Partner, Patent or Launch? Finding Your Path With Innovation UBC: Supports, Stories and What's New for Okanagan Researchers
November 19, 2026 | 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. | UNC 200
By the end of this session, researchers will be able to:
- Describe what Innovation UBC is and the main ways it supports researchers, including sponsored research, inventions and licensing, entrepreneurship and ventures, and partnerships.
- Recognize key moments in their research when it makes sense to connect with Innovation UBC, and know how to reach the right team.
- Identify examples of ways Okanagan researchers have worked with Innovation UBC to move their research toward real-world impact.
- Outline the new supports, resources and initiatives available to the Okanagan research community.
- Anticipate upcoming improvements and initiatives, and how these may benefit their work.
- Share questions, experiences and feedback that help shape how Innovation UBC supports the Okanagan community.
The session opens by gauging how familiar researchers are with Innovation UBC, using a short live poll. The results shape the overview that follows, so newcomers get the foundations and those who’ve worked with us hear more about what’s new.
We’ll then introduce Innovation UBC, its units, and the work and processes each unit manages, using examples and case studies from the Okanagan to show how we work with researchers. We’ll also share updates and new initiatives launched over the past year.
Next, researchers choose the small working group that best fits where they are and the questions they have:
- Working with external partners: For researchers looking to collaborate with industry, government or community partners and wanting to understand how to formalize sponsored research relationships.
- Commercializing an invention: For researchers who want to understand the commercialization process and how to work with our office to evaluate and commercialize an invention.
- Exploring entrepreneurship: For researchers interested in building a spin-off company or encouraging their students and teams to think more entrepreneurially.
Each group is led by an Innovation UBC team member from the relevant unit and gives researchers space to ask questions, share experiences and discuss next steps specific to their situation.
To close, we bring everyone back together to share key resources and supports (including Guide to Navigating Sponsored Research, Researcher’s Guide to Commercialization, Office Hours, etc.), and how to connect with our office. The session ends with an open Q&A, where researchers can ask any remaining questions about Innovation UBC and our work. Researchers leave knowing who to contact and what their next steps could be.
Facilitators (in alphabetical order by last name):
Paul Cyr
Paul is a senior manager, Technology Transfer at Innovation UBC where he works with researchers, industry partners and other stakeholders to facilitate the commercialization of innovations arising from UBC research. His work involves all aspects of technology transfer, including technology evaluation, market assessment, IP strategy and management, licensing transactions and spin-off company formation. With more than 20 years of experience, he has managed technologies from all areas of the physical sciences, with a specialization in climatech/cleantech, and has served as an observer on the board of several UBC spin-off companies.
Lynn Jennifer Kulli
Lynn works at Innovation UBC, where she runs entrepreneurship programs that help researchers at the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses turn their inventions into startups, with support from mentors and entrepreneurs in residence. Before that, she worked in product management in a high-growth environment in Europe, supported ventures behind the scenes at two incubators, and spent time at a cleantech unicorn that eventually failed, where she learned firsthand how fragile rapid scaling can be. That experience drives her work today: co-creating programs and support systems that give researchers and founders the confidence to act boldly.
Andrea Lloyd
Andrea is head of engagement at Innovation UBC. As a member of the entrepreneurship and venture-building team since 2015, Andrea brings her wide knowledge of the UBC community to support collaborations and partnerships across campus. Prior to joining Innovation UBC, she led the genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC program, a program aimed to assist genomics researchers in translating their innovative discoveries out of the lab through knowledge mobilization and commercialization strategies. Andrea also has more than 10 years experience as an instructor and course designer with the Faculty of Management at Royal Roads University, where she specialized in global management, sustainability and business, and creative problem solving.
James McCartney
James is an industry project officer with Innovation UBC, based at the Okanagan campus, where he helps researchers protect and commercialize their innovations. His work includes intellectual property strategy, patent protection, licensing, industry partnerships and supporting researchers interested in creating spinout companies. He brings industry-informed perspectives shaped by his experience running startups and participating in technology and commercialization assistance programs. James enjoys learning about new research, identifying potential applications and helping researchers connect with the people, resources and opportunities that can move their ideas forward.
Smruti Savkur
Smruti is an engagement manager at Innovation UBC, where she brings her expertise in design thinking and project management to initiatives that improve how Innovation UBC supports researchers. Her work spans each of Innovation UBC’s teams, with a focus on improving awareness, understanding and processes to create better researcher experiences across intellectual property, sponsored research and entrepreneurship support. Smruti holds an MBA from the UBC Sauder School of Business. Before joining Innovation UBC in 2023, she spent six years working at the intersection of entrepreneurship and social impact, including co-founding a social enterprise in early childhood education.