Shift by Alberta Innovates
Shift by Alberta Innovates
Transforming Alberta: The Power of Interdisciplinary Innovation and Collaboration
Can interdisciplinary research transform Alberta's innovation landscape? Join us as we uncover the inspiring journey of Dr. Mike Mahon, interim CEO at Alberta Innovates. With a career spanning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to leading roles at the University of Manitoba and the University of Alberta, Dr. Mahon shares his insights into fostering collaboration across diverse sectors like health, energy, environment, and agriculture. Learn how his vision aims to integrate these areas to build a more innovative and resilient Alberta.
We dive deep into the power of teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration, highlighting an extraordinary example from the University of Lethbridge where a cell biologist and a physicist collaborated to make groundbreaking advancements in cancer research. Alberta Innovates stands at the forefront of these efforts, acting as a connector between researchers and startups. Mike explains how sustained support, along with Alberta's pioneering spirit, is crucial for maintaining leadership in science and innovation. Our conversation also touches on the vital role inventors play in driving forward-thinking solutions and partnerships throughout the province.
Supporting Alberta's entrepreneurial ecosystem is no small feat, and in this episode, we address the challenges entrepreneurs and researchers face in turning innovative ideas into viable businesses.
Listen in as we also explore innovative uses of bitumen, advancements in hydrogen energy, and transformative healthcare innovations, underscoring the importance of ethical frameworks and breaking down silos for greater collaboration. Wrapping up with a lively chat, we celebrate the spirit of teamwork and continuous improvement essential for driving Alberta’s innovation forward.
Shift by Alberta Innovates focuses on the people, businesses and organizations that are contributing to Alberta's strong tech ecosystem.
Today, we're joined by someone who's dedicated his career to advancing innovation and research in Alberta. With a strong background in higher education and a deep commitment to fostering collaborations in the innovation ecosystem. Our guest is a force. His leadership style is rooted in a passion for empowering others and creating opportunities for growth and discovery. As Alberta Innovates embarks on its next chapter, we're thrilled to have him on our team. Sit back, settle in. Welcome to Shift, welcome folks. Today, my guest is Mike Mohn, dr Mike Mon, the interim CEO at Alberta Innovates. Mike, thank you very much for taking the time to join us today.
Mike:Thank you for inviting me. This is my first, of course, Alberta Innovates podcast, so I'm excited to be here.
Jon:Oh, we're so happy to have you, so why don't we dive in and tell me a little bit about your background? And then what led you to Alberta Innovates?
Mike:Sure. Well, first of all I'll say that, as with all of us who have sort of moved through this world over a period of years, I've had some great experiences over the course of my career. I started actually in the not-for-profit sector my research is in the disability area and so I worked in the not-for-profit sector before going into the world of academe, where I did a master's and then a PhD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and that started my road within the world of universities. I was at the University of Manitoba for 11 years and was a faculty member, researcher, and then directed a research institute that was focused in the area of health and human performance, and my research area is health. So there was a good fit, and so that was a wonderful sort of early part of my career.
Mike:I moved then to the University of Alberta, so I left my home province of Manitoba, I left behind the mosquitoes and the cold weather and came to Alberta, where there's also mosquitoes and cold weather, but moved to the U of A and was a dean of kinesiology there for a decade, and also for the second half of my time at the U of A I also oversaw health sciences, so I was the chair of the Health Sciences Council at the U of A and had a wonderful experience here in Edmonton during my 10 years at the U of A and really grew to understand Alberta Innovates in its very early version for me, which was HFMR and organizations like that.
Mike:But you know, I'll say, in those days as a dean at the U of A, the relationship that we had with those entities and the support they provided to the faculty members that I had within my faculty were really, really important, and so that was really the beginning of my relationship with what is now Alberta Innovates. And these 24 years later, I've had many positive experiences with Alberta Innovates and so I left the U of A in 2010 2010 and I was president of the University of Lethbridge for 13 years and during that time had a wonderful opportunity to help to support the research and innovation ecosystem, of course, at the University of Lethbridge and in southern Alberta, but also more broadly in Alberta and beyond. I had the chance to chair Universities Canada at one point, had the chance to chair Universities Canada at one point, so I had some opportunities to really help lead research and innovation from a national perspective. So I finished up at the University of Lethbridge and was minding my own business and doing some consulting and just working on a number of projects when I was asked to consider coming onto the board of Alberta Innovates, and so I did that and was just in that transition when I was asked a different question, which was what I consider being the interim CEO of Alberta Innovates, and so that was not necessarily my planned career path. I'll say when I was asked the question.
Mike:But I'll say that, you know, the previous 24 years of engagement with the different versions of Alberta Innovates led me to say yes because, first of all, it's such a wonderful organization and so important to the province of Alberta, but also because I think it is an organization that is continuing to evolve and those kinds of experiences from a leadership perspective are interesting, and they're also ones that I've had a number of, and so I felt that I was in a position to be helpful, and so that's the theme of my sort of arrival at Alberta Innovates as interim CEO is a theme of wanting to be helpful, and so that's the theme of my sort of arrival at Alberta Innovates as interim CEO is is a theme of wanting to be helpful to Alberta Innovates, wanting to be helpful to the province of Alberta and really wanting to be helpful to the innovation and research ecosystem in this wonderful province.
Jon:I love that and it's fascinating that you've had all of this diversity of experience. Yet it's all kind of within that ecosystem that I've been working in for the past 12 years in Alberta Innovates and those ecosystem partners, whether it's UofL, UofA, you know, and that's fascinating. So, as you take the reins here and you think about the direction we're heading, what do you have in mind? What are the goals and priorities that you have in mind for Alberta Innovates for the next year or so?
Mike:Well, first of all, I'll say Alberta Innovates is on a wonderful trajectory. It has continued to evolve and grow as an organization. Of course, for those that are not familiar with the sort of genesis of Alberta Innovates, we were at one point four corporations that had, you know, sort of unique but somewhat related areas of focus in health, and in technology and energy, the environment, etc. We then came together as came together as one, and that journey of coming together has been a seven or eight year journey, and I would say the organization is still on that journey. And so part of what I'm committed to doing and interested in doing is continuing to help Alberta Innovates evolve as one entity that has many, many areas of focus, and so, as with any organization that has have multiple areas of focus, they have the opportunity to, of course, dive into those important areas, such as health or energy, environment, agriculture, such as health or energy, environment, agriculture, but they also have the opportunity to look at how one can build synergies between these areas, and so part of what I'm interested in doing is continuing to see how we can enable Alberta Innovates to both focus in these critical areas for the province of Alberta, ones that we shine in, but, at the same time, recognize that the world is evolving so quickly and in such varied ways that organizations that take a more integrated and collaborative approach are going to be successful in the future and, in fact, are are successful if they do so now. And so if I I look at, you know concepts like One, health, which is a concept that really looks at how health, how we consider health, in a much more holistic manner. In fact, it's a concept that was really, you know, in existence with our indigenous communities millennia ago, with our indigenous communities millennia ago, who understood that the universe is all interconnected. And so, when we think of health, we recognize today that environmental changes have an impact on health. We understand that the body systems, of course, are so strongly influenced by things outside of the body as much as they are things, that the body systems, of course, are so strongly influenced by things outside of the body as much as they are things inside the body. And so understanding health as one concept needs to be considered much more broadly than in the way that we've historically thought about health, which is about the body, and think about health in a much more holistic manner to say how does the world influence health, and how do we help influence the world in a productive way to ensure that we have a healthier planet, but also healthier humans, and so this notion of One Health, I think, is a good example of how an organization like Alberta Innovates can shine if it understands how these interconnected concepts can be understood in a way to enable change in a productive manner, and so that's a big part of what I'm interested in helping Alberta Innovates to continue to do.
Mike:I'm also interested in helping to support what is already in existence, and that is a tremendously diverse ecosystem of innovation and research, made up of many different organizations in different sectors, and these ecosystems or this ecosystem, if we think about it in the most macro way can benefit greatly from being collaborative in nature, and so Alberta Innovates has been very collaborative as an organization for years, but there's more to do in that realm, and our systems are changing so rapidly.
Mike:If I look at artificial intelligence as one example, we can no longer move through our thinking about things like artificial intelligence without thinking about it in a much more integrated manner, so that we not think about artificial intelligence from simply a technological perspective, but we think about it as it relates to all of these other systems that we engage with, and so artificial intelligence and agriculture, for example, are critical for us to think about.
Mike:Artificial intelligence and, of course, energy would be another example, and so I think Alberta Innovates can continue to grow and evolve but, in particular, support our ecosystems by really fostering a sense of collaboration within our organization as well as outside of our organization, and so we'll be focusing on that. In the coming months, we're going to undertake a program review to look at what we have been doing, what we should continue to do and what are some of the things that we have been thinking about that we should really be preparing the organization to embark on, and so it's really a time for Alberta Innovates to both celebrate all the things that have taken place, but also look forward and say where do we go next?
Jon:I think that's very exciting, especially, you know, as we move into the future. The organization we exist to kind of manage quote unquote that innovation portfolio. And innovation is always about how do you make things better, how do you improve things for Albertans, for businesses to, you know, to grow the economy and and incur and and uh, make sure that Albertans are healthy. So when you talk about used artificial intelligence as an example, it almost sounds like an enabler across sectors and it almost sounds like you're saying how do we look at things? Not necessarily vertically, because we've got a lot of knowledge in at Alberta, innovates, innotech and CIFR that goes real deep these, you know, we've got a lot of real smart people but to kind of flip it 90 degrees and look at it more horizontally, and how do we integrate things? You know. So how does clean energy impact health, and vice versa, so to speak? Am I putting words in your mouth or is that?
Mike:Well, I you know I couldn't have said it better than you actually because there is no question that continuing to focus on the verticals that we have and supporting those areas because they're critical if I look at energy as an example, but at the same time, as you said, look at the horizontal relationships. When I was a student doing my master's degree, I took a course in leadership and, of course, this is many, many years ago, so I'm actually proud of myself that I actually remember a couple of books I read, and one of the books I read was really focused on this idea of lateral thinking as opposed to vertical thinking, and you know this was a long time ago.
Mike:I'll age myself, but this is in the eighties, and even back then there were.
Jon:I don't remember them.
Mike:Yeah, I know Right, even back then there were people thinking about this idea of of lateral thinking as opposed to vertical thinking, and I think what's happened in our world is that more and more, we've recognized that looking laterally is where the opportunities lie. Of course, you know, we know that they lie in sort of the vertical activities we undertake, but the innovation is more often than not these days, across sectors and across concepts, and you know so. If I use an example from my days at the University of Lethbridge, we had a cell biologist who was doing cancer research and actually came, was in France at a research lab and came to the UofL to take up a professor position in cell biology focused on cancer take up a professor position in cell biology focused on cancer. We had a scientist who has been working in space science. He's a physicist and working on really different strategies for looking as far into space as possible through telescopes, et cetera.
Mike:The two of them one day and over coffee, started talking about how could you use the technology that's being used to study uh planets and uh, of course, places far, far away to look at, at changing cells in the body from a cancer perspective.
Mike:This led to some fantastic research that was done in collaboration with the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge and some companies in Calgary, and it was a tremendous example of this way of thinking laterally right, not just thinking that, you know, cancer research is simply about people in sort of biology and cell biology, looking at cancer cells. It's about how do we use technology to help those individuals progress the science around detection of cancer cells and amelioration of cancer, and so there are many, many, many examples of that in the work being done across the province of Alberta. Alberta Innovates is contributing to so much of it, and that's, I think, where the opportunities will be in the work being done across the province of Alberta. Alberta Innovates is contributing to so much of it, and that's, I think, where the opportunities will be in the future.
Jon:Right, I love that. That's a really fantastic example. You know, when you tell me that here's this researcher in France who was attracted to the University of Lethbridge and recruited, that to me is such a huge triumph in and of itself that we can bring these. You know that Alberta's created this space for research that people want to come to. You know, and we've seen that everywhere I think of Michael Houghton at the University of Alberta as well, absolutely. You know who just recently won last year the Nobel Prize. Talk to me a little bit about the value and and of those partnerships and those think.
Mike:You know Alberta Innovates on some levels, could be thought about as a dating app, and so it's an organization that has, you know, a lot of tentacles out there, works with a lot of different partners across a lot you know a number of sectors in a variety of contexts and in different parts of our province, and so part of what Alberta Innovates is about, and needs to be about, is really fostering that connectivity in the ecosystem and so, like a dating app, finding out who's out there. That would be great to work together. And you know, going back to my example of the cell biologist and the physicist, I can assure you that, generally speaking, cell biologists and physicists don't necessarily logically think of coming together, but they do, sometimes by happenstance, sometimes because there's purposeful activity that brings them together. And I think the purposeful activity that Alberta Innovates undertakes to support work going on in the ecosystem, whether it's a really interesting startup that is just kind of at the verge of blossoming, or it's an activity going on at the University of Alberta that is really starting to come together, or it's a graduate student who, you know, all of a sudden has an idea that is starting to take hold, that is going to make a difference in energy and the environment, and so the coming together of folks through intentional activities is a big part of what Alberta Innovates of course brings to the table.
Mike:But Alberta Innovates of course brings to the table, but the other thing of course we bring to the table are resources.
Mike:And so, you know, one of the things about Alberta and Alberta Innovates is that we have been very fortunate to have significant resources over many, many decades to support the evolution of innovation, science and research in this province.
Mike:And and, frankly, when I came here 24 years ago was it was very much because Alberta was far, far ahead of the rest of the country in recognizing the importance of funding these kinds of activities.
Mike:And to this very day, we, we as a province, continue to shine in that manner. I'm not saying other provinces don't shine, but Alberta really has a unique way of understanding itself, and the way it understands itself is we want to continue to be different, we want to continue to evolve, and we're not afraid of that right. And I think that in part that's that sort of frontier spirit where we are not afraid to push the boundaries, because that's how this province started, that's how it grew and that's how it will continue to grow. And so Alberta Innovates has a bit of that frontier spirit that we need and I think you know, as a prairie guy, I grew up in Manitoba and my wife's from Alberta, so we're, you know, deeply rooted in this kind of culture and I see Alberta Innovates and its partners as being that sort of next frontier of activity that will help this province continue to grow.
Jon:So if we think about that, what you've just said about partnerships and we want potential partners to swipe left on the dating app I think it's left or I don't know which direction it is.
Mike:I've never used one.
Jon:So to use.
Mike:The analogy is a little bizarre.
Jon:Fair enough, but I'm going to continue running with that analogy. So if we want people to partner with us, what do you recommend? Like there's, you know, a lot of our people are already, you know they're. They're working closely with the post-secondary institutes, they're working closely with businesses, with industry. How do you continue to say, hey, folks, you know, come, let's have that conversation, let's have that dialogue and see where we can go and what we can do with this. And now let me just plant one thing in your head Inventors as a potential, as one of those conduits for growing that, those partnerships.
Mike:Yeah. So I'll start off by saying and I'll refer to inventors for sure I'll start off by saying that fundamentally it's about listening. So it's about listening to all of those members of the various communities and the ideas they have and understanding the importance of recognizing that innovation is something that happens over time. It doesn't happen in a vacuum, but it does happen in part because of good communication. And so a big part of the success of Alberta Innovates has been about listening and communicating so that we can find those nuggets that become real opportunities. And so, looking at the evolution of Alberta Innovates and and where we've come, but where we're going in, ventures are certainly one of those communication activities, those listening activities where we bring a lot of people together, we create some really interesting experiences for them, of course through speakers, but also through unique types of engagement, and we enable them to communicate with each other. And they also communicate with us and we listen to them, and through those exercises they learn, they develop relationships that they haven't had. They learn, they develop relationships that they haven't had. They build new ideas and new sort of versions of themselves, if you want to think about it that way, and we do the entity. And so thinking about InVentures as driven by Alberta Innovates, but led by Alberta, and so in a sense, we are the catalyst and the vehicle for bringing people together across this great province and, of course, others from around Canada and around the world as a, as a vehicle for them to then express, through all these different experiences they have at inventors, how we can grow and evolve as a province and, and more specifically, in the areas that we focus on at Alberta Innovates.
Mike:And so InVentures ultimately I see as this wonderful vehicle to really grow that connectivity, and not just on an annual basis. I think the other opportunity for InVentures is to see, to see inventors not just as an event that happens once a year, but really as an integrated way to sort of grow and support the ecosystem in a collaborative manner. And so I think InVentures is a wonderful, wonderful vehicle. I think it can grow and evolve. It can grow and evolve and in talking with the partners I have over my first period as interim CEO, one of the things that I keep hearing from our partners is they want to be a part of InVentures, they want to be part of the visioning of InVentures and they want to be a part of the success of InVentures, and so I think In is a is a tremendous vehicle for us to do that.
Jon:It can certainly continue to become that, that kind of flagship uh thing that puts you know, helps put Alberta on the map and shine a light on what's going on. Let's let's step back a little bit, um, and I want to talk specifically about entrepreneurship a little bit, and I want to talk specifically about entrepreneurship. So how do you envision Alberta Innovates kind of role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship? Do you see us playing a role in starting to like help people understand entrepreneurialism is a viable kind of career choice, or are we focusing mainly on those who've already done it and are already involved and innovating?
Mike:Yeah, it's a great question, you know, of course. You know, because I'm an educator I think about things from a longitudinal perspective as opposed to just at a particular moment. And so if we think about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs, how do they become entrepreneurs? And we know that happens in a variety of different ways, through just happenstance, experiences, through, you know, the modeling that takes place from individuals that they meet, or even family members. Even you know parents who are entrepreneurs. And so part of I think what this province has done and and can continue to do and should be supported by us, is to really nurture this entrepreneurial spirit within the province, in our, in our educational K to 12 systems, ensuring that students have exposure to thinking about being entrepreneurs and and thinking about sort of alternative careers and not just, you know, sort of projecting to students that success is based on being a professional, like a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher or a you know, electrician, whatever that there is great success in walking down those roads, but there's also success in walking down those roads. But there's also success in walking down those roads but doing so within the context of being an entrepreneur. And so part of I think what we can and should be doing is supporting not only those that are already clearly inclined, but supporting a provincial ecosystem that nurtures this notion right, and I would say that this has really been part of the DNA of Alberta for many, many years.
Mike:When I came here 24 years ago and moved to the University of Alberta, I was really struck by how entrepreneurial faculty members were at the University of Alberta, something that I didn't see at my previous home academic home, and so as a dean, I was, you know, sort of challenged to think about how do I support these faculty members who really want to not just teach and do research, but they want the research that they're doing to matter and make a difference, but also to be able to become something economically viable. And you know this was in particular in the health and human performance space. But then, as I moved to the University of Lethbridge, I saw the same thing, and you know I saw the good, the bad and the ugly in that context. And I remember talking to a faculty member one day who was building equipment that he was selling to companies in Russia and he was doing it out of his garage companies in Russia, and he was doing it out of his garage. And I said to him one day. I said, you know, have you thought about, you know, sort of taking it to the next level? And he said, yeah, but that's just, that's a lot of work and I'm not really even sure how to do it. And so, you know, I'm I'm pretty happy just doing this out of my garage and doing one piece of equipment at a time and and sending it off.
Mike:And you know, this is sort of an example that is not unusual. There are many, many scientists that are doing some really interesting things but don't have that sort of sense of entrepreneurship that really takes this to the next level. And so it's about, you know, young people takes this to the next level. And so it's about, you know, young people. It's about people in in existing contexts where, where sort of a, a sort of um cue to think about something a little more entrepreneurial, uh in nature is uh, or a spark is needed, and then it's about, uh, ensuring that those that have the inclination have the opportunities right. And so it's a. You know, on many levels it's a path that has many different turns, left and right, that need to be supported, and Alberta Innovates and the province of Alberta need to be supportive of those different twists and turns in the road that people experience.
Jon:Again, a fascinating example Thinking about people that are building perhaps one-off technologies and then selling them. You might see stuff like that on Kickstarter or something like that, but to know that, again, alberta Innovates. We've been doing that and supporting for a number of years through our regional innovation networks, as well out in rural areas and as well in the major economic centres, but there's so many of our partners as well, and I think one thing I look at is I often think an entrepreneur walking into the scene and then looking around and going okay, I've got all of this support, but it's almost overwhelming, in a way, like I don't even know where to start. So do they? You know, is there? Is there that person that's going to recoil back and go? I'm, I'm content doing the one-offs. How?
Mike:do we get?
Jon:better at doing those things. I know you've already kind of answered it with the partnerships and stuff, but how do we get better at going? Okay, maybe you're not ready for us yet for AI funding, but maybe we can bounce you off over here to start. Or maybe it's someone that wants to start a hair salon that's not technology-based. You know, we can still be supportive and conduits to get them to the right place Business Link, for example.
Mike:Yeah, how do you see all that kind of you know, I think, at the end of the day, it's ensuring that we have a multiplicity of pathways that are available that enable individuals to move in the direction and down the path that makes sense for them at this point in time, right, and so this is why having so many partners is important, and having organizations like Platform Calgary that have a lot of different strategies to support entrepreneurs that are at different stages in that journey.
Mike:And so one of the reasons that I think Alberta Innovates has been successful is because it's recognized that, you know, a diversity of accelerators, a diversity of ways to support these different individuals who are at different points in their journey, is really important.
Mike:And so not having a kind of one answer show, but having a multiplicity of answers for these folks and, you know, on many levels, making sure that they're known about, because this is part of the challenge for people that might not even describe themselves yet as entrepreneurs but have something going on that is a possibility that they are aware of the fact that something exists like alberti innovates or platform calgary, or or innovation uh lethbridge, that they can.
Mike:They can connect with um who can help them um, wherever they are in their journey, whether it's they never developed a business plan and they need to learn how to develop a business plan, whether they actually need a lab to be able to actually take this out of their garage and do some testing so that they have those opportunities and ensuring that those are available in Edmonton and Calgary and around the province of Alberta and I think Alberta Innovates is doing a good job of that, I will say but I will say that you know, in chatting with different folks across the province, communication is so vital and you know I wouldn't say we're the best kept streetkeeper.
Mike:We're not. We're well known, but some of the resources available are not as well known as they should be, and so I think there's just more work for us to do with partners to ensure that all of those folks that have a particular inclination or don't even know yet that they have an inclination, but in fact they do are not left behind because they simply't um access the resources that are there I love that.
Jon:Yeah, it's that notion of you. You don't even know the word yes, so you can't. You, you can't look for it, you just have this feeling and, yeah, no, that's, and that's fair and it's a challenge, because you know alberta's 4.2 million people roughly um, you know it's fanciful thinking to think we could hit everybody, but uh, you know we've got to do a good job at getting the, or maybe a better job as an ecosystem.
Mike:Yeah, and you know the. You know many of the things that we're doing are supportive of this right, Like working with the post-secondary partners, ensuring that they have the resources to communicate to all these young folks that may have aspirations to move down this entrepreneurial path. We work with lots, as you said, the RINs and others. So the network is there, and so it's simply about continuing to support that network, build it out further and also recognize that new networks will continue to evolve, to transform itself, to understand that the ecosystem is changing and so we too have to change with the ecosystem.
Jon:Yeah, no, I love that too. So now, going back to what you just we started the conversation off. You kind of described, provided some context of where you came from, how you moved into this position. So my next question is when you look at alberta innovates, before you came in you knew we were there, and then you came in and now you're there's more of an intimate understanding. Are there any particular projects or activities that you're looking at going? That's really cool.
Mike:That really uh yeah, well, lots I'll say yeah, you know um the.
Mike:The bitumen project is one that it fascinates me right yeah, beyond combustion, yeah that that really looks at how do we, um reconceptualize the use of bitumen beyond its contribution to the energy world and think about it in terms of other uses. This is, of course, not to say that the need for bitumen in the energy world is going away anytime soon, but it is recognition that we should always be thinking about the natural resources we have and how we can use them best and how we can extend their use. And so, you know, the fact that we now are considering how bitumen can build carbon fiber, can build asphalt, in ways that are far less expensive and far less impactful to the environment, is fantastic, right. And if you think about it in terms of the early days of the oil sands and what was envisioned and what in fact has occurred, and now that these, many years later, those same oil sands are being thought about in new and interesting ways, that is the essence of the Alberta story, I would argue, and the fact that our innovators are not satisfied with the status quo, that they are recognizing that you know all things need to change, right. I mean, detroit is a good example that, um, as a city that really didn't think about changing until it was slightly too late. Now they themselves have transformed themselves, which is wonderful, and that city is is again blossoming, but it's it's just a, it's a lesson right about the fact that, uh, if, if, um provinces, countries, don't continue to think about the future, and think about the future in relation to the past and how we can build upon the future, we will not progress.
Mike:And so humanity has demonstrated that uh, um, century after century, and and so for us, as alberta innovates, to have a project like bitumen on and beyond is evidence of that, and you know the work that's going on, uh, vis-a-vis hydrogen.
Mike:Hydrogen is another good example of that. Right, looking at another energy source that is a bit cleaner that you, that we have a great deal of, and how do we use that, harness that in a productive way. But I also look at the work that we're doing in health care, and the work in health care is fascinating because it's a lot more system focused. More system focused. It's a lot more considerate of how can we support a very challenging area, which is healthcare delivery, by thinking innovatively about our systems and how we help to support their evolution in a way that makes healthcare more accessible, makes healthcare as affordable as possible, but also ensures that we're bringing all of the amazing technologies available in healthcare to people, and so what I love about the work going on in healthcare is it is all about innovation, but it's not about building a new piece of equipment.
Mike:I mean it is Don't get me wrong, part of it is doing that, but a large part of it is much more systems-focused innovation, and I think one of the reasons I'd like to sort of talk about that is because sometimes I think, when we talk about innovation, we almost immediately think of technology what's the new app, what's the new software? But innovation is a lot more than that right. It's about innovative thinking that leads us down new paths, and some of that is systems thinking, of systems change. It's not technological change, and so I think the work going on in Alberta Innovates is reflective of that. It's reflective of the fact that innovation has to be about more than just technology. It has to be about the uses of technology, about more than just technology. It has to be about the uses of technology. It has to be about the changes that need to take place to support the evolution of technology, and if we look at artificial intelligence and healthcare, we know there's some big questions that are being posed in that realm, and so part of a responsibility for an organization like ours is not just to sort of push forward into new areas, but to do so with the mindfulness of what are these new directions going to do in terms of changes to our civilizations and how do we ensure that we're part of the consideration of those changes to our civilization?
Mike:And I think, if I look at the oil and gas context, some of the work that's gone on in the last decade around recognizing that the work in moving forward with oil and gas innovations is work that has also started to recognize the importance of considering civilization and how civilization has been changed by the oil and gas industry. And this needs to be part of the equation when we think about change. And I think Alberta Innovates is doing some of that good work. But I would argue we can do more in that space and I think part of what will spell another kind of step along the way for Alberta Innovates is to look at those kinds of um, critical, difficult, difficult, integrated questions right, and not shying away from them because somebody has to ask them Right. Yeah, somebody has to be willing to push forward and consider these things.
Jon:Mike, it's tough for me not to get all fanboy-y here. You're saying such fantastic things that I think will really resonate with me personally, I know will resonate with a lot of the listenership. And you know there's business as usual to a degree, but there's also that broadened thinking about. You know ethical frameworks, for example. What are the implications? You talked about the evolution of technology. Something I see in the system or think about sometimes is the adoption of innovation as well. We have such fantastic innovations coming out of alberta and yet sometimes you see that it really grinds to a halt like this. The system isn't adopting the technologies. I don't know what role we play in that. Do you see anything as?
Mike:yeah, it's very interesting, you know. I mean one of the the wonderful uh parts of my experience of being at the University of Lethbridge is I learned a tremendous amount about the ag sector and you know I grew up in Manitoba. I'm certainly been surrounded by the ag sector, but I was not intimately engaged with the ag sector until I went down to the UofL and spent a lot of time in that realm because of the nature of southern Alberta, just the sheer magnitude of agriculture down there. But the work going on at the University of Lethbridge, et cetera, and one of the things that I was very struck by in spending lots of time chatting with the farmers down there that were working in the potato industry, sugar beet industry, et cetera, was the extent to which those that really embraced technology were, by and large, the most successful and that in fact, those that you might have if you met them based on their age in fact those that you might have, you know, if you met them based on their age, etc. You might have thought these are probably not the people Mike is talking about, and in fact many of them were have just absolutely embraced technology and have demonstrated the extent to which technology has transformed ag and ag business, and so the notion of adoption is an interesting one, and I do think that a lot of the needs around adoption are, of course, course, around education, but education within a cultural context, right, and so.
Mike:So by that I mean, if we think about the ag sort of industry and sort of the, just the ethos of agriculture, I mean this is a very unique industry that historically is family-based, is is, you know, sort of a, it's a, it's a lifestyle, it's, it's not a job, and so it really is a very different kind of um context than, uh, some of the other industries that we work with.
Mike:And so, in, in working within that space, recognizing the uniqueness of the culture of agriculture and recognizing how to work within that culture with, with people that have been in the egg space for literally centuries, because of families, of course, need to be engaged with in a different manner than, you know, an artificial intelligence startup company.
Mike:And so part of this notion of adoption, I think, is recognizing that every context requires a bit of a different approach to enable people to both be willing to listen and learn and to then be engaged with in a manner that you meet them where they are, and so, you know, in working in Southern Alberta with with some very successful farmers, meeting with, meeting them where they are meant, going into the field, going on a combine with them so that they could show you the technology that they were using in that piece of equipment, and really getting to know them as a family and a community, and I think you know, we have so many communities within the innovation space, all of which are slightly different, many similarities but also differences.
Mike:Yeah, um, you know, think about the oil and gas space versus the egg space is sort of two, um, sort of different examples. And so meeting them where they're at and communicating with them in a way that is accessible to them, I think is a big part of adoption let me throw a little bit of a curve, and I don't want to belabor the point of adoption, but I find it fascinating.
Jon:So let's think within the realm of health specifically. So we've got a system, ahs that's, you know, this single, single payer system that we quite often tout as benefits, you know, amongst all the jurisdictions. But I've seen or heard stories where we've got technology that comes out and it's just not getting adopted. So when you think about, you know, when we talk to a farmer we can go and we can meet them one-on-one, but when you're talking to a system, how do you, how do you grease the paths, so to speak?
Mike:Yeah, I mean you know you need to use, of course, different strategies but you need to use a multiplicity of approaches. And I think you know adoption occurs in different kind of contexts and space, and so part of adoption is about educating those that are going through medical training, nurse training, etc. So that they become the enablers of adoption Right, etc. So that they become the enablers of adoption right. And so part of what you know, of course we see in the health space is, you know, rapidly changing technology and you know folks that, some of whom have been in the health space for 30 or 40 years as physicians, as nurses as you know, it's nurse practitioners and then we've got these young bucks coming in from our universities and our polytechnics and our colleges and, you know, helping them to be the champions of change and adoption but also, at the same time, helping them understand the importance of the kind of pathway that they're on so that they become champions but also they become folks that work well with their mentors, and so these are sort of unique sorts of things. But I think part of what you know, during my time at the University of Alberta, when I chaired the Health Sciences Council, one of the things we really focused on was, you know, an integrated approach to education of professionals, right, and so interprofessional training was a big part of this, so that we had, you know, nursing students and medical students and physiotherapists and dental students, et cetera, all having some of their experiences together so that, hopefully, when they move into you know, their professional life, that they have already had some experience in having conversations across disciplines that are part of the adoption piece, but also then they become the champions for change, right? Because they have been educated to think about healthcare in a different, in a different way, in a more integrated fashion, and so I think this is part of it.
Mike:Now, you know, as we think about patients, which is another big part of the adoption question, right, it's about ensuring that, you know, again, our healthcare professionals understand the importance of communication with their patients, and, you know, I will go back to the farmer example, because, you know, the farmer example is about communicating with somebody in the space that works for them, and I would say the same is very true within healthcare, right, where our professionals need to be able to communicate with patients in a context and space that is accessible to them, so that you know when they're learning that they are diabetic and that there are approaches to ensuring that they can be healthy and safe, that the communication style is accessible to that individual and so that if there is, you know, a new technology that is, which there are many of, as we know that can be easier for them to manage their diabetes, that there are ways to communicate with them so that they will be open to that kind of technology and change and they will be part of the solution, because a big part of the challenge in health care from a patient perspective is adoption right and and and adhering to, you know, the the practices that are going to be in the best interests of their own personal health now, aside from adoption, when you think about challenges, the greatest challenges that we have in the Alberta innovation ecosystem, writ large, what do you think those are and how do you think?
Mike:Alberta Innovates can help streamline those, enabling the inter relationships that need to exist across the different sectors and disciplines so that the opportunities that are presented to us and to people in the system are acted upon.
Mike:And so, you know, in the old language, it's about continuing to figure out how we break these silos down, because you know, at the end of the day, there is so much great work going on, but the challenge of our silos continues to be one of our biggest impediments. And if I look at healthcare, or if I look at, you know, any of the sort of areas that we work in, the siloed approach to innovation and then delivery continues to challenge us, right. And so a big challenge but opportunity for Alberta Innovate is to be that enabler. And I think, when I look at our organization in relation to all the different groups that we work with, we're the common denominator, right? I mean, we are the thing, the organization that links between all these different geographical regions, all these different sectors, all these different approaches to innovation. And so it's a big challenge for us to be that silo buster and to be the organization that really works to foster the greatest degree of communication and engagement across our communities.
Jon:So I love that silo buster. So now, if that's one of our roles to be the silo buster let me put you on the spot. Do you want to, do you want to issue a challenge to our partners out there? Uh, whoever, you know we will. We've got tons of partners, we're bringing more on board. You can't silo bust by yourself.
Mike:No, absolutely. And you know, silo busting is a is a team sport. I'll say because I'm, silo busting is a team sport. I'll say Because I'm a sport guy. I think many people know that and I have a strong belief in innovation being a team sport, Because innovation, in my sort of way of looking at things, the success of innovation is in getting groups of individuals together, working it to a common goal and really sort of pushing hard to get that innovation over the line right. And so silo busting as part of the exercise is about the team being committed to working together across purpose so that we have success. And you know I'm an.
Mike:I'm a old football player, played university football and, and you know football is is not always the best example to use because there are some downsides to the sport.
Mike:But the upside to the, to the analogy of football, is, if you watch a football game, the kinds of people that make up a football team are so diverse in terms of size, skill, um, the, the role that they play.
Mike:Uh, if they don't all work together, you never win a game. Similarly and that. So I don't want to just use a sport analogy similar in orchestra, right, like it's great to have a great sax player, it's great to have a great violinist, drummer, et cetera. Independently they can perform beautifully, but if they don't work together as a collective, they're not going to be a great orchestra right. And so those two analogies are about collaboration and about building teams and moving things forward in that manner, and I think that's the challenge for the future and the challenge for Alberta as a province is to work together to that common goal and to really find the space for that collaboration that cuts across any of the other challenges we may face. You know, different political leanings, different ways of looking at the world, using whatever lenses, but having a common purpose around for all of our silo busting partners.
Jon:If you had to say something to entrepreneurs, potential entrepreneurs, researchers, about the innovation ecosystem in Alberta, how Alberta Innovates and our partners can help them, what would you?
Mike:say Because you know, such a big part of being a successful entrepreneur and innovator is the bravery required to just push forward and know that this may not work but hopefully will work whatever you're working on. But it takes a level of just risk to undertake that and because of that, those folks that are willing to undertake that kind of risky activity need to have supports to ensure that they can be successful. And so Alberta Innovates and our partners need to be fundamentally supportive of that sort of key need which for for an innovator, which is to to have that bravery and take on those risks, but to do so in an environment that where there are supports. And so you know, hopefully, as we think about moving forward, we will continue to recognize what those supports are, because they'll continue to change, and for us to then change to to ensure those supports are available.
Jon:I love that. So let's wrap it up here, cause I've hogged enough of your time and I know you're probably pretty busy, but let's leave it at this, or the final word to you on what you hope the successes are and what you hope to achieve in that, in your interim year.
Mike:Yeah Well, achieve in that in your interim year. Yeah well, my hope for the success is that we continue to sort of challenge ourself as an organization to be better, because if we're not challenging ourself to be better, then we're not going to be better. And so that's the challenge I have to the organization and to our ecosystem, and my challenge is to help Alberta innovates be better by myself being better, because I've got a lot to learn. There's so many elements of this innovation ecosystem that I'm still learning about, and so I have to do some more homework to make sure that I can be better.
Jon:Mike, this was awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today.
Mike:You bet I had lots of fun, thank you.
Jon:Thanks for joining us today, folks, and, as always, you can find us on your favorite streaming service. Go visit and subscribe so you don't miss any of the great content. Coming up on behalf of everyone here, I'm John. Have a great day.
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