350 Students From Across Canada To Attend Trent University’s 2nd Annual Hackathon

Electric City Hacks is back and bigger than ever. More than 350 post-secondary students from across the country, including students from local area high schools, are expected to attend Peterborough’s only hackathon, which will return to Trent University on November 3rd to 5th.
 
Founded in 2016 by four Trent University Computer Science and Information Systems students, Electric City Hacks or “ECHacks” offers post-secondary students the opportunity to put their coding knowledge to the test by creating an original hack, gadget or app from scratch in less than 37 hours.

Photo courtesy Innovation Cluster

This year’s hackathon will consist of multiple categories such as “Best Green Hack”, “Agriculture Hack”, “Adventure Hack” and more, to encourage participants to create with a specific purpose in mind. Prizes will be awarded to the top team in each category Sunday afternoon.

In between hacking, participants can also look forward to a morning hike around the Trent nature areas, campus tours and yoga classes, as well as a taste of Peterborough’s downtown with meals provided all weekend by local vendors and restaurants.

Photo courtesy Innovation Cluster

The Innovation Cluster is a sponsor this year:

“We are extremely excited to support the second annual Electric City Hacks at Trent University,” says Michael Skinner, President & CEO of the Innovation Cluster. “This hackathon will be a great opportunity for students to expose talent, grow, recruit and bring new innovative companies to Peterborough.”

Photo courtesy Innovation Cluster

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St. Patrick CES To Host Catholic Board Robotics Competition

Design, check. Coding, check. Math, check. Problem solving, check. Team work, check. Fun, check.

The annual Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board Robotics Competition at St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough will have it all as they host 16 teams from six schools on November 9th, competing in three robotics challenges from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Photo from last year's competition

Participants will compete with Lego Mindstorms robots, which will be built before the competition, and students will be given time between competitions to upgrade robots as needed.

“This event inspires students to work together to solve problems in real time, while competing in a fun, good-spirited competition,” St. Patrick CES principal Karan Leal says. “Students design, program and code their own robots. They learn great STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills and we tend to get as many girls participating as boys, which is really promising to see.”

THE MAZE CHALLENGE

This challenge is to successfully finish the maze within two minutes. A robot must be able to navigate a maze from start to finish using either its touch or ultra-sensors. The winner will be the robot that makes it the farthest or finishes the maze the fastest.

THE HOCKEY CHALLENGE

Teams will create two robots that can move or hit a ball into a net. The robots will be run by a remote control. Teams will play against opponents in a round-robin format. The team that scores the most goals in the five-minute game will win. In the event of a tie, there will be a best-of-five shootout.

THE ROBOT CHALLENGE

Robots will fight for five minutes in a small arena. Robots can have any Lego battle attack strategies such as spinners, swinging arms, or shooting balls. Points will be awarded by the referee. The team wins by having the most points at the end of the five-minute match, by disabling the other robots, and/or by pushing the other robots out of the arena.

Check out this short video of last year’s Robotics Competition for a glimpse of all the excitement...

St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough hosted the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic Elementary School Robotics Competition on Tuesday, November 29, 2016. Six schools attended the tournament entering 12 teams that designed and programmed LEGO Robotics.

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Ladies Learning Code’s National Learn To Code Day Being Hosted At Innovation Cluster’s Downtown Incubator

The Innovation Cluster - Peterborough and the Kawarthas will be hosting the Peterborough region of the annual National Learn to Code Day for women interested in coding at the downtown Cube for technology startups, on Saturday, September 23rd.

Presented by Ladies Learning Code, a Canada-wide not-for-profit organization that provides resources for women and children to learn skills in technology through a social and collaborative environment, this will give the opportunity for women to learn basic skills during Learn to Code Day.

As a workshop that provides an inclusive experience to learn technological skills, Ladies Learning Code will present a beginner-friendly workshop to 30 women in the downtown Cube, as well as the same workshop being held in 29 cities across Canada.

The workshop is a public event open to any women wanting to learn or enhance their technological skills in coding and programming. Participants will gain skills and confidence while being educated in HTML, CSS, WordPress, Python, Ruby, web design and other skill-sets recommended to become digital creators.

National Girls Learning Code Day

The Innovation Cluster partnered with Ladies Learning Code in May to host National Girls Learning Code Day, a similar workshop directed towards young girls to learn basic skills in coding, in hopes to bring interest and awareness to tech-related opportunities as a career.

To register for Ladies Learning Code, click here.

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Peterborough Entrepreneur Launches Mobile App For Users To Discover Their Next Meal Based On Their Mood

Peterborough entrepreneur Sultan Moni, a student at Trent University, has launched a new app that could change the way consumers choose their next meal. Zatiq is a platform for users to discover local foods around them that will match their cravings to a meal.

Through artificial intelligence, this unique app—now available in Google Play Store and launching on the App store in August—could redefine the food and hospitality industry. A mix of inputting the user’s mood and meal preferences will allow the app to be personalized at any user’s command.

“People are always hungry but often never know what they want to eat,” says Moni. “I wanted to solve that problem since there are so many different types of meals to discover.”

Moni is based out of the Innovation Cluster’s downtown Cube in Peterborough, and combined his love for trying new meals and developing technology to create a food discovery app that can benefit anyone who wants to discover new food and find that perfect dish.

Entrepreneur Sultan Moni

“It is exciting to see a disruptive new app born in Peterborough & the Kawarthas which has the potential to be used in different markets around the world," says Michael Skinner, President & CEO of the Innovation Cluster.

With Zatiq’s leading search capabilities, there are various inputs available to find their next meal. When searching by business, user’s can browse for specific restaurants, cafés and other food hot spots. The innovative “mood” search engine lets the user find meals that will satisfy based on what they are feeling, such as happy or heartbroken. No matter what kind of day the person is having, they can find a meal fit for them.

With the ability for users to follow each other’s profiles, the app provides an interactive experience when trying new foods, allowing people to comment or like another user’s ratings, check-ins, or pictures.

Another benefit of the app is each time a user checks in to a location, points are gained. These can be redeemed as coupons, discounts, samples, offers and other deals provided by businesses. Rewards could be anything from a free coffee to a free iPhone 7.

“This app will expand even more as people in different locations download it,” says Moni. “Zatiq will allow users to add meals and locations to the app’s search list, so anyone around the world will be able to find a good meal, gain points and have fun wherever they are.”

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Girl Power: National Girls Learning Code Day Comes To Peterborough

The Innovation Cluster - Peterborough and the Kawarthas, will be hosting the Peterborough region of the 4th annual National Girls Learning Code Day at the downtown Cube. The workshop takes place Saturday, May 13th, and is for girls aged 8 to 13 and their parents.

Hosted by the Ladies Learning Code—a Canada-wide not-for-profit organization that provides resources for women and children to learn skills in technology in a social and collaborative way and develop digital literacy—it will be giving the opportunity for girls to learn coding in a welcoming environment.

During this event, the girls will work with mentors of the organization and will be introduced to basic coding technology. Using a program called Scratch, children can develop skills in graphic design, HTML, game development, programming, sound design and more by understanding code.

By participating in the workshop, it will help girls discover at an early age if they would like to pursue learning technology innovation further in their future education.

By the end of the workshop, the girls will have created from Scratch an animated, interactive story by learning basic code and design. They will each have a chance to showcase their work to the group to practice their presentation skills.

Those who participate should be at the Innovation Cluster at 1 p.m. for the three hour workshop. You can register here.

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City of Peterborough Comes On As Major Funding Partner For The Innovation Cluster

The Innovation Cluster has announced $300,000 in funding from the City of Peterborough to assist in the operational costs of the new downtown incubator devoted to innovation and technology start-ups. The expanded downtown incubator in the VentureNorth building will put Peterborough on the map as a city for start-ups to grow and succeed.

Many people are surprised to find out that the Innovation Cluster is a not-for-profit organization that does not take equity in the start-up companies that it supports—a model that many other incubators adhere to.

As a not-for-profit organization, the Innovation Cluster relies on support from its major funding partners: the Province of Ontario through the Ontario Centres of Excellence, the Peterborough Region Angel Network, Trent University, Fleming College, and now the City of Peterborough.

The funding from the City will in part be used to subsidize the open concept space for start-ups that are accepted into the Cube for a period of time, reducing the financial burden of getting started for early stage companies.

Successful applicants will forgo the significant expense of rent initially to focus on other important aspects of building a company. The funding will also help to expand the Innovation Cluster’s unique programming that is designed to sky rocket clients' businesses.

The unique and modern downtown space provides entrepreneurs with an inspiring, motivating and collaborative environment to operate their start-ups out of with full time access to mentors, advisors and hands-on workshops. The renovations of this space are expected to be completed in early February.

With more than 60 incubated and virtual client companies (and counting), two locations and only four full time staff, the Innovation Cluster is looking forward to expanding its current operations to better serve these incredible future job creators.

“This funding will allow for the Innovation Cluster to focus on what we do best and help entrepreneurs in Peterborough and the Kawarthas,” says President & CEO Michael Skinner, who is ecstatic that the City of Peterborough has joined the cause to help entrepreneurs create new high tech jobs.

In 2010, Canada had over 100 operating business incubators. In these incubators, 900 client firms raised revenues in excess of $93 million while creating full and part-time employment for more than 13,000 people. The five year survival rate for incubator clients has been reported from 75 percent to as high as 87 percent, much higher than a start-up making a go of it on their own.

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PRHC Now Offering Free Public WiFi

PRHC Hospital has just announced that they are now offering free public wireless access in public and outpatient areas of the hospital.

By July 2017, wireless internet access will be available throughout every area of the Health Centre.

Wireless internet access is now available through your laptop computer or mobile device in the following areas of the hospital: Emergency Department, Cancer Care, Dialysis, Diagnostic Imaging, Medical Outpatients, Surgical Outpatients, Outpatient Physiotherapy clinics, Outpatient Laboratory, Labour & Delivery, Women's Health Care Centre (Level 4), Cardiac Cath Lab, Outpatient waiting areas, Cafeteria, Volunteer Services, Multifaith Centre, Boardroom & meeting rooms, Public Hallways & stairwells.

For instructions on how to connect, click here.

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Look At These Renderings Of Awesome Sustainable Upgrades Fleming College Is Getting

Fleming College, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, is receiving vital and necessary upgrades to classrooms and labs at its Frost and Sutherland campuses through infrastructure funding from the federal and provincial governments.

The projects will update building areas that are original to their construction in the 1970s, and are slated to be completed by Spring 2018.

Culinary lab rendering supplied by Fleming College

The renovations provide an opportunity for Fleming to significantly improve sustainability. Renewal of the buildings’ exterior envelope, cladding and roofing—along with the installation of new lighting, mechanical and electrical systems—will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency.

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, via the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), will provide Fleming College with $6.23 million to renew its health sciences facilities at Sutherland Campus.

This will be combined with a $1.36 million contribution from the provincial government and $4.87 million in institutional funding from Fleming for a total project cost of $12,463,000.

Nursing lab rendering supplied by Fleming College

Science lab rendering supplied by Fleming College

SIF will further fund a renovation to the GeoCentre and environmental sciences area at Frost Campus. The federal government will contribute $2.26 million to that project with another $2.26 million funded by Fleming for a total cost of $4,520,500.
 
“We are pleased to welcome this funding announcement from our federal and provincial governments,” says Fleming College President Tony Tilly. “With the recent opening of the Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre and the Fleming Sport Complex, we are excited to embark on yet another project to further improve and enhance our learning spaces on campus.”  

Exterior Sutherland

Society Study Space, Sutherland campus

Renovations at the Sutherland Campus will include:

-> Renovation of eight classrooms and five labs/skills simulation centres
-> Renewal of original classrooms that have little access to daylight or views
-> Redesign of corridors and staircases that experience overcrowding, particularly in the area where students access public transportation
-> New social study areas
-> Renewal of IT infrastructure
 
 
Renovations at the Frost Campus will include:

-> Renovation and expansion of existing geoscience labs: two new geology labs, two new storage rooms, four new offices, and a realigned corridor
-> Renovation of the existing fish hatchery lab/classroom into a dedicated classroom and adding two new environmental science labs
-> The labs will feature state-of-the-art learning technologies and flexibility in design
-> A secondary entrance will be added to the east wing, along with an elevator and ramp, to improve access and circulation
-> New technology and AV infrastructure

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