Over the course of three days in early December, the judges of the McGill Innovation Fund (MIF) selected the 5th cohort of teams to be supported in its program. With awards going up to a maximum of $100,000, the MIF is the largest entrepreneurial competition at the university. Now entering its fifth year of operation, the MIF has supported 31 unique teams and awarded nearly $2 million in funds.
The following teams were selected for the 5th cohort of the MIF:
Discover teams ($25,000 award for early-stage projects):
- Hydral Energy (Oliver Fernie, Jocelyn Blanchet and Professor Jeffrey Bergthorson): alternative energy system based on aluminum combustion
- Kuiper Autonoml (Ehsan Yousefi and Professor Inna Sharf): AI-assisted navigation co-planner for forestry machines
- NanopHast (Garvit Bhatt): Clog-free, calibration-free, solid-state pH probes
Kuiper Autonoml and NanopHast are both recipients of the Richard Baylis Award
Develop team ($50,000 for teams closer to commercial operation):
- Exsia Technologies (Kevin Kelly): Plug-and-play nano-technology water filtration
Exsia Technologies is a recipient of the Richard Baylis Award
Desjardins Deploy team ($100,000 for teams with license agreement in place):
- Cellterix (Professor Corinne Hoesli, Demetry Prezelj, Jonathan Brassard and Michael Chuang): Cell therapy device for the treatment of Type 1 diabetes
The Deploy award is generously supported by Desjardins
This year’s selection process saw some changes compared to previous years, with all teams taking a training program developed and run by recognized presentation expert, Andrew Churchill. In addition, pitch time for each team was reduced to 5 minutes, compared to 10 minutes in previous editions. Together, these two modifications helped teams improve their presentation skills and boosted the quality of submissions.
"The quality of the teams and science coming out of McGill year over year is exceptional, showcasing the impressive depth and breadth of innovation of the McGill community,” said Discover stage judge, James Doyle, President & COO of Phocus Pharma. “The 5-minute pitch format implemented this year is a great improvement; it really forces the teams to be concise and focus on their core value proposition, making for a much more dynamic selection process, and helping select for future entrepreneurs who can tell a compelling story."
But the changes to the MIF do not end there. The support that teams will receive has also been enhanced through the assistance of the Desautels Faculty of Management. New for the 5th edition all MIF teams will now also have access to the following:
- All teams will undertake a mandatory introductory entrepreneur training program, run in collaboration with the Faculty of Management. The session will explain the MIF program in detail as well as the fundamentals of business startup and entrepreneurial thinking.
- All teams will be matched to a dedicated squad of business students in the BUSA 465 Technological Entrepreneurship course instructed by Professor Sen Chai, over a period of ten weeks. Each squad will provide actionable information to the MIF teams, i.e. market assessments, business plans, etc.
These improvements are in addition to the regular slate of MIF programming, which includes the formation of advisory boards for each team, as well as number of workshops and lunch learns through the year. Donor funding also helps provide each team with a student intern. And support from sponsors will help MIF teams explore the Montreal ecosystem through participation in events such as Startupfest, and interactions with local incubators.
The MIF salutes the next cohort of teams, and we look forward to seeing the progress of each team over the next 12 months. Congratulations!
