The first global XPRIZE hub launched at the University of Calgary earlier this month, expanding the organization's presence and reflecting its mission to deepen collaboration with innovators worldwide.
XPRIZE staff pose with Rex at the XPRIZE Canada Hub launch event on May 6. Photo Credit: Laura James Photography
The XPRIZE Canada Hub at UCalgary will expand the capacity of Canadian innovators by connecting, supporting and accelerating teams to engage in XPRIZE activities that will help de-risk and validate new technologies for investment, adoption and implementation.
"UCalgary is the ideal host for the XPRIZE Canada Hub as our researchers are undertaking compelling innovation and entrepreneurship activities every day," says Dr. William Ghali, vice-president (research).
"The Hub will support more than just our Calgary community, but innovators across the country, strengthening UCalgary and Canada's leadership in global innovation."
XPRIZE is an established global leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanity's greatest challenges.
The UCalgary Hub's launch was celebrated May 6 to 9 with a series of events and activities hosted by the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.
XPRIZE Canada Hub launch event
The official announcement and launch of the Hub took place on May 6, with government partners and more than 180 guests in attendance, launching several days of events providing a glimpse of what the XPRIZE Canada Hub will offer.
The event celebrated the new partnership and highlighted XPRIZE's impact including a panel featuring Canadian XPRIZE alumni teams. This included UCalgary alum Madison Savilow, BA'19, BComm'19, of Carbon Upcycling. The company was a finalist and X-Factor Award Winner in the NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE competition. The principal sponsors of the competition are NRG Energy and Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance.
A Canadian-themed networking reception followed, showcasing UCalgary spinoff companies Carbomat, Circle CVI and TOSSA Sustainability Solutions who have successfully translated research to impact in their sectors of energy, health and deep tech.
Catalyzing impact: The next generation of impact entrepreneurs
After the launch, two exclusive events took place on May 7 for UCalgary's research and innovation community.
The morning session showcased XPRIZE's approach to impact, featuring a keynote talk from Dr. Ghada Nafie, BSc (Eng)'00, MSc'17, PhD'20 (chemical engineering), CEO and co-founder of Litus.
Nafie's talk shared her entrepreneurial journey of taking a UCalgary research discovery and scaling it into a global company.
A panel session followed to inspire the next generation of impact entrepreneurs moderated by Hunter Hub Executive Director Guy Levesque. The panel shared leadership journeys from Andrew Tauhert, XPRIZE's chief impact officer; Pete Santosham, MBA'06 executive director of UCeed; and Sue Crawford, BSc'11, BN'13, MN'20, manager of the Health Systems Transformation Initiative at the Faculty of Nursing.
XPRIZE mini moonshot workshop: Food, water, waste
Afternoon attendees experienced the XPRIZE approach to co-creating a transformative vision for challenges in food, water and waste through a Mini Moonshot Workshop.
Participants identified urgent challenge topics in food, water and waste and then designed their own prize concepts.
The top three concepts looked to address recycling plastics by creating a 100-per cent-compostable alternative; slowing sea-level rise to prevent glacier and ice-shelf loss; and reducing single-use plastics in health care.
The winning prize-concept pitch was, "Plastics Where we are Supposed to Care," which focused on creating an affordable compostable material, without compromising patient safety. Team members included Elsa Reisenhofer, Aditi Jain, Rebecca Ung, Tasneem Fazel, Mansi Singhal and Isabella Kastamonitis.
Global Visioneering workshops
On May 8 and 9, XPRIZE welcomed a new cohort of its Global Brain Trust to UCalgary campus for two days of Global Visioneering workshops.
This group of world-renowned innovators, thought leaders, industry experts and entrepreneurs shape the design of what could become the next revolutionary Moonshot Prize competitions.
More than 80 brain trust members and XPRIZE staff met to determine the most pressing challenges in their respective domains which will be drilled down to future prize concepts to be presented at XPRIZE Visioneering in October 2025.
Three UCalgary faculty members are currently part of the Global Brain Trust:
- Deep Tech: Dr. Christian Jacob, PhD, professor, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, and Dr. Jihyun Lee, PhD, associate professor, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering (SSE)
- Climate & Energy: Dr. Ian Gates, PhD, professor, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, SSE.
What's next
There will be more offerings to come from the XPRIZE Canada Hub after leadership for the hub is in place this summer. Stay tuned for more information and events by signing up for the XPRIZE Canada Hub mailing list or visiting the Hub's website..
