Thousands of people from around the world are attending Inventures 2023, a three-day event being held Calgary’s Telus Convention Centre.
“This is Alberta’s window to the world and the world’s window to Alberta,” says CEO of Alberta Innovates, Laura Kilcrease. She says it’s a place where investors and inventors, global thinkers and speakers can converge under one roof.
From solutions in healthcare to advancements in AI, to virtual reality applications in business, Kilcrease says there’s something for everyone at the conference.
“Come welcome our friends from afar. They’re the people we want to do business with and we truly want to make them friends in this new economy,” she said.
An impressive list of keynote speakers included Duncan Wardle, a man with 30 years experience with the Walt Disney Company, who kicked off the event Wednesday morning with a speech discussing the theory of creativity.
There are also countless display booths of companies showing off their solutions to problems. One such company uses specialized cameras that can measure the body’s movements, key for patients in rural communities undergoing physical rehab who have trouble accessing traditional therapists. There’s also dementia detection technology and robotic prosthetics. The list is endless.
The conference is also an economic driver for the emerging economy.
“The last time we measured the outcome of this conference prepandemic, which was only our second year, $246 million dollars came from the connections that were made at this conference within the first year. That’s not bad,” Kilcase said with a smile.
The goal is to surpass that number this year.
For more information on Inventures 2023 and a full list of speakers, go to: Inventurescanada.com