District 3 Innovation Centre
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| Industry | Startup accelerator, Education |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 2013 |
| Founder | Xavier-Henri Hervé, Sydney Swaine, Charles Gedeon, Ali Tahouni |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 2 spaces (2016) |
Key people | Xavier-Henri Hervé, Noor El Bawab |
| Website | www |
District 3 is a startup accelerator and entrepreneurial community located within Concordia University in downtown Montréal.[1][2] The 3 in the name stands for D3's founding principles: innovation, collaboration and entrepreneurship.[3] In 2016, District 3 was awarded "Startup Canada Entrepreneur Support Award" for the Quebec region. [4]
History
In 2012, before District 3 opened it's doors in spring 2013, founder Xavier Hervé was in talks with the Dean of Engineering at Concordia University who introduced him to the initial four co-founding students, Sydney Swaine, Charles Gedeon, Ali Tahouni, and Adam Castonguay.[5] D3 opened officially in the spring of 2013 on the 7th floor of Concordia University's EV Building.[3]
A little more than two years after its official opening, in September 2015, D3 relocated to a space on the 6th floor of the Faubourg building following a grant of $1M from André Desmarais and France Chrétien Desmarais.[6]
On July 11, 2017, Concordia University announced that D3 will be part of a $52.7M infrastructure project to expand the university.[7]
Spaces
District 3's main location is on the 6th floor of the Faubourg building and it hosts several startup, facilities, such as a makerspace[6], and events aimed at creating connections between members from different industry sectors.[8] Leading up to the $52.7M announcement by Concordia University to expand the spaces available for entrepreneurs and researchers [7], D3 announced that it is hosting a 'Biolab'[9] that will be Montréal's only freely open wetlab that is open to entrepreneurial research.[10]
Partnerships
IBM Watson AI XPrize
In January 2016, District 3 started hosting teams for the IBM Watson AI XPrize competition as part of a parternship. This initiative is headed directly by Sydney Swaine.[11][12] D3 took on 12 local teams from a variety universities in Montréal to tackle subjects ranging such as health care and seismic activity.[13]
Singularity University
In 2017, D3 became the official community partner of Singularity University in Montréal[14][15], hosting the official satellite event from October 11-12, 2017.[16]
References
- ^ "About Us". About Us. District 3. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ OECD (2017). City of Talent Montreal: An Action Plan for Boosting Employment, Innovation, and Skills. Paris: OECD Publishing. p. 67. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ a b Miall, Laurence. "'District 3 is a call to action'". Concordia University. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "2016 Startup Canada Award Winners – Quebec". Startup Canada Awards. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ Leung, Vivien. "A One-Up for Start-Ups". The Link – Concordia’s Independent Newspaper Since 1980. The Link Publication Society Inc. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ a b Desjardins, Sylvain-Jacques. "District 3 receives $1M startup gift, christens new collaborative space". Concordia University. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ a b Bryan-Baynes, Elysia (July 11, 2017). "$52.7 million for innovation hub at Concordia University". Global News. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "MTL NewTech hopes Demo Nights will help entrepreneurs and researchers work together". BetaKit. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Biolab – District 3 Innovation Center". d3center.ca. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "District 3's Biolab brings new ideas from concept to market". Concordia University. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ Czikk, Joseph (28 October 2016). "District 3 brass on IBM Watson AI XPrize: rise up, Montréalers". Montreal in Technology. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Regional Partners & Ambassadors". IBM Watson A.I. XPRIZE. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Concordia's District 3 backs 12 teams for the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE". Concordia University. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Over 6000 Canadians From Coast to Coast to Join in SingularityU Canada Summit Experience". markets.businessinsider.com. Business Insider. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "SingularityU Canada Summit - Partners/Sponsors 11/12 October 2017". SingularityU Canada. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "SingularityU hopes to attract 6,000 Canadians through satellite events". BetaKit. Retrieved 11 October 2017.