Innovation News
Australia’s national science agency CSIRO together with start-up Nutri V have developed a new healthy vegetable snack. Tonnes of vegetables that do not meet specification, are in oversupply and the stalks and leaves that are not eaten cannot be sold or are otherwise wasted despite being just as nutritious. Nutri V upcycles this waste into Nutri V vegetable powders which is used in Nutri V Goodie snacks providing a sustainable solution that also provides a convenient option for people to increase their vegetable intake.
KPMG has opened KPMG Ignition Calgary at the Platform Innovation Centre in Calgary, unveiling a specially commissioned piece of AI-informed artwork by the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) and local visual designer Natalia Resovsky to commemorate the occasion. KPMG Ignition Calgary is one of three KPMG Ignition Centres in Canada. These serve as innovation labs helping “clients reframe their problems, see beyond the now, and derive value frorm innovation” says Kerry Harmer, KPMG Ignition Calgary Leader.
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is working on developing healthcare technology for use in space to keep astronauts healthy on long journeys. This involves investing in new diagnostic and detection technologies designed for use in rural communities. The CSA is looking for technology that can be used to improving health care access of medically isolated communities and applying that to astronauts going on long missions who will need to become more self-reliant when it comes to health care.
Cherokee Bent has received the Council of the Federation (COF) Award for Innovation in Mental Health and Addictions Care. This award recognizes her work in supporting young people dealing with addiction and includes a $5,000 prize to continue fostering innovation in the sector. Bent has designed and delivered curriculum to improve care young people who use substances and Indigenous youth from rural communities. These aim to identify education gaps and build a stigma-free and supportive culture in health care settings.
Opinion articles
Relentless innovation is the driver of both cutting edge startups and the world’s most expansive companies. Yet a culture of innovation is built not only by coming up with new ideas, but learning to identify and shut down unsuccessful ideas to avoid unnecessary drains on resources. Three questions to evaluate the potential of an idea are whether early adopters will accelerate organic growth, whether customers come back for more, and whether it can deliver profitability.
Only 18% of graduates in life sciences get tenure track positions- the art of pivoting away from academia is one practiced by the vast majority of early career researchers. With the benefit of hindsight and experience, Tarryn Bourhill described their process after completing graduate school: performing informational interviews to identify suitable careers, effective networking, and industry-focused communication of transferable skills.