Governor General kick off successful Ontario Centres of Excellence conference

Governor General David Johnston opened the Ontario Centre of Excellence's Discovery 2014 conference May 12th with a compelling perspective on what makes Canada so innovative and why this country must embrace collaboration in all its forms and across borders to build upon a strong base of scientific excellence and education.

From describing Genghis Khan as the founder of the industrial revolution to dismissing concerns over brain drain, Johnston offered his take on innovation and what's required to succeed in the 21st Century.

On Genghis Khan and his success in establishing the Mongol Empire, he said a hallmark of the emperor's conquests was the decision to leave intact the language, religion and trade practices of those he conquered — actions Johnston contended facilitated the dissemination of knowledge, ideas and new technologies across the Asia and Western Europe.

Johnston tied the concept of Khan as an agent of innovation to the presence of large numbers of Canadians in California — a state Johnston recently visited that's home to six of the world's top universities and where nearly one million Canadian expatriates live and work.

"We must continue to support discovery in all its forms. Innovation is an ecosystem … It's not push and it's not pull. It's very messy," said Johnston. "I don't worry much about brain drain. Brain brainers are ambassadors for Canada."

The number one issue, facing Canadian innovation is financing compounded by complacency, said Johnston.

On the other hand, Canada's greatest strengths are collaboration, an education system that's freely or affordably accessible, the combination of accessible education and excellence and an inclusive approach to its citizens regardless of culture or language.

California dreaming?

California figured prominently throughout Discovery 2014, which attracted more than 2,600 participants and 425 exhibitors spanning the entire innovation spectrum. A highlight was a tag team presentation by two executives from Singularity University (SU) — a technology-based private institution located at the NASA Research Park near Mountain View CA.

Founding executive director Salim Ismail described SU's sole focus as accelerating technology development and harnessing the resulting exponential change. Ismail said that eight breakthrough technologies are emerging simultaneously — from cell phones and drones to robotics, 3D printers and genomics — challenging the moral and ethical precepts upon which our society is constructed.

"We're two years away from a real wooly mammoth ... The cost of robotics is dropping 50% a year ...The US 4th ammendment — privacy — is being wiped out. Technology companies spend more on litigation that R&D," said Ismail. "Society is not ready for the impending changes. A fundamental re-think and re-evaluation is required."

Brad Templeton, SU's chair of networks and computing, focused on the emergence of the driverless car and the impact it will have on the North American way of life. Templeton said robocars will be available for purchase by 2020, creating a social upheaval he described as "Moore's law comes to transportation".

Another speaker video linked from California was Steve Blank, a serial-entrepreneur and academic best known for his writing on the scalable or lean start-up. Blank said his focus on business modelling, customer development and "minimum viable product" allows entrepreneurs to learn from failure and successfully pivot towards other opportunities.

"Entrepreneurship is a violent act, closer to hockey than anything else," said Blank. "The massive disadvantage if you're Canadian is you're way too nice and I'm only being half facetious."

R$