British Columbia Innovation Council

Media Release | September 24, 2010

BRITISH COLUMBIA – The brightest among BC’s emerging technology entrepreneurs and businesses were honoured last night as two distinct awards competitions were celebrated together: the 2010 BCIC Awards and the BCIC-New Ventures Competition Awards (BCIC-NVC).

The 2010 BCIC Awards

The BCIC Awards recognize the incredible achievements of BC’s technology entrepreneurs – highlighting their valuable contribution to BC’s technology community. They focus on the entrepreneurial talent of individuals as well as the commercialization potential of companies in the early stages of technology commercialization.

2010 BCIC Award Winners:

• 2010 BCIC Ripples of Hope Award for Biotechnology & Entrepreneurship - $35,000
  Dr. Rhonda Wideman, UBC’s Prevention of Organ Failure Centre of Excellence (PROOF)
  With a background in diabetes research, Dr. Wideman is collaborating with PROOF on a commercialization initiative in the biotechnology industry to discover, develop and commercialize biomarkers for Chronic Kidney disease.
  
  
• 2010 BCIC Emerging Technology Award - $25,000
  DuVax, Mr. Barry Duplantis and Mr. Neil Duplantis
  DuVax is developing a synthetic biology technology for use in bacterial reagents and vaccines. The award will be used for commercialization activities as the team drives DuVax to become a leader in the production of both human and animal vaccines.
  
  
• 2010 BCIC Entrepreneurship Fellow Award - $25,000
  Dr. Bozena Kaminska, SFU Professor, Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Wireless Sensor Networks
  A respected academic, electrical engineer and inventor, Dr. Kaminska is also a seasoned business woman and entrepreneur. She has founded several successful companies, holds a number of patents and has trained an astounding number of students.
  

The 2010 BCIC-New Ventures Competition

The BCIC-NVC is one of North America’s largest technology business-idea competitions. The five-month competition is like a boot camp for business startups, addressing the special interests of BC’s early-stage technology companies and supports BC’s emerging technology industry.

This year New Ventures BC is celebrating its 10th anniversary and a renewed commitment from BCIC as Lead Partner of the program. Last night, it was formally announced that the annual technology business idea competition will now be called the BCIC-New Ventures Competition (formerly the New Ventures BC Competition) in recognition of BCIC’s continued support in the delivery of the program each year.

“Thanks to BCIC’s strong support, the BCIC-New Ventures Competition will be able to offer more programming and resources to participants, particularly those in the regions,” says Steven Lukas, a partner with Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP and chair of NVBC’s board of directors, which operates the competition. “BCIC’s commitment of this competition is instrumental in supporting BC technology companies from concept to commercialization.”

BCIC-New Ventures Competition Winners:

• $123,000 BCIC first-prize package
  Hiretheworld.com - Hiretheworld.com makes it easy and inexpensive for new to midsized businesses to find, employ, manage and pay an on-demand geographically dispersed workforce.
  
  
• $65,000 BCIC second-prize package
  SOLEGEAR Bioplastics Inc. - SOLEGEAR is revolutionizing the plastics industry with two new high-performance bioplastics: Polysole and Traverse. Polysole is a 100 per cent natural, non-toxic and biodegradable while Traverse is made of recycled or virgin plastic combined with natural fibers such as wood, rice husks, hemp or bamboo.
  
  
• $38,000 BCIC third-prize package
  Quadrogen Power Systems – Quadrogen’s new Integrated Biogas Clean-Up System (IBCS) removes the contaminants found in biogas, which is created from the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter such as sewage, manure and green waste.
  

The following additional prizes acknowledging sustainability, economic impact and bioenergy solutions:

• $40,000 BC Hydro Sustainability prize - SOLEGEAR Bioplastics Inc.
• $20,000 BC Bioenergy Network prize - Quadrogen Power Systems
  
• $20,000 BCIC Economic Impact prize - SOLEGEAR Bioplastics Inc.
  

The 2010 BCIC-NVC attracted more than 140 applicants. In the first time in the history of the competition, a bioenergy company took home the BC Bionenergy Network prize PLUS another prize. This is also the first time the jury has awarded three prizes to one company.

The BCIC Awards and BCIC-NVC Awards were handed out Thursday at the SFU Segal Graduate School of Business.

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Media Contact:
Lindsay Thom
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604.602.5249

About the BCIC-New Ventures Competition
The BCIC - New Ventures Competition addresses the special interests of BC’s early-stage tech companies and supports BC’s emerging technology industry. It is operated by the non-profit BC Ventures Society and sponsored by both the public and private sectors. www.newventuresbc.com

About BCIC
BCIC develops entrepreneurial talent and commercializes technology through startup companies and partnerships between industry and academia. BCIC focuses on competitively positioning British Columbia in today’s global knowledge economy in order to provide significant employment opportunities and a high standard of living for British Columbians. For more information about BCIC, visit www.bcic.ca.