Dr. Tim Walzak
Dr. Tim Walzak
Dr. Tim Walzak – BC Regional Innovation Chair in Sport Technology, Director Sport Innovation Centre and the Director of Camosun Innovates, Camosun College
Speech Information
Title: The Response of Post-Secondary Education to the Disruptive Technology Push/Pull
Abstract: The rapidly changing face of technological innovation requires a new response from Canada’s post-secondary education system. The system changes will need to include a closer working collaboration with industry, a more cohesive approach to interdisciplinary curriculum to insure that our graduates are being given the skills they need and a more rapid deployment of updated curriculum. The new response will also have to include opportunities to re-train existing employees to insure a productive workforce for Canadian companies. This presentation will include examples of the disruptive technologies and discuss possible models for post-secondary industry collaboration.
Bio
Dr. Walzak has been active in the Canadian research and technology community for more than thirty years. At the present time Dr. Walzak is the Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF) BC Regional Innovation Chair in Sport Technology at Camosun College in Victoria BC, where he was responsible for the establishment of a Sport Innovation Centre in partnership with Canadian Sport Institute Pacific at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence. Dr. Walzak is also the Director of Camosun Innovates, facilitating the expansion of applied research capacity at the college.From September 1998 to November 2007, Dr. Walzak was the President and CEO of the University of Victoria Innovation and Development Corporation (IDC), the technology transfer office for UVic. More than twelve years of direct experience in developing models to transfer university research to the private sector has allowed Dr. Walzak to establish leadership credentials in a wide range of innovation related activities including basic research, experimental design, development of applications and prototypes, protection of intellectual property, identification of commercialization opportunities and establishment of spin-off companies in a broad range of science and technology areas. With more than twenty years of working at the interface between research and commercialization he has developed an extensive working knowledge of federal funding mechanisms, most notably NSERC, CFI, NRC IRAP and WED, and has facilitated more than 300 successful partnerships between universities, industry and governments.
Prior to IDC, Dr. Walzak worked at the University of Western Ontario for eleven years. His last position was Director of the Industry Liaison Office and the UWO Research Park. He also spent eight years as Assistant Director and Research Engineer for Surface Science Western, specializing in corrosion, surface coatings and electronic materials. Previous industrial experience includes engineering positions with IBM and Dofasco Steel.
In the area of early stage company formation, Dr. Walzak has been a partner and founder of a technology consulting business and an instrument manufacturing company. Dr. Walzak has now been actively involved in more than 45 companies started from university-based research activities. He is currently the Chair of the National Research Advisory Committee for the College and Institutes Canada, member of the NSERC Pacific Advisory Board, and Board member for the Consortium for Aerospace Research and Innovation in Canada (CARIC). He is also past member of the NSERC National Committee on Partnerships, past Chair of the Westlink Innovation Network, a past Board member for BC Innovation Council, and past Chair of the Board of the Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Centre (VIATeC).