COAST opens a home for ocean innovators

Welcome to this week’s Midweek Memo. In this issue, discover who’s Pacific Canada’s entrepreneur of the year, read about microplastics in humpback whales, and find out how rabbit antibodies contribute to anti-aging.

Now onto today’s briefing. It’s 626 words: a three-minute read.

By the way, if you're not already subscribed, you can fix that here.

COAST opens a home for ocean innovators

All signs are pointing to growth in B.C.’s blue economy. Recently, we’ve seen local companies celebrating funding competition wins, award recognition, and annual progress reports.

Now, Island innovators have a new place to call home with the official opening of the COAST Ocean Innovation Hub. The location features 7,000 square feet of subsidized coworking, meeting, and event space designed specifically for ocean-focused businesses and innovators.

The Hub is supported by the Centre for Ocean Applied Sustainable Technologies (COAST), an initiative of the South Island Prosperity Partnership.

"The COAST Hub is not only a coworking space," explained Jason Goldsworthy, executive director of COAST. "It's also designed to advance innovation in British Columbia by bringing together entrepreneurs, researchers, and businesses whose work contributes to sustainable ocean advancement. The COAST coworking facility and member network promotes collaboration and inspires growth in an industry ripe with opportunity."

The Victoria-based location is the first in a planned provincial network of COAST’s ocean innovation hubs.

Private offices in the new spot were filled within weeks of opening, but space is still available for those looking for hot-desk or dedicated-desk memberships.

SPONSORED BY OAK BAY LOCAL

Find out what Oak Bay locals are talking about in our weekly newsletter, Oak Bay Local, with the latest news, events, and community spotlights. Subscribe today!

📰 More Victoria innovation news

🏆 All I do is win, win, win: Tobyn Sowden, CEO and founder of Redbrick, a group of software companies providing shared services to digital entrepreneurs, was named the 2024 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2024 Pacific Overall Award winner.

🌊 We all live on a yellow submarine: Victoria’s Ocean Diagnostics, which develops technology to support researchers and scientists in collecting and analyzing microplastics and environmental DNA data, shared the story of how a UBC Masters student was using the company’s technology to investigate microplastic exposure in humpback whales.

🐰 We’re hopping along: Biotherapeutic research and technology company ImmunoPrecise announced the contributions of its rabbit B-Cell Select platform to a Mayo Clinic anti-aging study.

🕴️Tech jobs of the week

Find your next career:

• Senior Software Manager at Autodesk

• Principal Software Engineer at Ecobee

• Ocean Research Project Management Specialist at Pisces Research Project Management

Hiring in Victoria? Reply to this email and let us know!

📅 Upcoming events

November 7 | VIATEC | Why IP Strategy Matters for Business Growth

Join New Ventures BC, VIATEC, and Dr. Houston Brown for a session on IP strategy and business growth.

​This session will include:

• Walkthrough of an in-house IP framework for startups and scaleups

• ​How IP strategies differ from IP plans

• Review of key IP assets and why they matter to business strategy

• Discussion of patents and having an investment grade patent

• Considerations on IP value vs. IP risk

November 15 | UVic’s Biomedical Engineering and Health Technology Showcase

UVic’s annual event brings together researchers, students, industry, and government agencies to talk about what’s new and exciting in biomedical engineering and healthtech. This year’s speakers include Dr David Juncker, Jessica Vandenberghe, Scott Phillips, Dr Nick Dechev, Dr Mike Berger, and Annelise Lapointe. The event will also include a research and industry fair, BioInnovate Pitch Challenge, and poster showcase.

Have an upcoming event? Reply to let us know.

🙋 I need a…

We at Victoria Tech Journal know you, our community, pretty well. Are you searching for someone in your field to have coffee with, a hiring hookup, a lead on local investors, or suggestion for a great Victoria tech tool? Whatever you’re hunting for, let us know. We’ll post it in this section and make it happen.

Email your requests by hitting reply on this email.