Early-bird tickets are now available and nominations are open for the 2025 InnovateNB Celebration & Awards.
TechImpact is proud to announce the official release of its latest report, Building NB’s Future: How a Thriving Tech Sector Can Lead the Way.
On November 13, at the Delta Beauséjour in Moncton, we celebrated the remarkable achievements of our innovators, researchers, and entrepreneurs at the annual InnovateNB Awards.
TechImpact member SmartSkin Technologies was recognized at the World Beverage Innovation Awards 2024 for Best Manufacturing/Processing Innovation.
Happy International Women’s Day! This year’s them is #BreaktheBias, inviting us to imagine a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world.
If you’re a regular listener of the TechTalks Podcast, you know increasing the representation of women (and other groups) is a big focus here at TechImpact. For me personally, it’s my favourite cause. So I was thrilled to be joined on episode 33 with Emma Toole, member of the executive committee and Jharana Luitel, breakout speaker for Girls STEM UP!
Innovation doesn’t just happen. Without the dedicated efforts of researchers—and the funding needed to support those efforts—there would be no more world-changing technologies, products or services.
That’s why we’re talking about research on episode 32 of the TechTalks podcast with Dr. Laura Richard and Dr. Erik Scheme. Both of this episode’s guests are instrumental to New Brunswick’s thriving research and innovation ecosystem.
Dans le cadre de son engagement lié au renforcement de la main-d’œuvre dans la région, l’Université du Nouveau-Brunswick a annoncé un nouveau partenariat avec le McKenna Institute et TechImpact afin de pouvoir remédier à la pénurie de main-d’œuvre dans le secteur des technologies.
Ce partenariat novateur regroupe un établissement d’enseignement postsecondaire, un groupe de l’industrie des TI ainsi qu’un chef de file de la transformation numérique afin de répondre aux besoins des entreprises du Canada atlantique en offrant des programmes de formation en ligne de haute qualité. Ces formations intensives et rigoureuses sont destinées aux personnes à la recherche de compétences pointues très demandées.
The University of New Brunswick is committed to strengthening the region’s workforce and has announced a new partnership with the McKenna Institute and TechImpact to address the tech industry labour shortage.
This innovative partnership brings together a post-secondary institution, an IT industry group and a digital transformation powerhouse to meet the needs of Atlantic Canadian businesses by delivering high-quality, online digital skills training programs in a bootcamp-style format. These intensive, rigorous bootcamps are for individuals seeking high, in-demand skills.
This episode of TechTalks captures the highlights of a panel discussion hosted by The Canadian Association of Management Consultants-Atlantic Canada Institute in November. TechTalks host and TechImpact CEO Cathy Simpson joined the panel to discuss trends, recent data and how employers and governments in our region can do to respond to the talent crunch.
TechImpact is thrilled to announce the launch of CollabHub, a bilingual online platform promoting New Brunswick’s digital ecosystem. CollabHub connects businesses locally and globally that need digital products and services to our province’s rich pool of digital solution providers.
TechImpact est heureux d’annoncer le lancement de CollabHub, une plateforme en ligne bilingue destinée à faire la promotion de l’écosystème numérique du Nouveau-Brunswick. CollabHub met en relation les entreprises locales et mondiales qui ont besoin de produits et services numériques, avec le vaste bassin de fournisseurs de solutions numériques de notre province.
Today’s show is a special one. New Brunswick legend Frank McKenna is here to talk about the new institute for digital transformation at UNB bearing his name, along with Adrienne O’Pray, the executive director he hand-picked to lead this bold initiative.
I was thrilled to sit down with Frank and Adrienne for episode 29 of the TechTalks Podcast to talk about the McKenna Institute which launched on Sept. 7. Our wide-ranging talk explores their vision for the institute as a catalyst of economic growth, their love of the province, New Brunswick’s unique advantages, and why they believe digital holds the key to our province’s future.
This conversation clearly demonstrated for me the love that Frank and Adrienne have for this province. When you can see a better path forward, you understand the possibilities, and you have a deep passion for the province that you live in and the people it will benefit, it’s easy to get going every day with a greater purpose and end in mind.
Most of our listeners know Frank McKenna, but if you’re new to the province, let me give you some background. In 1987, Frank, who grew up in a big farming family outside of Sussex, became New Brunswick’s 27th premier in a landslide victory. He held that office until 1997, a decade in which his government seized upon emerging internet and digital tools and championed innovation and state-of-the-art technology to create jobs, a sense of possibility and pride.
“I've been a huge believer that knowledge enhanced by the use of technology was going to be the single biggest factor in determining the success of our province, quite frankly,” Frank says. “And so I dove into that pond with a lot of enthusiasm.”
A lawyer by training, Frank isn’t highly technical but was visionary in understanding how digital could transform everything from public services to the private sector. Playing to the province’s strengths, including a bilingual population, and, in NBTel, a world-class phone company, his government grew New Brunswick’s contact centre industry to create tens of thousands of jobs and lay the foundation for a tech sector that could move up the value chain.
After his time in office, Frank went on to several high-profile roles, serving as Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. and serving as deputy chair of TD Bank, where he’s seen AI, cybersecurity, data management, and other technologies transform the banking industry.
Throughout his career, his passion for New Brunswick and belief in the power of digital have never wavered.
Around the time Frank was leading New Brunswick’s first-wave digital charge, Adrienne was starting her career. Recruited right out of UNB’s MBA program by NBTel, she learned about the ingredients for success in the thriving company, “that combination of entrepreneurship, innovation, technology and people that was really instilled in us,” she says. Adrienne and I got to know each other from our early days at NBTel together when we were both working in customer service.
At NBTel, and later, as an executive at Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Adrienne got a front-row seat on how technology enabled transformational change as these two industries deregulated.
More recently, as executive director of the New Brunswick Business Council, she saw how our province’s largest companies, including those in more traditional, resource-based industries such as forestry, agriculture, and aquaculture, brought in new tools and technology to compete globally and address challenges such as labour shortages.
“We talk about the tech sector, but every industry today is a technology industry,” Adrienne says. “There's no way that it isn't if that industry is going to thrive.”
Frank calls the McKenna Institute “a bit of a pandemic baby.”
Confined to New Brunswick by COVID travel restrictions, he picked up the book Unicorn in the Woods, Gordon Pitt’s gripping narrative about New Brunswick’s two biggest tech successes. It sparked some long-smouldering interests.
“I realized that we have a lot of bonfires burning around New Brunswick that I hadn't really thought about for some years,” Frank says. “It led me to believe that the technology revolution that was started some decades ago was still alive and quite strong.”
When UNB President Paul Mazerolle and retired VP Bob Skillen came calling with an idea to take the university “off the hill and into the community,” he was all ears.
The pandemic was quickly opening a whole new world of possibility, accelerating digital adoption by years. And New Brunswick was emerging as something of a haven during COVID-19, attracting newcomers with its responsible public health measures, relaxed lifestyle, affordable (relatively) housing, and strong sense of community. It all adds up, Frank says, to “a wonderful place in a world that has shrunk.”
The idea for a centre that could capitalize on New Brunswick’s advantages and play to UNB’s strengths began to emerge.
Frank McKenna was ready to do something truly transformative for his beloved home province, pay forward his success, and perpetuate and expand upon the work he’d begun as premier.
“I just profoundly believe that we can make life better for every citizen in some meaningful way if we can make sure they've got the best tools available in the world at this moment,” he says. “And that's what we're about to embark upon.”
The McKenna Institute all started, like so many things in New Brunswick do, with a conversation. Actually, make that dozens of conversations. Bob and Frank and Adrienne have spoken to a broad and diverse range of stakeholders in the tech sector, the business community, academia, and beyond to understand the opportunities and the context and frame-up the most important projects and priorities for the McKenna Institute. When Bob came knocking for input from TechImpact back in January, you know we had lots of ideas to share.
From these discussions, economic development emerged as a guiding mandate to support both new and existing companies within and beyond the tech sector to harness digital to compete globally and, ultimately, create opportunities for New Brunswickers.
“It's taking those foundational elements that we have in New Brunswick to be a digital powerhouse in Canada and globally, and really building from there,” Frank says. “We need to create new companies. We need to plant all the seeds in the ground that will see other Q1 Labs and Radian6s and Introhives being created, creating hundreds and even thousands of new jobs.”
Adrienne explained that three key areas of focus have emerged for the McKenna Institute to support this big aim: accelerate talent, accelerate ideas, and “find ways for every community to really see themselves in this digital world,” she says.
“If we do this right, we will help break down the urban-rural divide,” Frank says. The institute will work to advance opportunities for underrepresented groups, including women, Indigenous people and minorities. “I think it's going to be a great leveler.”
The McKenna Institute will not work alone. Its M.O. will largely be convening a wide range of stakeholders to devise real-world solutions for New Brunswick–and beyond.
Frank and Adrienne are looking for partners, donors and collaborations.
“We need everybody to get their hands on the oars if we're going to be successful with this initiative,” Frank says.
Just as he believes in paying forward his success by giving back, he’s calling on other organizations and individuals to get involved, both for the sake of New Brunswick and for their own benefit.
“Not only is it selfless work, but it's selfish work,” he says. “Because if we're successful, all of us who are participating are going to be part of a province that’s more prosperous, with a better quality of life and more opportunity.”
He says the institute has reignited the same sense of excitement and optimism he felt as premier.
“I couldn't wait to go to work and I felt that I was doing something profoundly important that was making life better for communities,” he says. “That might be a little presumptuous, but I have that feeling back again.”
To hear the whole conversation, which is guaranteed to get you excited about New Brunswick’s potential, click here to listen.
Here's a peek at some of the highlights from this episode:
[05:00]: Frank on growing up poor but well-nurtured on his family farm.
[15:40]: Adrienne talks about how every company needs to be thinking about technology.
[21:00]: Frank on how the pandemic made him appreciate New Brunswick’s digital potential.
[25:33]: Adrienne describes the McKenna Institute’s three areas of focus: talent, ideas and communities.
[39:00]: Frank describes digital’s positive levelling effects for communities and people.
[42:44]: Frank and Adrienne on the opportunity to be part of such a meaningful project.
Don't Miss an Episode.
Do you subscribe to the TechTalks With Cathy Simpson Podcast? If not, please do. Every week, my guests and I cover many different topics around innovation, technology and the future. Click here to listen and subscribe in iTunes. You'll find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, PodLink and everywhere else you enjoy podcasts.
And sign up for our newsletter to never miss an update.
-- Un programme novateur de TechImpact appuie la transformation numérique --
SAINT JOHN (N.-B.) — La première étape est de dresser un plan, puis il faut le suivre. Tel est le message lancé par le programme Digital Boost 2.0 de TechImpact, qui offre aux entreprises admissibles du Nouveau-Brunswick du financement pour les aider à mettre sur pied une stratégie et une feuille de route pour la transformation numérique. Jusqu’à maintenant, plus de 70 entreprises du Nouveau-Brunswick ont profité de ce programme novateur qui a pour but d’accroître la compétitivité et la résilience des entreprises, surtout dans le contexte de la pandémie de COVID-19. La date limite pour soumettre une demande dans le cadre du programme approche et nous encourageons les entreprises souhaitant transmettre une demande à le faire rapidement.
La pandémie de COVID-19 a accéléré des tendances dans un grand nombre de secteurs clés, notamment ceux du commerce en ligne et du télétravail. Toutefois, même avant la pandémie, les technologies numériques transformaient les entreprises. Les entreprises du Nouveau-Brunswick ont des occasions d’accroître leur productivité, d’atteindre de nouveaux marchés et de croître en profitant des nouvelles technologies, mais beaucoup d’entre elles ne savent tout simplement pas par où commencer.
TechImpact, qui soutient la croissance du secteur des technologies de l’information et des communications (TIC) et favorise l’essor des capacités numériques des entreprises au Canada atlantique, a créé Digital Boost 2.0 pour faire le pont entre des stratèges numériques situés au Canada atlantique et des entreprises du Nouveau-Brunswick à la recherche de conseils pour créer une stratégie et une feuille de route numériques efficaces. Le programme Digital Boost 2.0 fournit 75 pour cent du financement d’une stratégie, jusqu’à un maximum de 20 000 $, grâce au financement consenti par nos partenaires.
MapleCure est un des participants au programme Digital Boost 2.0. La mission de cette entreprise est de promouvoir les bienfaits et les effets positifs pour la santé du sirop d’érable et des produits de l’érable du Nouveau-Brunswick et elle a travaillé avec un des fournisseurs de technologie qualifiés, Second Spring Digital, pour élaborer sa feuille de route numérique.
« Ce fut un plaisir de travailler avec l’équipe de Second Spring pour élaborer la stratégie numérique de MapleCure », explique Éric Caron, cofondateur de MapleCure. « Notre feuille de route est maintenant optimisée pour la croissance des ventes pour MapleCure et pour nos détaillants. C’est avec confiance que nous pouvons passer aux prochaines étapes de notre stratégie numérique. »
« Le Canada atlantique abrite un groupe de cabinets de services de TI de premier ordre qui peuvent aider toutes les entreprises, des plus petites aux plus grandes, à mener à bien leurs projets numériques, qu’il s’agisse de commerce en ligne, d’infonuagique, de logiciels d’entreprise ou plus encore », mentionne Cathy Simpson, chef de la direction de TechImpact. « Digital Boost 2.0 fait le lien entre ces entreprises et des entreprises du Nouveau-Brunswick qui ont besoin d’aide pour l’élaboration de leur feuille de route numérique et fournit 75 pour cent du financement requis pour leur projet, jusqu’à un maximum de 20 000 $. Le but est d’aider les entreprises du Nouveau-Brunswick à adopter les nouvelles technologies pour accroître leur productivité, leur compétitivité et leur résilience. La date limite pour la réception des demandes approche à grands pas, donc, si vous pensez soumettre une demande, il faut le faire bientôt », conseille-t-elle.
Le programme Digital Boost 2.0 s’inscrit dans la foulée du succès du premier programme Digital Boost, visant les grandes entreprises au Nouveau-Brunswick. Pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements sur Digital Boost 2.0 et accéder aux formulaires de demande, visitez le https://www.techimpact.it/digitalboost2.
-30-
Pour obtenir des renseignements :
Cathy Simpson
Chef de la direction, TechImpact
506-650-2540
cathy.simpson@techimpact.it
