OBI Entrepreneurs Program
The Ontario Brain Institute (OBI) is deploying an innovative initiative to fund and support scientists (e.g., neurotechnology, science or engineering) in entrepreneurial/commercialization opportunities and to ultimately establish neuroscience-related companies in Ontario.
The program will provide $50,000 to help post-graduate students to focus full-time, over a one year period, on commercialization activities related to a neuroscience-based opportunity. OBI Entrepreneur’s will be assigned industry based mentors, and a dedicated point of contact at the OBI for professional and personal support throughout the year, as well as preparation for follow-on funding.
The 2013 Entrepreneur Awards are made possible through a funding partnership with the OCE. The application process for the 2013 OBI-OCE Entrepreneurial Fellowships is now closed.
Partnership
Partnership is the cornerstone of success for the OBI Entrepreneurs program. We have engaged regional networks across the province, from Universities to incubators and beyond to provide a rich framework of experts and resources for the entrepreneurs. This program is co-funded by the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE).
We have developed training partnerships with Dr. Cynthia Goh and the Institute for Optical Sciences, including the TECHNO entrepreneurial training program. We are investigating future training relationships with the McMaster Integrative Neuroscience Discovery and Study (MiNDS) Program, other training programs at regional incubators, including Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre (Thunder Bay), MaRS (Toronto), Lead to Win (Ottawa) and Innovation Factory (Hamilton).
Our community of mentors and experts continues to grow with alliances in the regions with current OBI Entrepreneurs, including University of Ottawa, Carleton University and Invest Ottawa, Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute, Lakehead University, McMaster University, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute/ University Health Network, and University of Waterloo. We are also exploring relationships beyond these regions, in preparation for the next round of entrepreneurs, with outreach in Windsor, London, and PARTEQ Innovations in Kingston.
Results from previous OBI Entrepreneurs competitions
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