Where the Magic Will Happen
A new facility in downtown Toronto will
bring together researchers and the people
who can take their ideas to the market.

“If you believe that the future of science is about the disciplines of life sciences and IT and nanotech all coming together, this is where the magic will happen.” Dr. Ilse Treurnicht is talking about MaRS, a unique new 1.5 million-square-foot complex being built in the heart of downtown Toronto. Dr. Treurnicht is the CEO.

MaRS will bring together world class researchers from an unprecedented range of disciplines, providing them with state-of-the-art lab space. But this convergence of research is part of a larger vision. The four-building cluster will also provide space for new businesses based on cutting edge research, as well as offices for venture capital firms. The Ontario Innovation Trust is funding, in part, an applied research laboratory and a collaboration centre for meetings of up to 300.

“The physical infrastructure of MaRS,” Dr. Treurnicht explains, “gives us the opportunity to bring these three communities of science, business and capital together on a daily basis so they can interact.” A comprehensive suite of programs and services will foster and support the networking process, which promises to make the often rocky path from idea to a commercial application much smoother.

MaRS is also building connections with most of the major research centres elsewhere in the province, allowing it to serve as what Dr. Treurnicht calls “a single window on the Ontario research and commercialization landscape.” If a venture capital firm from Boston or Shanghai comes to Ontario looking to invest, MaRS will provide a one-stop source of information and introductions.

The facility, however, is as much about attracting talent as it is about attracting investment. The global contest for top-tier talent in science and business is fierce, and MaRS will give Ontario a major advantage. The critical mass of quality personnel already gathering at MaRS will attract others—and the facility’s location at the centre of a highly creative and multicultural city will also be a draw.

Connecting innovation and commercialization is key if Ontario is to stay competitive in the new global information economy. “We have tremendous research strength,” Dr. Treurnicht maintains, “but we have to become more effective at commercializing that research and building a new generation of companies. And that’s what MaRS is attempting to do.”

Project: MaRS
Institution: Explorer Research Institute
Trust Investment: $10,000,000
Total research investment
from all sources: $25,000,000

 
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• ability to attract world-class researchers who strengthen communities and educational institutions
• ability to draw high-level investment to Ontario, leading to economic growth
• support for companies developing a variety of valuable products and services
• jobs and prosperity in the future by strengthening Ontario’s leadership in many sectors of the global knowledge economy
A trust endowed by the
Ontario Government
 
Last revised: 3 /31 /11