The Banting and Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is an initiative of the University of Toronto which facilitates business mentorship and the development of commercially viable innovations. The goal of the Centre is to foster startup companies by supporting new ideas as they are developed and then during the incubation phase on through commercialization."Security is Only a Heartbeat Away". Government Security, December 26, 2012"Bionym: Software that gets to the heart of computer security". Phys.org, December 21, 2012 by Dominic Ali
History The centre was launched in September 2012,Council of Ontario Universities - University in the Banting and Best buildings on College Street, Toronto. The 50,000 square foot Centre was named after Frederick Banting and Charles Best, co-discoverers of insulin, a treatment for diabetes developed in 1921.
The Centre, managed by the University of Toronto, set up facilities to foster collaborative work between students, faculty and private enterprise by providing office space, courses and equipment."Science-class dropout starts world-beating website for researchers". The Globe and Mail, James Christie, November 19, 2012." Unleashing entrepreneurial dreams". Toronto Sun, May 13, 2015. LINDA WHITE The centre has also provided jobs for students and recent graduates of the university."A clean, cost-effective solution for the fishing industry". Technology Org, October 10, 2013.
Soon after its establishment, the centre began raising money from private investors to fund startup companies. During the first year about $23 million was raised."Turn academic research into commercial success, business study says". Dave Hall. January 31, 2013. As of 2016, the centre operates nine business accelerators." Toronto’s tech startup scene in a ‘blossom state’". Shane Dingman The Globe and Mail, February 14, 2016.
References
External links Banting and Best Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship | University of Toronto