Co. Innovation Centre - St. John's, NL

Export Café YYT (with The Trade Commissioner Services)
2026-03-05 09:00 - 12:00 (America/Toronto)
Global trade is changing rapidly, and it can be hard to keep up. We’re at the frontlines to help you navigate through this evolving landscape. Join your local St. John’s-based Trade Commissioners at Export Café YYT, a bi-monthly drop-in session hosted by the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) in collaboration with the Co.Innovation Centre. These sessions are designed to help Newfoundland and Labrador export-ready companies explore, prepare for, and grow in international markets. We can help refine your international business strategy, leverage our extensive network of Trade Commissioners around the world, and dive into TCS programs and services. These one-on-one sessions are designed to help you gain clarity and insight, manage risk, and take the next step towards international growth.
For interested companies that want to obtain more tailored advice, Export Café YYT will provide an opportunity to schedule one-on-one meetings with Trade Commissioners. These meetings will offer practical advice on navigating export readiness, leveraging government of Canada trade support programs, understanding market entry strategies and risk, and identifying the right market fit for your company. Book a 20 minute “espresso” meeting, for a quick exploratory chat, or 60-minute “slow brew” meeting for a more in-depth discussion and refinement of your export plan (“slow brew” meetings offered to export ready or currently exporting companies only).
Date: Thursday, March 5th
Time: 9:00am – 12:00pm
aocation: Co. Innovation Centre (710 Torbay Rd., Suite A)
Agenda
9:00am – 10:00am: Info session with TCS
10:00am – 12:00pm: Opportunity for one-on-one meetings
Interested in booking a one-on-one session with the TCS? Please reach out to Sarah Howell to express interest.
About the Speakers
Ian Murdoch: Ian has been a Trade Commissioner in the St. John’s satellite office covering Energy, Cleantech, and Oceantech for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador for over 7 years. Prior to joining the TCS, Ian spent eight years developing and managing international capacity building projects, as well as conducting international student recruitment, where he completed short deployments to Mexico, Bolivia, Vietnam, China, Burkina Faso, Tanzania, and Mozambique, and a six-month internship in Kenya. He holds an MA in International Affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, with one semester completed in Japan, and a BA (Honours) in International Development Studies from Saint Mary’s University. He is a FITT Certified International Trade Professional (CITP).
Allison Catmur: Allison has worked with Global Affairs Canada for 18 years. She has completed assignments in Thailand, Italy and Vietnam as a Management and Consular Officer – the COO on the mission management team. She was also the lead on delivering service to Canadian citizens, managing security and emergency response. She has also completed short-term deployments to Mexico, Malaysia, Haiti, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malta, and Albania. Prior to working with Global Affairs, Allison worked with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and was a Junior Professional Consultant with the World Food Program in Mali. In her current role as Trade Commissioner assigned to the St. John’s satellite office, Allison supports Newfoundland and Labrador companies grow internationally, with a particularly focus on the Aerospace, Defence & Security and Health Tech sectors. Allison completed her BA and MA at Memorial University and spent 2 semesters studying in Eastern and Central Europe.

Doing Business with Government
2026-03-06 09:00 - 12:00 (America/St_Johns)
Join us at Co. Innovation Centre for the first session of our innovation support series, featuring Procurement Assistance Canada, Public Procurement Agency, OCIO, and Ridegell Consulting.
Would you like to diversify your revenue stream? If so, join this session to learn how your tech business can expand its reach into public sector procurement.
Procurement Assistance Canada, as part of Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), is here to make it easier for smaller and diverse businesses to bid on federal contracting opportunities. PAC, and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Public Procurement Agency, will provide useful and practical insights on how to get started with selling to the federal and provincial governments.
You will also hear from Ridegell Consulting, a Canadian Indigenous-owned technology advisory and consulting firm specializing in cyber and technology maturity assessments, technology roadmaps, and business strategy creation, as they share their experience with selling to government, providing local examples of tech companies who have gone through the procurement process.
Frank Butler from the Public Procurement Agency joins us to chat about GNL Procurement & PPa e-Procurement systems & processes; and finally Dawn Burke from the OCIO will speak to OCIO Managed Service Provider Systems and Processes.
Join to learn how to navigate online procurement tools, gain valuable insights from local businesses, and discover new opportunities for your business.

Mining Innovation 101 - Building Tech Solutions for the Mining Industry (with MICA)
2026-03-09 08:30 - 12:30 (America/Toronto) | Co. Innovation Centre, 710 Torbay Rd. Suite A, St. John's, NL, A1A 5G9, Canada
Join Co. Innovation Centre and the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) on March 9th as we explore building tech solutions for the mining industry.
This workshop will provide an overview of the mining process – from exploration to production, operations and site rehabilitation- and explore technology trends impacting the industry, and opportunities for solution providers. It will help founders identify where their technology could solve real industry challenges, and provide strategies used by companies to successfully commercialize their solutions on-site.

Module 1 – The Mining Cycle
Module 2 – Gaps & Drivers of Innovation
Module 3 – Strategies for Adoption

Date: Monday, March 9th
Time: 8:30am – 12:30pm
Location: Co. Innovation Centre (710 Torbay Rd., Suite A)
About MICA
MICA is a pan-Canadian ecosystem initiative designed to modernize mining and strengthen the Canadian mineral and metal supply chain.

About the Speaker
Kyle McCall, Director of Commercialization Services with MICA: Kyle has worked in Canada’s innovation ecosystem for over 10 years, supporting Canadian companies by connecting them to the resources they need to grow and scale their ventures, as well as innovate and commercialize new products and services. His experience includes time spent with leading innovation organizations NORCAT, managing their regional innovation centre, Canada’s Tech Network, and the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) as a Business Development and Commercialization Manager. Kyle understands what makes for a dynamic innovation ecosystem. He is focused on building the MICA network, helping MICA member companies benefit from programming, events, funding opportunities, and facilitating meaningful connections across the network.

Digital Offshore '26 Conference (Hosted by ERINL)
2026-03-10 08:00 - 2026-03-11 17:00 (America/St_Johns) | St. John’s Convention Centre, 101 New Gower St, St. John's, NL, A1C 4K2, Canada
Digital Offshore ’26 will be held from March 10-11, 2026, at the St. John’s Convention Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, with pre- and post-conference events on March 9 and 12, including workshops, facility tours and student engagement activities.
The conference is recognized as a place where leaders, innovators and experts from the offshore energy and other resource sectors, the tech sector, government, regulators and academia connect to explore opportunities and foster collaboration in digitalization, and to explore and celebrate our unique and growing innovation ecosystem. The Digital Offshore Conference is an annual event organized by Energy Research & Innovation Newfoundland & Labrador (ERI) partnering with Co. Innovation Centre and Energy NL. Sponsorship and exhibit opportunities are available. For more information and to register visit the conference website.

Centre for Analytics, Informatics, and Research Coffee Chat
2026-03-19 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Toronto)
Do you need support with your data or digital solutions? Are you looking to grow your company and considering digital tools to ease resource constraints?
You need to talk to CAIR.
Join CAIR for a Coffee Chat at COIC to discover how you can use advanced technology and student expertise to drive innovation or support operations. This session will feature a short introduction to CAIR, a live demo of their AI-powered talent matching platform, and an open discussion on collaboration opportunities and real-world challenges.
Date: Thursday, March 19th
Time: 10:00am – 11:00am
Location: Co. Innovation Centre (710 Torbay Rd.)
About CAIR
The Centre for Analytics, Informatics and Research (CAIR) is Memorial University’s AI-enabled high-performance compute teaching data center, supporting research and the broader Newfoundland ecosystem with secure, large-scale AI-enabled infrastructure and technical expertise. With advanced computational power, large-scale data storage, and secure virtual environments hosted on a high-security sovereign platform, CAIR helps organizations design, build, and run digital solutions. Through discounted data service rates and access to economical, mentored, and highly skilled student developers, CAIR supports innovation that is both cost-effective and sustainable.
CAIR’s Helpdesk at COIC
CAIR’s public helpdesk at the COIC provides businesses with direct access to free technical expertise and advice, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 AM to 11 AM, offering a drop-in starting point for exploring new ideas and help to solve digital challenges.

Export Café YYT (With Jean Léger of NRC-IRAP)
2026-05-07 09:00 - 10:00 (America/St_Johns)
Are you an export-ready SME? Seeking R&D? Intrigued by global commercialization? All of the above? Join us for the second Export Café YYT Session, hosted by the Trade Commissioner Service, featuring special guest Jean Léger of NRC-IRAP.
Global trade is changing rapidly, and it can be hard to keep up. The Trade Commissioner Service and Government of Canada partners at the frontlines to help you navigate through this evolving landscape. Join your local St. John’s-based Trade Commissioners, along with Special guest Jean Léger from the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program at Export Café YYT. Jean will speak about NRC-IRAP’s international programming, and how they support companies with international R&D partnerships.
Export Café YYT is a bi-monthly drop-in session hosted by the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) in collaboration with Co. Innovation Centre. These sessions are designed to help Newfoundland and Labrador export-ready companies explore, prepare for, and grow in international markets. We can help refine your international business strategy, leverage our extensive network of Trade Commissioners around the world, and dive into TCS programs and services.
If your company is growth-stage, R&D-active, or ready to take your product or service global, this session was built for you.

Mitacs: From Academia to Field
2026-05-14 09:00 - 11:00 (America/St_Johns)
Mitacs can help solve challenges in Defence, Mining, Energy, and Oceans. Stop by COIC on May 14th to discover more.
Mitacs joins COIC to chat about all things related to their program offerings. Dipesh and Heidi will provide an overview of Mitacs programs that help businesses access top-tier research talent, secure funding, and accelerate innovation through industry-academic collaboration. Attendees will learn how to advance R&D projects, reduce risk, and build long-term innovation capacity, along with a clear understanding of program structures, eligibility, and how to get started.
ABOUT MITACS
For over 25 years, Mitacs has connected industry, academia, and global partners to address real-world challenges and build a stronger innovation economy. We support business–academic collaboration through co-funded research internships that provide organizations with access to highly skilled students and postdoctoral fellows.
By enhancing research capacity, de-risking R&D, and supporting commercialization, Mitacs helps businesses turn ideas into market-ready solutions. Our talent-first approach enables organizations to innovate faster, grow strategically, and compete on a global scale.

MEET THE SPEAKERS
Heidi Crummell: Heidi is a Mitacs Advisor for Newfoundland and Labrador. In her role, she supports collaborative research partnerships between industry and post-secondary institutions, helping organizations connect with academic expertise and applied research talent to advance their innovation goals. Prior to joining Mitacs, Heidi worked across innovation, entrepreneurship, and policy environments, supporting business development and startup initiatives, as well as contributing to roles within government. She has also worked in academia supporting teaching and applied learning in business and technology innovation. Heidi holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Memorial University of Newfoundland and a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick.
Dipesh Maharjan: Dipesh is the second Mitacs Advisor for NL and comes with a background in mechanical engineering and project management. As a licensed professional engineer with PEGNL and a former Mitacs intern himself, he strives to create similar internship opportunities for students wanting to pursue graduate and undergraduate studies in the province. In his role as the Mitacs Advisor, he works closely with the community and industry partners in the province, helping them build collaborative projects with academic researchers at MUN and CNA by leveraging Mitacs programs and available funding opportunities.
