Celebrating 25 Years of Innovation Firsts and Milestones In New Brunswick
FREDERICTON – As the final touches are being made to mark 20 years of KIRA, the Organizing Committee took a look back at some of the major milestones and activities in innovation that have occurred over the past 25 years in New Brunswick.
Beginning in the 90s, initiatives in the public, private and academic sectors played a role in setting the direction and building the foundation for innovation and entrepreneurship in the province today. There have also been a number of “firsts.” The Organizing Committee of KIRA is proud to be part of the province’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The 1990s – The Foundation Years
As the internet became ubiquitous and the business and social disrupter we now know it to be, New Brunswick was positioning itself to not only leverage the opportunity but to be a leader in embracing its potential through a variety of actions. More specifically:
- New Brunswick was the first province to appoint a Minister for the Information Highway and the first provincial government to appoint a Chief Information Officer.
- The University of New Brunswick (UNB) opens the first computer science lab in Canada.
- Although predating the 90s (1988) the creation of the Technology Management & Entrepreneurship (TME) program at UNB was the beginning of a focus on entrepreneurship.
- The province became the first to be fully digitally mapped, creating opportunities for the companies and industries using GIS.
- Service New Brunswick is created to streamline how the public interacts with government and receives international recognition for the multi-channel delivery model for citizen-centered services.
And no conversation about the evolution of the ICT industry is complete without mentioning the many firsts in the development of innovative technologies at NBTel:
- The first Canadian phone company to offer internet service.
- NB Tel and the province partnered to create the first “innovation living lab.”
- NBTel was the first telcom to offer all customers voice mail service.
- The delivery of other world-first products and services including: the Vista 350 interactive phone with display; world’s first all-digital telecom system; first company to use a fully digital switching network; world’s first instant activation software; world’s first self-service banking for screen phones.
The 2000s – Building on the Foundation
Beginning in the early 2000s and continuing today, the focus has moved to becoming a leader in the application of and use of these foundational technologies and components of the overall innovation eco-system. Better services, new products and innovative solutions started to be developed and deployed, such as:
- The world’s first commercial IPTV Service platform – iMagicTV (2000)
- A groundbreaking network monitoring solution for security and network management – Q1 Labs (2002)
- The world’s first big data platform for IP Network analytics – Mariner XVU (2003)
- The development of a leading social media monitoring and data analytics platform – Radian6 (2006)
As private sector companies continued to create more innovative products and services, the province, municipalities and non-profit organizations launched initiatives to provide support and guidance to innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the many sectors of our economy. More specifically;
2001: The province releases Embracing Innovation: An Innovation Agenda for New Brunswick outlining strategic goals to make the province a leader in the knowledge-based economy with increased innovation capacity and research and development as drivers of productivity and growth.
2003: Fredericton becomes the first “free wireless city” in Canada.
2003: New Brunswick Innovation Foundation created, dedicated to investing in innovative companies.
2004: Creation of Propel ICT, Atlantic Canadian start-up accelerator in Saint John under the direction of a group of tech leaders embarking on their own technology start-up ventures.
2006: Creation of the Wallace McCain Institute at UNB.
2011: Creation of The Pond-Deshpande Centre to act as a catalyst to advance innovation and entrepreneurship in New Brunswick.
2013: New Brunswick Research and Innovation Council is launched to focus on research and innovation across all sectors and stakeholders to accelerate innovation-based entrepreneurship and create the conditions for the commercialization of current and future research in public universities and research centres.
2010: New Brunswick Social Policy Research Network (NBSPRN) is launched to advance an evidence-based approach to policy development.
2011: The New Brunswick Information Technology Council (NBITC) is formed.
2012: The province releases Strategies for Innovation, A Framework for Accelerating the Province of New Brunswick, outlining steps and priorities in building an innovation eco-system.
2012: The first Big Data Congress hosted by T4G that brings together leading thinkers with local innovators to talk about big data and its growing impact on the way we work and the way we live.
2015: The NBITC re-launched and re-branded as TechImpact. The private-sector group is made up of the top leaders from ICT companies focused on embracing technology to deliver positive economic and social impacts.
2016: The Social Innovation Lab is created as the result of a partnership between the Pond-Deshpande Centre and the New Brunswick Social Policy Research Network in collaboration with the New Brunswick Non-Profit Housing Association.
2016: The Smart Grid Innovation Network (SGIN) is formed at UNB.
2017: The creation of NouLAB – New Brunswick’s Social and Public Innovation Lab.
2017: Public and private partnership launches The Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity at UNB.
2018: The provincial government and provincial tech industry announce the launch of Digital New Brunswick, an innovative and comprehensive plan to ensure the province is leading the way toward easily accessible government services.
Over the past 25 years New Brunswick’s public, private and academic sectors have invested the time and resources required to build the foundation needed to support innovation and entrepreneurship in the province. We have seen the returns on these investments in all sectors and look forward to seeing even more returns in the years to come.
This is the second in a series of stories about KIRA as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. This year’s awards gala takes place May 3 at the Fredericton Convention Centre. For information or to purchase tickets, visit the KIRA web site: http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/kira-gala-2018-tickets-41044285563
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