Post-Secondary Education Institutions Partner with AgTech Accelerator
Envisioned as a key component of a community-built global agriculture technology hub, the recently announced Agtech Accelerator has formed partnerships with three Saskatchewan post-secondary research and education institutions.
“The Agtech Accelerator is a game-changer for Regina’s ecosystem, but for Saskatchewan and for our leadership as an agricultural powerhouse not just here in Canada, but globally,” EDR Chief Economic Growth Officer Tina Beaudry-Mellor said. “Together with our partners, we now have the venture capital, the research commercialization potential and the labour force pathways into agricultural innovation right here in the Greater Regina Area. To date, no other jurisdiction can offer that.”
To achieve their vision of a community-wide effort, the Agtech Accelerator’s founders (Economic Development Regina (EDR), Cultivator Powered by Conexus (Cultivator) and soon-to-be-launched venture capital fund, Emmertech) continue to develop partnerships with key academic, government and industry stakeholders.
Today, the founders are pleased to announce partnerships with The University of Saskatchewan, The University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic to further enhance opportunities to commercialize the world-class research, knowledge and innovation taking place at each of those institutions. Details of each of those partnerships will be announced in the coming weeks.
“As we work to help Canada’s most promising agtech startups scale, access to talent and world-class facilities will be key,” Cultivator Manager Jordan McFarlen said. “The quality of Saskatchewan’s post-secondary institutions greatly strengthens our mission to establish a global agtech hub. The opportunities are endless.”
Saskatchewan already has many of key assets to become a world-class centre for agriculture innovation – including the world’s best dryland farmers, a foundation of well-established agri-businesses, excellent transportation and logistics infrastructure and a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. The accelerator, and the partnerships formed through it add a critical piece to the puzzle, creating an avenue for new growth the vital agtech sector.
Saskatchewan has always been a leader in agriculture, and the Agtech Accelerator allows us to continue leading into the future. To learn more, visit Cultivator.ca/agtech-accelerator.
PARTNER QUOTES:
University of Saskatchewan
The University of Saskatchewan has generated agricultural innovation for more than a century. Through our College of Agriculture, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Global Institute for Food Security, VIDO and more, USask consistently provides solutions the world needs. We look forward to working with EDR, Cultivator and Emmertech to further bolster Saskatchewan’s agtech sector, driven by our commitment to productive collaboration and meaningful impact.
– Baljit Singh, Vice-President, Research, University of Saskatchewan
University of Regina
The University of Regina is excited to be a partner of the Agtech Accelerator Program. Our researchers understand the challenges that agricultural producers face, and are passionate about helping to find solutions by developing new, impactful, and sustainable technologies, while also expanding and improving upon our already-robust field-tested technologies. Our researchers are also excited by the opportunity to back up their technology with the infrastructure and support required to make it a success – while also preparing our graduate students to be our future leaders in this sector – ultimately benefitting farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers across Saskatchewan.
-Dr. Kathleen McNutt, Vice-President (Research), University of Regina
Saskatchewan Polytechnic
Recognizing that agriculture is central to the economic vibarancy of our province, Saskatchewan Polytechnic is more than pleased to support the Agtech Accelerator. We see this initiative as both ground-breaking and timely, and are eager to help lead the growth of the agtech sector here and beyond. Sask Polytech’s exceptional computational facilities, faculty expertise, talented student researchers, applied research experience and vast network of connections in the tech and agriculture sectors will be important drivers of the innovation that will result from this partnership.
– Dr. Larry Rosia, President and CEO, Saskatchewan Polytechnic
