The formula for UCalgary's success as one of Canada's top entrepreneurial and research-intensive universities could act as a blueprint across the country and be further scaled up with the right mix of federal incentives and policy tools.
"Like you, we believe Canada must increase private R&D spending to raise productivity, move up the global value chain and create and retain high-skilled jobs," said President Ed McCauley on Monday, as he addressed parliament's Standing Committee on Science and Research.
Dr. McCauley made the case that government can make changes that would create a pathway for more private-sector investment in R&D, particularly by working with universities.
"We believe that advancing the commercialization of innovation emerging from Canadian universities is a critical driver for building a stronger, more innovative economy for Canada," he said.
"Canada's universities are ready to lead," he added.
"We train the next generation of innovators, produce world-class research and increasingly translate that research into solutions that benefit society and the economy. But we need the right policy tools and sustained investment to fully realize this potential."
McCauley shared with committee members the experiences of UCalgary, where a broad commitment to a culture of innovation and robust support for commercialization, "has created more new companies than any other university in the nation over the past six years. This combination of a research-intensive and entrepreneurial university is a powerful combination."
In his remarks, McCauley shared examples of UCalgary's impact driving private-sector R&D. He described successful university-industry collaborations, such as the development and implementation of new geothermal energy technologies, as well as a concussion assessment tool, which is now the standard of care for athletes worldwide, and the world's first robot capable of performing precise surgery inside an MRI.
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