OCE applauds Honourable Reza Moridi on Global Innovation Ecosystem Impact Award and other Ontario winners from UBI Global Recognition Awards
TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2018 /CNW/ - Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) extends congratulations to the Honourable Reza Moridi, Ontario's Minister of Research, Innovation and Science for being named the inaugural recipient of the UBI Global Innovation Ecosystem Impact Award.
The award was presented by UBI Global as part of the UBI Global Recognition Awards. UBI Global is a leader in business incubation performance and analysis, and this award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the progress of regional, national, or global innovation ecosystems.
At this year's awards, held at the World Incubation Summit in Toronto, Ontario continues to build on its success supporting entrepreneurship across the province, with five incubators/accelerators earning six honours.
"Minister Moridi has been an exceptional catalyst to the continued development and improvement of the innovation space here in Ontario," says Dr. Tom Corr, President and CEO, OCE. "This award from UBI Global only reinforces his importance to this province and we are excited to see what the future holds as a result of Minister Moridi's ongoing efforts."
Minister Moridi played a pivotal role in establishing funding for campus entrepreneurship programs at post-secondary institutions across the province of Ontario. He has championed programs like the Campus-Linked Accelerator (CLA) and On-Campus Entrepreneurship Activities (OCEA), which were launched in 2014 and are administered by OCE on behalf of the province.
The results of the UBI Global Impact Study: Ahead of the Curve report, commissioned by OCE, demonstrate the success of the initiative.
"We are proud to acknowledge the Honourable Reza Moridi for his pivotal role in transforming the Ontario youth entrepreneurship ecosystem into one of the most innovative and collaborative in the world," says Ali Amin, CEO and Co-founder, UBI Global. "Among the impressive economic impact that we have studied, it is also evident in the fact that a number of the province's incubation programs that participated in UBI Global's World Incubation Study are ranked among the top university-linked incubators and accelerators worldwide."
Other Ontario winners at last night's UBI Global Recognition Awards included:
World Top Business Incubator – Managed by University - business incubators in this subgroup are directly operated by one or more universities.
#1 – The DMZ at Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada tying in first with SETSquared from the United Kingdom
#4 – University of Toronto Entrepreneurship, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
World Top Business Accelerator – Linked to University - business accelerators that are managed by, affiliated with, or collaborate with one or more universities are ranked together on the group level.
#1 – York Entrepreneurship Development Institute, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
#4 – The Accelerator Centre, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada tied for fourth with imec, Belgium
Top Challenger – North America: University-linked incubation program that stands out from its peers due to its impressive overall impact and performance achievements relative to its respective regional peers.
Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre, Georgian College, Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Most Promising: University-linked business incubator or accelerator that stands out from its peers due to its impressive overall achievements relative to its young age or with regard to a particularly relevant socio-economic impact metric.
Henry Bernick Entrepreneurship Centre, Georgian College, Barrie, Ontario, Canada
About Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Inc.
OCE drives the commercialization of cutting-edge research across key market sectors to build the economy of tomorrow and secure Ontario's global competitiveness. In doing this, OCE fosters the training and development of the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and is a key partner with Ontario's industry, universities, colleges, research hospitals, investors and governments. A champion of leading-edge technologies, best practices and research, OCE invests in sectors such as advanced health, digital media and information communications, advanced manufacturing and materials, and cleantech including energy, environment and water. OCE is a key partner in delivering Ontario's Innovation Agenda as a member of the province's Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE). Funded by the Government of Ontario, the ONE is made up of regional and sector-focused organizations and helps Ontario-based entrepreneurs rapidly grow their company and create jobs.
SOURCE Ontario Centres of Excellence Inc.
OCE Media Contact: Andrew Robertson, Manager, Media Relations, t: 416.861.1092 x 1092, [email protected]
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