SFU works with you
SFU's innovation ecosystem mobilizes research to address the most pressing challenges of our time. Working with our partners, we help Canadian innovations create a positive social, economic and environmental impact on the world stage.
Innovation Accolades
SFU is consistently recognized as a global leader in impactful innovation for its interdisciplinary and collaborative innovation ecosystem.
#1
Innovative University in Canada
World University Rankings for Innovation, 2024
#2
in Canada for industrial application
World University Rankings for Innovation, 2024
#3
worldwide for innovative impact on sustainable cities and communities
Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, 2024
"SFU attracts, supports and develops outstanding researchers, who publish in the world's top journals. But conducting great research is not enough. At SFU, we work collaboratively with partners and end-users every step of the way. We mobilize our research to create positive impact—from influencing policy change, to designing resilient and low carbon communities to launching science-based ventures and enhancing the regional and national innovation ecosystems.
SFU puts great research to work."
Innovation Ecosystem
SFU is an award-winning innovation leader. Our ecosystem provides an interdisciplinary and multi-level continuum of entrepreneurial programming and innovation support.
Support for people with ideas
SFU helps students, researchers and entrepreneurs gain the skills, knowledge and resources to take their innovations to the next level.
Innovation expertise at every stage
Tap into SFU's innovation ecosystem at any stage of your innovation journey. SFU's network of support is there when you need it, and provides flexibility and freedom to set your own path.
Mobilizing knowledge
With an established and growing network of researchers, entrepreneurs, and government and industry partners, we mobilize knowledge for meaningful impact.
SFU scientist Steven Holdcroft and alumnus Ben Britton turned their once-in-a-lifetime discovery into a leading clean tech company thanks to support from SFU’s innovation ecosystem, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Innovate BC, and others. The company, Ionomr Innovations, is now developing more cost effective and durable polymer membranes for use in fuel cells, hydrogen production and other clean energy applications.
Explore the Innovation Ecosystem
SFU physics professor Stephanie Simmons is co-founder and chief quantum officer of Photonic, a global quantum computing company headquartered in Canada. Simmons holds a Canada Research Chair in Silicon Quantum Technologies at SFU and is the co-chair of the advisory board to Canada's National Quantum Strategy.
Expertise and Talent
SFU physics professor Stephanie Simmons is co-founder and chief quantum officer of Photonic, a global quantum computing company headquartered in Canada. Simmons holds a Canada Research Chair in Silicon Quantum Technologies at SFU and is the co-chair of the advisory board to Canada's National Quantum Strategy.
SFU is internationally renowned for community-engaged education and research, developing graduates who contribute through the private and public sectors, to solving regional and global issues. With more than 180,000 alumni living and working in Canada and around the world, the impact of SFU's innovative, interdisciplinary, engaged teaching and research culture is felt throughout every sector. Our internationally recognized innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem produces innovation leaders, entrepreneurial scientists and translational researchers. We are creating “deep tech” ventures—such as in the emerging sectors of clean energy, personalized medicine and quantum computing—which can scale globally and create knowledge economy jobs in Canada.
Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship
SFU is a national leader in interdisciplinary innovation and entrepreneurship programing at the undergraduate level. Through the institute, we have supported hundreds of students begin their unique entrepreneurial journeys.
arrow_right_altBeedie School of Business Invention to Innovation (i2I) Program
SFU is a global leader in developing experiential educational opportunities through the national i2I Program, enhancing the translational research and commercialization activities of STEM researchers across Canada.
arrow_right_altCommercialization
Kamaldeep (Kam) Singh Sembi is the Director & IP Legal Counsel of the SFU's Technology Licensing Office (TLO), which supports students, faculty and university researchers in navigating IP related matters and sparking innovation from invention.
SFU supports the commercialization of research and new product development in a variety of ways. Through our research and innovation supports, we guide industry and community partners to the research groups and core facilities that are most relevant to them, and facilitate networking, ideation, and help launch specific initiatives. Our contract research office supports the contracting, ethics, funding, regulatory and financial components of these co-created research collaborations. SFU's creator owned intellectual property (IP) policy, legal and translational expertise, and support of research translation and commercialization, encourage scientist entrepreneurs and industry investors to join in long-term, impactful collaboration.
Community-Centred Climate Innovation
A critical research priority at SFU. We are working with our local and global partners to co-develop and co-implement policy solutions and climate and cleantech innovations with community at the core.
arrow_right_altSFU's Partnerships Hub
Facilitating and supporting external partnerships. We help connect you to the right expertise and resources at the university to build and grow impactful relationships.
arrow_right_altTechnology Licensing Office (TLO)
SFU's Technology Licensing Office (TLO) provides intellectual property protection and commercialization services to help take SFU inventions from lab to market and maximize their economic and social impact.
arrow_right_altCore Facilities
SFU's Core Facilities model streamlines industry access to specialized research, prototyping and testing equipment, along with the expertise of that specific research domain. A prominent example is 4D LABS, SFU's open-access core facility for advanced materials research and development.
arrow_right_altB.C. Centre for Agritech Innovation
The B.C. Centre for Agritech Innovation connects small and medium sized enterprises in the agritech sector with researchers, government and industry partners to develop technology solutions that build resilient supply chains and generate global solutions for food security and climate change.
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Kamaldeep (Kam) Singh Sembi is the Director & IP Legal Counsel of the SFU's Technology Licensing Office (TLO), which supports students, faculty and university researchers in navigating IP related matters and sparking innovation from invention.
Sarah Lubik, Director of Entrepreneurship, accepting the 2023 Deshpande Symposium Award for The Entrepreneurial University on behalf of SFU and Dr. Steven Tello, Vice Provost for Graduate, Online and Professional Studies, University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
Credit: Photography by Leanna
Incubation and Acceleration
Sarah Lubik, Director of Entrepreneurship, accepting the 2023 Deshpande Symposium Award for The Entrepreneurial University on behalf of SFU and Dr. Steven Tello, Vice Provost for Graduate, Online and Professional Studies, University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
Credit: Photography by Leanna
Further catalyzing the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem at SFU are a wealth of incubators, accelerators and accessible core facilities, many of which are also open to the community. From early-stage startup incubation, to social innovation support, to accelerating later-stage science and technology entrepreneurs, SFU offers rapid support around innovators and entrepreneurs at any stage of venture.
Coast Capital Venture Connection
SFU's longest running entrepreneurship program and early-stage startup incubator open to students, staff, faculty and alumni, equipping aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools, knowledge, and support system needed to build solutions for the future.
arrow_right_altRADIUS SFU
A social innovation incubator that supports innovation labs to address social challenges. RADIUS' Equity-Centred Accelerator's suite of programs supports equity-deserving innovators and teams.
arrow_right_altSFU VentureLabs
Serving the later stage science and technology entrepreneurs at SFU as well as growth and scale-stage technology entrepreneurs, VentureLabs offers specialized accelerator programs, market validation and marketing training programs. VentureLabs also connects international delegations and trade missions with SFU's research community and innovation ecosystem.
arrow_right_altKnowledge Mobilization
As SFU's Knowledge Mobilization Manager, i2I alumnus Lupin Battersby is growing the culture of knowledge mobilization at SFU by supporting, leveraging and expanding the university's knowledge mobilization resources.
Universities are key actors in regional innovation ecosystems to increase the opportunity for economic and social value creation. SFU's unique culture of innovation educates, mentors, provides networking opportunities, celebrates entrepreneurship, and supports both research and research translation. With an established and growing network of researchers, entrepreneurs, and government and industry partners, we mobilize knowledge for meaningful impact.
Knowledge Mobilization Hub
SFU's Knowledge Mobilization Hub is growing the culture of knowledge mobilization at the university, expanding the scope of knowledge mobilization resources, and helping SFU faculty, students and staff access SFU's existing resources. The hub helps people get their research out into the world.
arrow_right_altCommunity-Engaged Research initiative
SFU's first research infrastructure extending community-engaged research to provincial, national and international communities.
arrow_right_altScholarly Impact of the Week
SFU's Scholarly Impact of the Week series celebrates and raises the profile of scholarly milestones and research impacts from across the SFU research community. We have over 100 publications since its inception.
arrow_right_altSFU Public Square
A centre for social and economic innovation, SFU Public Square supports faculty, students, staff, alumni and diverse communities to convene accessible, innovative and inclusive programming that brings people together to meaningfully contribute to the issues that affect our lives.
arrow_right_altThe Conversation Canada
SFU is one of the founding partners of The Conversation Canada, one of the world's most trusted independent sources of news and views from the academic and research community, delivered directly to the public. SFU supports researchers in getting published on this Canadian network.
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As SFU's Knowledge Mobilization Manager, i2I alumnus Lupin Battersby is growing the culture of knowledge mobilization at SFU by supporting, leveraging and expanding the university's knowledge mobilization resources.
Supporting SFU's Vision for the Future
What's Next: The SFU Strategy
SFU is engaging in global challenges. With leading researchers in today's critical issues, combined with our focus on developing entrepreneurship and a global mindset in our community, SFU is ready to effect positive change. 'Innovation and adaptability' is also one of SFU's core values.
SFU's 2023-2028 Strategic Research Plan
Bringing technologies “out of the lab” and into the hands of consumers and communities is one of the priority areas listed in our strategic research plan. SFU researchers are engaged in helping solve global challenges while supporting economic growth through developing new technology at all levels—from building a sustainable world, to improving human health, to transforming the way we teach and learn.
SFU's 2022-2025 Strategic Sustainability and Climate Action Plan
We integrate climate action and sustainability innovations into our research, partnerships, knowledge mobilization and international initiatives. SFU works with our local and global partners to co-develop and co-implement policy solutions and climate and cleantech innovations with community at the core.
Scholarly Impacts
SFU's Scholarly Impact of the Week celebrates scholarly milestones, research impacts and innovations from across the SFU research community. Below are just some examples of impacts that are advancing innovation at SFU.
Breakthrough technology fuels clean energy shift
Steven Holdcroft, Faculty of Science
Embedding climate action into everything we do
Alison Shaw, featuring the ACT – Action on Climate Team
Multidisciplinary research advances hydrogen and fuel cell technologies
Erik Kjeang, Faculty of Applied Sciences
Breakthroughs in quantum technology happening at SFU
Stephanie Simmons, Faculty of Science
Global energy models demonstrate best use of resources
Taco Niet, Faculty of Applied Sciences
New science innovations to address Parkinson's and other diseases
David Vocadlo, Faculty of Science
Support for scientist-entrepreneurs crucial to rapid crisis response
Elicia Maine, Beedie School of Business
Stories From our Community
Our community of researchers, staff, students and partners from all backgrounds and areas of expertise are contributing to SFU's innovation ecosystem.
SFU named Canada's top university for innovation in global WURI rankings
Simon Fraser University is Canada's top university for innovation and industrial application, as well as number two in the world for entrepreneurial spirit, according to the 2023 World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI).
SFU's leadership in impactful entrepreneurship recognized with international award
SFU was awarded 2023 Deshpande Symposium Award for The Entrepreneurial University, in recognition of its leadership in entrepreneurial programming and innovation support.
SFU's Elicia Maine recognized for advancing science innovation with CSPC Trailblazer Award
Simon Fraser University's associate vice-president of knowledge mobilization and innovation (AVPKMI) Elicia Maine received the 2022 Trailblazer Award (Innovation Policy) from the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC).
New research centre for clean tech, big data to grow capacity with PacifiCan funding
A new research centre to advance clean technologies and support their commercialization will be established at Simon Fraser University's 4D LABS, with more than $2 million in funding from the federal government's Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada (PacifiCan).
Nanorobots and hydrogen fuel cell technology among i2I Venture Pitch 2023 winners
Advancements in mRNA drug delivery with nanorobots and hydrogen fuel cell technology took home the prizes at this year's Invention to Innovation (i2I) Venture Competition at SFU's Beedie School of Business.
SFU physicist Stephanie Simmons to help lead Canada's new quantum strategy
SFU physicist Stephanie Simmons will help steer Canada's new National Quantum Strategy as co-chair of its advisory council. The strategy, supported by a $360 million commitment, will help shape the future of quantum technologies in Canada
Innovate with SFU
Through our national innovation ecosystem of programs and experts, we tailor solutions that are helping our partners solve their problems for meaningful impact.
We would love to hear from you and learn more.