Alberta catches Boeing's eye

Welcome to this week's Sunday Briefing. In this issue, read about provincial investment in the University of Calgary, plus 9 other stories you may have missed. Have a great day. We'll see you again on Wednesday.

P.S. Did someone forward you this email? You can subscribe right here. And for real-time updates, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.  

Alberta budget to support new Multidisciplinary Science Hub

Last week’s 2024 provincial budget announcement delivered more support for the University of Calgary, including an investment in a new Multidisciplinary Science Hub. The province had previously announced $5 million in the 2023 Budget for scoping and pre-planning work on the project.

Once complete, the Multidisciplinary Science Hub will add at least 2,000 full-time graduate and undergraduate spaces, relieving growing enrollment demand pressures in the Faculty of Science.

"I am thrilled to see this important investment. From our powerhouse energy industry to our booming tech sector, science is deeply entwined with Alberta's success – past, present, and future," said Dr. Kristin Baetz, dean of the Faculty of Science. "This new facility reflects Alberta's commitment to maintaining our great province’s science advantage for decades to come. We are going to get science done in service of Alberta's students, industry, and economy, and drive new innovations that benefit all of us.”

According to an Economic Impact Analysis conducted by Hanover Research, the University of Calgary helps to create $16.5 billion in economic impact in the City of Calgary and in Alberta. The University of Calgary is the city’s second-largest employer.

🤝 Funding, Deals, and Partnerships

• Canada's Data Centre Boom: AWS's $18 Billion Investment Signals Cloud Surge. AWS announces a significant investment in Canada's data centre infrastructure, marking a transformative period for the country's digital economy and cloud services. BNN Breaking

• PayShepherd Secures $7M to Solve Heavy Industry’s Biggest Challenge with Contractor Management. Backed by Inovia Capital, the funding will propel PayShepherd’s vision to make vendor relationship management frictionless and fair for heavy industry operators and contractors across North America. PayShepherd

📰 Need To Know

• TalentED YYC talent and funding fair connects employers, funders and post-secondary schools. Seven Calgary post-secondaries and seven funders participated in the event, and more than 100 different employers joined TalentED YYC for an afternoon of connection, collaboration and discussion. Livewire Calgary

• Parker: Angel investor proving Calgary is a rewarding place to do business. Describing himself as a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, Neeraj Gupta made the move to Calgary in 2019 and has become a huge promoter of this city as a place to live and conduct his businesses. Calgary Herald

• Alberta-based company develops 'game changing' icing technology for aviation industry. Work being done by Alberta company Pegasus, based in Sturgeon County, has gotten the attention of Boeing. CTV News

• New vision for Alberta's electricity future establishes guiding principles for modernizing the system to reach net-zero and drive economic opportunity. As the Government of Alberta commits to realizing a net-zero economy by 2050, the electricity system has emerged as the linchpin for achieving this ambitious goal. Energy Future Labs

• Inventure$ 2024: Unleashing African Innovation in Calgary with Oni Lanre's Call to Entrepreneurs. Oni Lanre, CEO of Inter Africa Media (IAM), is spearheading the mobilization of the continent's innovators. BNN Breaking

• Innovator of the Week: Shawn Leggett Upcycles Coffee Grounds and Brewery Grains to Make Food and Cosmetics. GroundUp eco-ventures hopes to raise more venture capital to increase production capacity and processing of upcycled ingredients. Avenue Calgary

• The University of Calgary Unleashes Game-Changing Structured Sparsity Method: SRigL. In artificial intelligence, achieving efficiency in neural networks is a paramount challenge for researchers due to its rapid evolution. Marktechpost