Government is in the Hub

Glen Murray, the Minister of Research and Innovation was in the building Friday to announce that Communitech and the Accelerator Centre are joining the province’s new Ontario Network of Excellence (ONE). As part of ONE they will receive annual funding of $750,000. The money will be used to help entrepreneurs bring new ideas to market and gain access to expertise locally and across the province through the network. 

I love these announcements because they signify another great opportunity for the future of this community. And things like this would not happen without the amazing efforts and initiatives of both Communitech and the Accelerator Centre. 

 

 

I was surprised at how long it took for this story to hit Google News. Glen Murray, Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation office have not issued a formal release, that I can find. I first got the released details via MPP John Milloy's amazing office. They share a great update every week via an enewsletter that I recommend you sign up for. 

You can get more details here on the Communitech Site and The Record posted a story.

The minister visited with the 7Cubed project at the University of Waterloo VeloCity Mobile and Media Incubator here at the hub. This group wrapped up their adventures on Friday. Be sure to check out the 7 apps they produced. 

Thank you to Jesse Rodgers for his photos from the event. I am stealing from his twitpix downloads.

The cold blast of winter

It seems that the winter winds may be upon us. With each opening of the door we feel the cold approach of winter. At a busy spot like the hub, the outer doors are opening and closing all the time. If you are at the Communitech reception desk you feel the blast regularly, some days much colder than others. Isabel at reception is very confident in her thermostat, confident that she can keep her space warm through the winter.

Up in the service provider section we are snug and warm. There is a pipe, too hot to touch, radiating the warmth of hot water running along the far south wall in our section. My friend Matt Hodgson at Ernst & Young wonders if they will be too warm this winter as the pipe runs through their office. Although the doors from the courtyard are opened regularly, there is no blast of wind when opened. I do look forward to seeing this space covered in snow.

There are a variety of construction projects on the go in the building so outer doors are opened frequently. Soon there will be a reception desk at the main doors by Balzac's so there will be less confusion as people enter the building.

And the stairway seems almost complete. They have been working on this for quite some time. Last week more lighting went in and today it looks like they are doing painting work.  The wood planks in each of the steps are about 3 inches thick and very rustic. The stairway is a beautiful feature.

It is exciting to watch the daily progress of the building. Each day it seems that there is something new going on.

Day 3 of 7 Cubed Project

There is a new group of youth in the Hub this week as part of the 7 Cubed Project.
http://7cubedproject.com/

7 Hackers 7 Hacks 7 Days

Hosted by University of Waterloo’s Start-Up Incubator - Velocity. The project started Saturday, November 20th with 7 University of Waterloo coders who will try to write an application a day for seven days.

A moving stack of pizza boxes just walked by me, carried by a young man in an orange tshirt. There is always someone coming or going throughout the Hub so hard to know who is part of the construction crew, the startup teams or the curious. I just hope they have given the 7 enough orange shirts to last the 7 days.

Go Hackers Go!

Media attention attracts attention

Phone and email have been busy with all the media attention we have received from the news release recently. Everyone is so jazzed about the fact that we are here in KW and here in the Hub. It is very exciting.

With this wonderful tool we call the Internet, word spreads quickly and then people start asking questions.

Exchange Magazine daily Exchange and November/December edition
Yahoo Finance
Twitter news

Strategy Magazine
Marketing  Magazine
Canadian Business 
Adbrands
Topix
Broadcaster Magazine
ClickWeekly
4G Wireless Evolution
Profectio
We even got picked up by Sports Technology

These are just the connections that I have seen to date. Our media relations team would have a complete list.

Media is an interesting tool in today's world. There are so many ways to get the word out and it is always interesting to discover how people are finding information in today's connected world. It is easy to connect with others if you have the know how to do it.