From August 20-21, 2015, the CCIBD and the Ted Rogers School of Management, in conjunction with Tsinghua and Oxford Universities, were proud to host the 8th Annual Conference for the Academy of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Toronto, Canada on the topic of “Building an Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystem.” Keynote addresses included Linda Hasenfratz, Dr. Anil Gupta, Kirk Dudtschak and Michael Raynor, as well as panels on diversity in leadership and entrepreneurship, Ryerson ventures, Chinese and Canadian innovation policy and an editor’s panel. This year’s conference provided a broad platform to convene over 200 students, scholars, industry leaders and policymakers from 26 countries to present research and to stimulate discussions on critical research issues and new developments in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Other conference highlights included tours of Ryerson University’s DMZ, a 9 course authentic Chinese opening dinner and a best paper award given to Laura Pinto (Griffith University) and Levon Blue (University of Ontario Institute of Technology) for their outstanding paper on “Visions of Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Financing in Canada’s CAPE Fund: Walking the Fine Line Between Self-Determination and Colonization.” Since The AIE conference has been successfully held since 2008, and has attracted almost 2,000 participants from more than 27 countries.
