This month, Cybera joined with the research and business incubation community in signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Platform Calgary, with the purpose of fostering growth within Calgary’s technology ecosystem. As part of this agreement, the organizations will work collaboratively to ensure Calgary achieves its goal of tripling the city’s existing tech sector in the next ten years, creating 30,000 new jobs at 3,000 new companies.
Since its founding in 1994, Cybera has supported Alberta’s economic growth through the use of digital technology. Through its facilitation of the Research & Education Network for educators and researchers, as well as its programs that offer free cloud computing infrastructure and data science training to innovators, Cybera has helped entrepreneurs grow their technical capabilities and move more seamlessly from “campus to commerce.”
The MOU with Platform Calgary will support the roll-out of its new Platform Innovation Centre, which is set to open this fall in Calgary’s East Village. The Platform Innovation Centre will be a hub for entrepreneurs and startups who are looking to launch their businesses in Calgary. It will also attract investment and growth in the city by facilitating connections between startups and service providers, skill-building academies, the investment community, government, non-profit community organizations, and curious Calgarians.
This agreement strengthens the long-standing relationship between the two organizations. Platform Calgary has been a member of Cybera since 2015, and is an important part of its community of educational institutions, municipalities, libraries, and incubators. Platform Calgary’s The Inc. coworking space is also connected to Cybera’s high-speed R&E network.
As the Platform Innovation Centre progresses, this MOU will enable Cybera to collaborate with Platform Calgary and its partners on digital resources and training for local businesses, as well as cross-promoting events and other business support initiatives. It will build on the training and services Cybera has previously offered to other business incubation partners, including Startup Calgary, which joined with Platform Calgary at the beginning of 2021.
“We know that Calgary has the potential to lead the world in technology and innovation, it just needs the right support in place,” says Dr. Barb Carra, President & CEO of Cybera. “Partnerships like this will allow us to better centralize wrap-around services for innovators and founders, to accelerate the growth of tech startups in Calgary and across Alberta.”
“Platform Calgary and Cybera are raising the bar on how we can work together to strengthen our local tech economy,” says Dr. Terry Rock, President and CEO of Platform Calgary. “As part of the Platform Innovation Centre from day one, Cybera will be an important player in the lives of founders and tech startups looking to learn, grow, and thrive. Together, we are delivering on our vision to create thousands of innovation startups and jobs for Calgarians.”
About Platform Calgary
Platform Calgary is a civic partner trusted by the City of Calgary and a growing list of partners to bring together the resources and partners of Calgary’s tech startup ecosystem to create shared prosperity that will benefit all Calgarians. Through collaboration and targeted programming, we are the hub that will be an engine for technology-focused economic diversification and job creation.
About Cybera
Cybera is a not-for-profit technology-neutral organization responsible for driving Alberta’s economic growth through the use of digital technology. Its core role is to oversee the development and operations of Alberta’s cyberinfrastructure — the advanced system of networks and computers that keeps government, educational institutions, not-for-profits, business incubators and entrepreneurs at the forefront of technological change.