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TORONTO, March 20, 2025 – 91��ɫ and ventureLAB signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand their collaboration in talent development, research, and industry-driven innovation. This agreement reinforces their commitment to bridging academia and industry, creating opportunities for students, researchers, and entrepreneurs to drive growth in Canada’s technology sector.

As a leading innovation hub, ventureLAB’s mission is to power hardtech founders to build and scale globally competitive ventures that advance Canada’s knowledge-based economy, making this partnership a natural extension of its work in fostering a globally competitive technology ecosystem.

“91��ɫ has long been a valued partner with ventureLAB, and this enhanced collaboration advances our shared goal of not only fostering tech talent in the region but giving that talent the platform to turn their learning and research into commercial success,” said Sophia Chan-Combrink, VP, external relations.

The MOU establishes a strong talent pipeline, connecting 91��ɫ’s distinguished professors and researchers with ventureLAB’s influential network of founders. It also provides 91��ɫ students with hands-on internship opportunities, equipping them with real-world experience in the hardtech, semiconductor, AI and medtech industries.

With the launch of 91��ɫ’s new Markham Campus, this partnership is expanding to create even greater opportunities for students, faculty, and industry professionals. Located near the new campus, ventureLAB will serve as a key hub for experiential learning, giving students direct access to its state-of-the-art Innovation Centre and resources. This collaboration will drive new joint programming initiatives and strengthen the synergy between 91��ɫ’s STEM, management, and business programs and ventureLAB’s dynamic innovation ecosystem. By fostering cutting-edge research, commercialization, and talent acceleration, 91��ɫ and ventureLAB are shaping the future of Canada’s technology sector.

“For decades, 91��ɫ researchers have been at the forefront of groundbreaking discoveries that drive meaningful change and improve lives. As the world’s largest markets compete for top talent in fields such as medical technology, digital innovation, and semiconductors, 91��ɫ is committed to ensuring our research translates into tangible, real-world impact,” said Amir Asif, vice president, research and innovation at 91��ɫ.

“To achieve sustainable, lasting outcomes, 91��ɫ continues to cultivate strategic partnerships that amplify the reach and influence of its research. Through collaboration with ventureLAB, 91��ɫ is advancing the MedTech, digital technologies and semiconductor innovation ecosystems by harnessing the expertise of 91��ɫ’s Lassonde School of Engineering researchers. This collaboration will accelerate the creation of intellectual property and highly skilled talent, fuelling growth in critical industrial sectors.”

91��ɫ continues to be a valuable partner in ventureLAB’s flagship programs, including the Hardware Catalyst Initiative and Accelerate AI. As part of this renewed agreement, 91��ɫ professors will now have direct access to ventureLAB’s leading-edge hardware lab, enabling groundbreaking research and industry collaborations that will drive advancements in Canada’s semiconductor, AI, and deep-tech industries. This renewed partnership underscores the transformative potential of collaboration between academia and industry, creating a stronger pipeline of talent and innovation that will shape the future of Canada’s tech sector. As 91��ɫ and ventureLAB continue to strengthen their alliance, they remain dedicated to fostering technological advancements, supporting high-impact research, and equipping the next generation of leaders with the tools to thrive.

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About ventureLAB

is a leading global founder community for hardware technology and enterprise software companies in Canada. Located at the heart of Ontario’s innovation corridor in 91��ɫ Region, ventureLAB is part of one of the biggest and most diverse tech communities in Canada. Our initiatives focused on raising capital, talent retention, commercializing technology and IP, and customer acquisition have enabled thousands of companies to create over 7,200 jobs and raise more than $420 million in investment capital. ventureLAB is powering hardtech founders to build and scale globally competitive ventures that advance Canada’s knowledge-based economy.

About 91��ɫ

91��ɫ is a leading international teaching and research university, and a driving force for positive change. Empowered by a welcoming and diverse community with a uniquely global perspective, we are preparing our students for their long-term careers and personal success. 

Home to one of the largest and most diverse student bodies in Canada, our 53,450+ students from 178 countries, 375,000+ alumni and leading professors are working with 350+ university, industry and NGO partners to tackle pressing issues such as AI’s impact on society, disaster and emergency management and more. Recognized as a global leader for five consecutive years in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, and number one in global joint research publications in Ontario, 91��ɫ is positioned to take on the challenges that matter most. 

Across our multiple campuses in the Toronto area, including Keele, bilingual Glendon and Markham, and globally in Hyderabad, India, and Costa Rica, we continue to innovate. This brings success to our students in our top-ranked Schulich School of Business and Osgoode Hall Law School, and our new School of Medicine (opening 2028) as well as in the liberal arts, creative and performing arts, professional studies, health, engineering, education and sciences. 

We value collaboration, diversity and inclusivity. Together, we can make things right for ourselves, our communities, our planet and our future. 

To learn more, visit yorku.ca.

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Students will be trained to meet scientific and engineering challenges of tomorrow, drive and support pharmaceutical drug discovery and vaccine development in Canada

TORONTO, April 18, 2023 – As one of today’s recipients of a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant worth $1.65 million over six years, 91��ɫ’s Distinguished Research Professor will lead a team of researchers and industrial leaders in training the next generation of technologically advanced graduates.

Master’s and PhD students will graduate from 91��ɫ with the technical and managerial skills to take on leading positions in new entities to capitalize on disruptive technologies that could impact Canada’s research and development in the pharmaceutical industry.

“This grant will help train our students to become highly qualified personnel ready to meet difficult scientific and engineering challenges, while also helping to drive and support pharmaceutical drug discovery and vaccine development in Canada,” says 91��ɫ Vice-President Research and Innovation Amir Asif. “This NSERC CREATE program taps into 91��ɫ’s expertise in bioanalytical methods and instrumentation and the University’s commitment to purposeful research. I congratulate Sergey Krylov on his successful application and collaboration.”

NSERC announced the winners of the CREATE program earlier today designed to give Canada’s researchers of tomorrow, not only improved mentoring, but a better training environment.

The NSERC-funded industrial stream Technology-Enhance Pharmaceutical Discovery (TEPD) program at 91��ɫ, designed with industry input, will bring together some of Canada’s leading academics working on technological aspects of pharmaceutical discovery along with major companies driving or supporting this country’s pharmaceutical research and development.

“Big pharma is continually shifting tremendous costs and risks associated with pharmaceutical discovery to small-venture players, changing the landscape of pharmaceutical discovery in Canada,” says Krylov of the Faculty of Science. “The pressing needs of Canadian pharmaceutical research and development were what motivated our academic and industrial team members to come together to create a comprehensive training ecosystem capable of making a difference in this industry at the national level.”

The goal of this program is to enhance Canada’s global economic competitiveness by fueling innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, a sector of the economy which creates more research and development jobs in Canada than any other industry.

Trainees will conduct collaborative research in one of the seven pharmaceutical-discovery research themes, like the stages involved in pharmaceutical discovery used by developers of drugs, biologicals and vaccines. They will work with leading-edge technologies that could lead to potential drug discovery and vaccine development through the design and synthesis of DNA-encoded libraries (DELs), the selection of hits from DELs and their validation.

The program is comprised of collaborative research, joint seminars, summer school with hands-on and in-classroom workshops run by instructors from academia and industry to advance soft and professional skills of the trainees, summer research conferences and industrial internships in the research and development labs of the four industrial partners in Canada or the United States.

Students will graduate with superior industrial and academic research expertise, ready to meet the scientific and engineering challenges of Canada's new research landscape.

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TORONTO, April 23, 2019 – From computer makers to installers and operators, the Portraits of Digital Canada exhibit will feature photographs from the IBM Canada Images Archive, depicting the budding of the information age in Canada.

The exhibit, opening at 91��ɫ’s Scott Library on April 24, features images authored by award-winning photographer , who was tasked with documenting IBM’s corporate life.

Zbigniew Stachniak, associate professor in the Lassonde School of Engineering’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, is the curator of the exhibit and will be available for interviews.

WHAT:  Portraits of Digital Canada photography exhibit. View full program and map

WHEN: April 24, 2019, at 4:00 pm

�±ᷡ�鷡:�� Scott Library, 91��ɫ Keele campus

Opening remarks:

Joy Kirchner, Dean of Libraries, Dave Robitaille, IBM Canada - Innovation, Citizenship & Government Affairs, Zbigniew Stachniak, curator of both the exhibit and 91��ɫ’s Computer Museum

91��ɫ champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. 91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.  

Media Contact:

Anjum Nayyar, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 44543, anayyar@yorku.ca

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