Alberta IoT is a non-profit member-based association supporting organizations with a vested interest in internet of things (IoT) and emerging technologies. Members, ranging in size from solo entrepreneurs to large enterprise, collaborate to provide a common voice to advance the knowledge, adoption, and growth of emerging tech in Alberta and beyond. Alberta IoT currently supports over 220 members and growing everyday.
As IoT continues to grow as an industry, permeating daily lives and industrial applications, Alberta IoT seeks to enable operations integration, business opportunities, and expansion with an ultimate mission to position Alberta as the world leader in IoT and emerging technologies. To accomplish this goal, the Association focuses on 5 core areas;
1. Amplifying Alberta innovations
2. Facilitating connection to capital
3. Supporting & building tech talent
4. Acting as one strong voice in government
5. Recruiting and growing businesses in Alberta
Members of Alberta IoT benefit from ecosystem exposure, networking opportunities, and ultimately a community willing to connect and collaborate. The Association supports these collaboration collisions through its programming including Fast Track, Start Up Visa, and Science Park.
COMMUNITY
Alberta IoT knows the importance of bringing together knowledge and resources to support organization growth. There are many opportunities created throughout the year to support collaboration and sharing of knowledge amongst the community. Monthly member meetings amplify the innovation stories within the province while additional events include industry led panel discussions, the annual Alberta IoT Golf Tournament and a Demo Day showcase focused on the engagement between students and industry.
“We started out as an event focused organization, and while we still put a lot of time creating opportunity for community collisions, we have expanded our reach to include value-add programming with the ultimate goal of increased revenue and job creation within our province and beyond.” – Brenda Beckedorf, Executive Director.
FAST TRACK BUSINESS ACCELERATOR
Fast Track is a business accelerator designed to provide entrepreneurial training and coaching to Alberta businesses, helping them to achieve next level growth through expansion of their current solutions and market. By supporting these businesses, Alberta IoT ultimately strives to create new jobs, support expanding operations, and increase revenue in Alberta and Canada.
Who Does the Program Serve?
Fast Track targets second stage, scaleup businesses with 5+ employees and pre-existing revenue. It is not, however, a program solely designed for deep tech companies or those directly involved in IoT. Alberta IoT recognizes the digital transformation shift impacting all industry sectors; Fast Track accounts for this digital shift and technology adoption, supporting organizations who are exploring expansion through integration of IoT or emerging technologies.
“Thank you to the amazing team at Alberta IoT. It was an honour for us to be part of the last cohort. The valuable content and the connections made through the program made a huge impact on my company and myself.- Elsa Kelly, Vixure Co-Founder, Cohort 6 Structured as a Cohort based program, Alberta IoT has three intake periods with organizations taking part in 8 weeks of formal training followed by a year of one-on- one coaching with expert facilitators. To date, Alberta IoT has supported 70 scaling organizations through this program since its inception in 2021.
START UP VISA (SUV)
In 2022, Alberta IoT became an official designated organization for the Government of Canada Start Up Visa Program (SUV). The Alberta IoT SUV Program is designed for scaleup companies looking to establish themselves in the Canadian market. These organizations must be innovative, tech-based scale-up companies with a pre-existing revenue across a 2-year period and seeking to create jobs in the Canadian market.
Why Alberta?
Alberta is well on its way to being an internationally recognized technology and innovation hub that attracts talent, business, and job-creating investment from across Canada and around the world. Paired with the high standard of living, diverse and welcoming communities, and beautiful landscapes, Alberta is the perfect place to call home.
SCIENCE PARK
Science Park, powered by Alberta IoT, is designed to support the growth of all things digital by creating a space for connection, collaboration, and innovation to ultimately promote economic development and growth through new technologies and knowledge flows among companies, institutions, research, and development entities. The vision of Science Park is to bring Alberta to the forefront of innovation by connecting companies and institutions to solve challenges of global significance.
How does it work?
The Science Park platform is a “Solution Seeker” being matched through artificial intelligence to a “Solution Provider.” The Science Park membership will include enterprise businesses, SME businesses, private labs, and post-secondary institutions. All may play the role of solution seeker and/or solution provider. Science Park will ultimately:
1. Bridge the gap that exists between industry and access to students, researchers, equipment, hands-on testing, and industry insight.
2. Help scale-up organizations in Alberta grow through access to talent, space, and expertise.
3. Provide industry with the ability to collaborate with Post Secondaries in a structured environment that brings together faculty, students, and researchers to work on projects that push technology and innovation forward.
4. Allow Post Secondaries to understand where the training and pain points exist across the multitude of industries with specific insights into IoT; opening up opportunities for new program creation.
Brenda Beckedorf, Executive Director
LOOKING AHEAD
The IoT sector is growing fast and it is not stopping anytime soon. The number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices worldwide is forecast to almost triple from 9.7 billion in 2020 to more than 29 billion IoT devices in 2030 (Vailshery, 2022). As the 2022 winner of Start Alberta’s Ecosystem Supporter of the Year award, Alberta IoT is committed to continuing to equip companies to be prepared for the ever-connected world. From the Fast Track Business Accelerator, Startup Visa, and Science Park programs, the Association will continue to focus on attracting new business to Alberta while helping established companies grow within the ecosystem. “We look forward to continuing to work with our members and sponsors to position Alberta as a world leader in IoT and emerging technologies.” Executive Director, Brenda Beckedorf
