RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN HAMILTON
Hamilton’s industries were built from a steel manufacturing and textiles backbone, which have since grown into exceptionally advanced technology-driven businesses. This industrious approach to business is a significant point of pride in Hamilton. As a result, many other businesses launched in the city carry the same spirit of innovation and hard work.
Support For Commercialization In Hamilton
Hamilton’s pronounced focus on research and innovation makes it a natural choice for new businesses. The city’s reputation as hard-working, creative, and innovative has made it a popular destination for ventures in entrepreneurship.
Established Support Networks for Hamilton Businesses:
McMaster Innovation Park
Houses over 40 businesses focused on innovation and commercialization, including CanmetMATERIALS and the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre.
Innovation Factory
Helping entrepreneurs build businesses around their products and services and guiding small and medium-sized enterprises to scale through workshops, programming, and mentoring.
McMaster Industry Liaison Office
Dedicated to helping new products reach their intended markets by creating links between academia and industry.
IDEAWORKS at Mohawk College
Offers participating businesses customized research applications for specific projects while providing students with real-world, hands-on research experience.
The Forge
Tech start-up incubator within McMaster Innovation Park, providing seed funding, workspace, prototyping equipment, and mentorship.
Surge
Provides one-on-one mentorship to current students or alumni of Mohawk College who are entrepreneurs or who want to become entrepreneurs
The benefits of academics and professionals working so closely together mean developing new technologies is less expensive
Emerging researchers and future business executives also receive practical training by collaborating with local companies.
Universities and Colleges Provide Partnership for Research and Innovation
Hamilton’s universities and colleges educate an expert workforce to support the constant innovation required for industries to thrive. These institutions also partner with local companies to push the limits of technology and better understand the current and future needs of the business community.
McMaster University
McMaster University is known for its biomedical engineering, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and nuclear engineering research. The Fraunhofer Project Centre for Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (BEAM) at McMaster Innovation Park is a perfect example of industry and academia collaboration. Both McMaster University and Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology bring experience in medicine and engineering, but now they are applying their knowledge to manufacturing. The joint effort centres on creating instruments and sensors to enable cell production processes. With the help of McMaster, the commercialization of these projects is more affordable for Fraunhofer.
Mohawk College
Mohawk College is Ontario’s largest educator of apprentices, from the skilled trades in manufacturing and technology to healthcare. Three campuses in Hamilton have over 17,000 students enrolled yearly, increasing the technically-inclined labour force.
Collège Boréal and Redeemer College University
The French language Collège Boréal has provided more than $1.2 million in scholarships and emergency grants through dozens of programs while the Christian-rooted Redeemer College University offers a degree across 34 majors and streams through experiential learning opportunities.