technology, have made a significant contribution to the economic prosperity and well-being of technology-based sectors in Kingston and surrounding regions.
Since their inception in 2001, the awards have recognized more than 60 nominees and honoured 23 innovators and leaders in a broad spectrum of technology-based enterprises.
About the Kingston Technology Council:
The Kingston Technology Council promotes the creation, growth and profitability of high technology enterprises in Kingston and surrounding regions. A not-for-profit volunteer organization since 1992, the KTC provides a cohesive voice and source of focused community action to build Kingston and region's growing high-tech sectors, including biotechnology, information technology, environmental and biomedical technologies, and advanced materials.
www.kingstontechnology.net
Satellite tracking, wait list software, among winners of
2006 Kingston Technology Council Awards of Excellence.
Feb. 11, 2006
KINGSTON, ON - A solar-powered satellite tracking system used in the shipping and oil and gas industries around the world, a software solution for managing patient waiting lists, and an electronic waste recycling program that is the model for similar initiatives in Africa were among the technology-based enterprises honoured Saturday at the Kingston Technology Council's sixth annual Awards of Excellence Gala.
Also highlighted throughout the evening was Kingston's renewable energy sector. Keynote speaker Donna Cansfield, Ontario Minister of Energy, commended local initiatives such as the Wolfe Island wind power project and a Queen's-developed commercial solar hot water heater while outlining Ontario's current and future strategies for clean, sustainable energy supplies.
The black-tie event also saw a new commitment by the council to broaden its networking activities from Kingston proper to the entire Eastern Ontario region. "We so often focus on 'local' business, speak of 'local' economies, that we have not put the energy into the regional opportunities that exist within Eastern Ontario," said Gord MacDougall, Chair of the KTC. "The commonalities between our communities, the similar challenges we face, the innovation and talent that is so often unrecognized, are many of the reasons why the KTC believes that reaching out and connecting could create many new possibilities," he noted.
The gala is one such example of connecting, Mr. MacDougall added. "These annual awards are not only a celebration of the new, the successful and the innovative," Mr. MacDougall says. "They are also a product of more than a decade of effort of helping make connections, to stimulate that 'aha!' moment when at least two people suddenly realize that an opportunity exists and that coming together could mean all the difference to creating, growing or sustaining a business."
The award winners:
AdapCS Canada Corp., a a Kingston-based healthcare informatics company, received the Emerging Technology Award for Axcess.Rx, its wait-list management software suite. The wait list technology was developed at Kingston General Hospital and is currently used by KGH and Hotel Dieu hospitals in Kingston, Lennox and Addington County General Hospital in Napanee, and the Hospitals of the Capital District Health Authority in Nova Scotia.
Aztech Associates Inc., a Kingston electronic product design and manufacturing company, received the Commercial Achievement Award for its TRX Solar Hybrid Tracking Solution. The company's technology combines urban cellular and global satellite coverage, enabling clients to monitor the location and condition of vehicles, ships and other assets from anywhere in the world, no matter how remote, cheaply and quickly. The technology is an industry first, and is now in use in the U.S., Mexico, Singapore and the Caspian Sea.
Frontenac Electronic Waste Recovery Project, recipient of the Innovative Program Award, was recognized by judges for "turning a future potential problem into an opportunity for the present." The program, which has become the template for similar initiatives in and , was honoured for its success in recycling used computers to schools and training young people in computer refurbishment while diverting electronic waste from landfills while reconditioning.
Doug James, head of technological studies at Loyalist Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Kingston, was honoured with the Dick Hopkins Award for Excellence in Technological Education. Mr. James was lauded for his teaching, mentoring and leadership skills in connecting students with career opportunities in technology fields and skilled trades.
Kathryn A. Wood, President and CEO of Natural Capital Resources and a longtime communications and marketing consultant to private and public-sector businesses in the Kingston region, received the Champion Award for her role in promoting the growth of knowledge-based enterprises in Kingston and area. Described as "the best kind of ambassador for Kingston and the region," she was honoured for her advocacy and expertise in the research and scientific fields, particularly in the area of environmental sustainability.
Nearly 300 guests, including judges from technology-based enterprises in Ottawa, Toronto and Guelph, attended this year's event, which was held at the Four Points Sheraton.
Ontario Minister of Energy to address Kingston Technology Council
Awards of Excellence Gala
Jan. 19, 2005
KINGSTON, ON -- Ontario's Minister of Energy, the Honourable Donna Cansfield, will highlight Kingston's growing role in alternative energy innovation at the Kingston Technology Council's sixth annual Awards of Excellence Gala on Saturday, Feb. 11.
Ms. Cansfield's keynote address will provide a "green" opening to the KTC's annual black tie salute to local technology innovators, which this year celebrates achievements in the areas of Emerging Technology, Commercial Achievement and Innovative Programming. The council will also honour individual accomplishment through its Innovation in Education Award and Champion Award (see nominees, below).
Prefacing the minister's speech will be an announcement of a new direction for the KTC by chair Gordon MacDougall.
"We are delighted to have the minister on hand for this celebration," says Gordon MacDougall, Chair of the KTC. "Kingston is fast becoming a "powerhouse" of alternative energy innovation, including wind, solar and fuel cell initiatives.
"Our alternative energy cluster, SWITCH, renewable energy research at Queen's University and Royal Military College, along with the Energy Systems Engineering Technology programs and its innovative learning lab, "Energy House," at St. Lawrence College, all demonstrate the tremendous enthusiasm and support for renewable and sustainable energy in this region. We look forward to hearing the minister's vision of the future in these areas."
The MPP for Etobicoke Centre, Ms. Cansfield assumed the Energy Minister's portfolio last October after serving as Parliamentary Assistant to the Honourable Dwight Duncan, previous Minister of Energy. Minister Cansfield is committed to creating a culture of conservation, while ensuring a reliable, safe, clean and affordable supply of electricity.
For example, since taking office Minister Cansfield has introduced the Conservation Leadership Act, 2005. If passed, the bill will serve as another important building block in the government's plan to create a culture of conservation in Ontario. As well, the minister has recently announced a net metering program that provides a credit to farmers, small businesses, and consumers who generate their own power from renewable sources for any excess electricity they put back into the grid.
The KTC Awards of Excellence Gala begins at 5:30 pm at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, Kingston.
About this year's KTC Awards of Excellence nominees:
Nominees for this year's KTC Awards of Excellence are as follows:
Emerging Technology Award, in recognition of a product, service, or process with the greatest potential for benefit, including commercialization, cost reduction through greater efficiency, safety, or contribution to the preservation of the environment or humanity:
" AdapCS Canada Inc.
" GOLocal Courier Inc.
" InnovationOne Applied Technology, Inc.
Commercial Achivement Award, in recognition of a company that has successfully brought its product, service, or process to market in the last two years:
" Aztech Associates Inc.
" Knorr Brake Limited.
Innovative Program, awarded to the creators of an program that has contributed to the growth of Kingston's technology sector by helping to attract and retain business opportunities, investment, innovation and talent:
" Frontenac Electronic Waste Recovery Centre
The Innovation in Education Award, which honours an individual who inspires innovation in learning through technology, and the Champion Award, which recognizes an individual from within the community who has exhibited leadership in promoting knowledge-based enterprises and an environment in which they can flourish, are chosen by a committee of the KTC and will be announced at the gala.
. The facility is home to Performance Plants Inc., a leading Canadian agricultural biotechnology company.
“This event is very much about profiling our region’s innovators, and their globally competitive technologies,” says Mark Hanley, Chair of the Kingston Technology Council. “It’s also a great opportunity for the region’s talent pool and tech business entrepreneurs to network with potential employers and venture capitalists.”
All-day event highlights region’s technology innovators and tech sectors’ ‘lessons learned’
For immediate release