Meet Permjot Valia, Your Summer 2021 Path2Innovation Facilitator

Applications are now open for the Summer 2021 Path2Innovation program. In preparation, we caught up with Permjot Valia, an experienced investor, and dynamic leader in the start-up space. Permjot will be our facilitator for the program and is guaranteed to pique your interests on core subject matter and spark lively discussions with the group. You won’t want to miss the chance to learn the value of entrepreneurial thinking from a mind like Permjot.

Tell us a little bit about what brings you to Path2Innovation

I started investing in start-ups about 20 years ago. Through investing and a long career in working with start-ups, I’ve learned lots of lessons about the fundamentals that companies based on research, coming out of universities need to learn. I’m an Economist by background and sit on the board of some great companies in both Nova Scotia and in my place of birth, London. I’m the co-founder of Flight and Partners, a London based fund manager, with $50m under active management. I’ve worked with universities around the world, and I assure you, my passion and enjoyment for working in this space will become clear within the first 10 minutes of our meeting.

What do you enjoy most about facilitating the Path2Innovation program?

I love working with very smart people. I love working with people where I get to learn just as much as I am teaching. Path2Innovation allows me to do that. The inventions and ideas many of the participants are working on is simply awesome and very exciting to learn from. I also like the intense nature of the program. It enables great relationships to develop even over a medium like Zoom.

What topic do you most look forward to exploring with the Path2Innovation cohort?

I like the first topic which looks at the factors that can drive your idea to become successful. It starts everyone thinking about the big picture and where their idea fits in and how they can ‘pitch’ the idea as part of an answer to a macro trend.

In your experience, what does it take to be successful in the Path2Innovation program?

I hope to find individuals who approach the course with enthusiasm and a willingness to learn new things. I try to make the course as interactive as possible and having a high level of engagement makes it great fun for everyone.

Path2Innovation is supported by the Government of Canada through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and delivered by Dal Innovates. Applications for Path2Innovation are now open and will remain so until July 19th, 2021. 

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About Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is Atlantic Canada’s leading research-intensive university. Located in the heart of Halifax, Nova Scotia, with an agricultural campus in Truro/Bible Hill, Dalhousie is a truly national and international university, with more than half of the university’s 20,000-plus students coming from outside the province. Dal’s 6,000 faculty and staff foster a diverse, purpose-driven community, one that spans 13 faculties and conducts more than $250 million in research annually. Our researchers have global impact—whether it’s as an international leader in ocean and environmental science helping to fight climate change, through research commercialization that contributes to our regional and national economies, by influencing policies that advance equity and civil society, or health discoveries that improve our wellbeing and longevity.

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