Dalhousie’s first Dal Innovation Week was a resounding success. More than 1,500 students, faculty, and business leaders participated in 15 innovation-inspired events, making it Atlantic Canada’s largest community gateway into student-driven innovation.
Whether it was revolutionary advances in medicine, reimagined agricultural systems, or innovations to cut carbon emissions, each day brimmed with transformative potential.
“Our inaugural Dal Innovation Week provided the perfect opportunity to open our doors to the community to learn about Dalhousie’s innovators and entrepreneurs and the programs empowering them to turn their ambitions into reality,” says Dr. Alice Aiken, vice-president, research and innovation.
“The brilliant students and researchers in the spotlight this week are pushing the boundaries of possibility, turning bold ideas generated in our research enterprise into tangible solutions that tackle some of our most pressing challenges, all while fueling the innovation economy here in Nova Scotia and beyond.”
If you missed out on celebrating the bold ideas, here are a few highlights from Innovation Week:
Ideas to Change the World
At Falling Walls Lab-Atlantic Canada pitch competition, 14 contenders stepped into the spotlight, armed with research-driven ideas to reshape the world — and just three minutes to make their case. The event’s top prize, an expense paid trip to compete at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin in November, went to Dalhousie master’s student Constadina Rogers (pictured below). She captivated the judges with bioengineered fungal proteins, described as “Pacmen with superpowers,” that devour plastic waste.
Innovation on display
Dal Demo Day showcased how Dalhousie’s research enterprise connects with industries — from ocean and health tech to advanced manufacturing, AI, and more. In total, 26 teams from Dal Innovates’ Lab2Market and Collide Launch summer accelerator programs and the Emera ideaHub’s ideaBUILD program demonstrated their innovative prototypes and pitched ventures to a panel of judges. The winning pitches included Eddie Cobbold (B.Comm ’24), graduate of Collide Launch and founder of Pucktive, a protective hockey apparel company and Pooya Nikbakhsh (MS, Mechanical Engineering, ’24), graduate of Lab2Market Launch and founder of CoaTech, a company producing protective tire mold coatings for manufacturers.
An ocean of opportunity
Dal Innovation Week ended with a Blue Hackathon, where undergraduates and graduates formed teams from all disciplines, to tackle real-world ocean-based energy problems under the watchful eye of leaders from the Faculty of Management and the Deloitte Greenhouse.
Read the full Dal News story here.
Dal Innovation Week was made possible with support from:
ACOA – APECA, Mitacs, Springboard Atlantic, MPA Morrison Park Advisors Inc., Build Ventures, Emera, and Invest Nova Scotia, along with 30+ organizations from across Atlantic Canada who came together to offer opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and community to explore and experience innovation and entrepreneurship.
No matter what you’re studying or where you are in your entrepreneurial journey, the Dal Innovates network of programs and support is your gateway into Dalhousie’s innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem where there are people and resources to give you the support you need.
We are looking forward to Dal Innovation Week 2025!