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Ryerson Digital Media Zone

Company type	Business incubator
Industry	Experiential Learning
Founded	April 7, 2010
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Key people	Sheldon Levy, Valerie Fox, Hossein Rahnama
Website	digitalmediazone.ryerson.ca

The Digital Media Zone (DMZ) is Ryerson University's hub of digital media innovation and experiential learning. Located at the corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets in Toronto, Ontario, it is a Canadian business incubator and startup accelerator, providing its researchers and entrepreneurs with overhead, business services, mentoring, access to funding and a network of contacts. Members within the DMZ can develop digital technology, accelerate product launches and contribute to Canada’s growing success in the digital economy. ^[1]

History

In his March 2009 address to the Empire Club of Canada, Ryerson University president Sheldon Levy announced his intention to make digital media a top priority for the university and a driver of the university’s innovation and city building agendas. ^[2] On April 7th, 2010, the Digital Media Zone was instituted. ^[3]

On December 15, 2010, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty toured the DMZ, meeting with ARB Labs, EDGE Lab and Flybits. The premier held his daily media availability session in the DMZ to showcase the success of bringing education and innovation together to create business and jobs. ^[4]

On January 26, 2011, the Government of Canada officially designated 2011 as the Year of the Entrepreneur at the Digital Media Zone. The Honourable Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance) and the Honourable Rob Moore, Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism) announced the official designation on the Prime Minister’s behalf. ^[5]

In February 2011, the DMZ expanded to a second level of new workspace within its downtown hub to meet the demand to accommodate more entrepreneurs and startups. ^[6]

In April 2012, the DMZ expanded to a third level of new workspace. With this addition of 5,300 square feet, creating a total of 16,400 square feet of space for the incubator, the Digital Media Zone had almost tripled in size since it opened in 2010. ^[7]

On May 22, 2012, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales visited the DMZ as part of the 2012 Royal Tour to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Premier Dalton McGuinty and Ryerson President Sheldon Levy escorted Prince Charles through the DMZ, where he greeted Ryerson staff and chatted with teams about their latest innovations and projects. Prince Charles met with Bionik Labs, a medical engineering research and development corporation, 500px, a photography website and iPad app, Greengage, a sustainability smartphone app, and Flybits, a Canadian leader in context-aware computing. ^[8]

As of July 2012, there have been 47 companies incubated and accelerated, more than 90 projects initiated, 484 jobs fostered and created through newly formed companies and market-driven research (plus 60 new jobs at Ryerson University), and 14 alumni companies. Furthermore, the DMZ has hosted more than 480 tours, including government delegations, captains of industry and international journalists. ^[9]

Application process

Ryerson University students, Ryerson alumni and non-Ryerson University students are welcome to apply for membership to the Digital Media Zone.

Ryerson student and alumni applicants are selected through StartMeUp Ryerson, a business startup program run by Ryerson’s award-winning Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), and a committee of industry leaders, faculty experts, peers and mentors. Applicants with no prior Ryerson affiliation present to the Digital Media Zone Steering Committee for consideration. ^[10]

Program

Entrepreneurs accepted into Ryerson's Digital Media Zone are from diverse academic disciplines, backgrounds and business stages. The DMZ is available to all entrepreneurs exploring digital media and technology, not just those affiliated with Ryerson University. Applications are considered from those who present a unique idea that has commercial or social value, as well as a comprehensive business plan demonstrating feasibility and entrepreneurial capability. The DMZ's program structure is flexible and inclusive. Companies can enter at different stages through a variety of supported pathways. They can remain and grow through rental agreements until they feel ready to move on. Equity exchanges for eligible companies are optional.

The DMZ operates using a four-prong model:

• Educate: The Digital Specialization (DS) Program, offered by Ryerson University, teaches digital skills to students who receive academic credit in the areas of business and social innovation.
• Ideate: StartMeUp Ryerson offers the service of helping budding entrepreneurs come up with and document a viable business idea.
• Incubate: Startups in the DMZ Incubation Program focus on validating their business model, R&D, iterating on their prototype, seeking out pilot customers and isolating the market for their product. The DMZ Incubation Program is a semi-structured 4-month program with an optional additional 8 months where fees may apply. Payment details are determined primarily by team size, with possible options for equity exchanges or in kind contributions.
• Accelerate: The Acceleration Program consists of a three-phased structured program ranging from 6 to 18 months with equity funding available. ^[11]

Research and development

The DMZ is home to several affiliate labs where researchers at all stages of their post-secondary career collaborate with industry partners to solve authentic business problems. Current research teams include Flybits, which specializes in pushing cloud-based information to users based on location, activity and user profiles, as well as EDGE Lab, a multi-disciplinary research lab devoted to the study of learning, play and social innovation. ^{[12] [13]}

Current Ryerson Digital Media Zone teams

• ARB Labs
• Bionik Laboratories
• EatSleepRIDE
• Electric Courage
• Fanfare
• Flybits
• Greengage
• HireWinston
• Hitsend
• HugeMonster
• Jobdeals
• Komodo OpenLab
• Kytephone
• Peytec
• Phosphorus Media
• Professor Pass
• realSociable
• Screen Goddess
• Sojo
• Sound Selecta
• Spenz
• StackRocket
• Tactile Audio Displays
• Tapgage
• Three Red Cubes
• Tiny Hearts
• unBrokr
• Unhaggle
• unRealty
• Venngage
• Viafoura
• Virtual Next
• WhatImWear.in
• WhoPlusYou

Notable Ryerson Digital Media Zone alumni

• 500px
• Bright Bunny
• Burstn
• Crowdfield
• Finizi
• Kela Medical Inc
• LeanIn
• ReadyChat
• Scanly
• Shape Collage
• StackRocket
• Teamsave
• Vitalhub

References

Valerie Fox

Valerie Fox (born 1954) is an executive director, creative director and professional coach. She is known for her work at IBM Canada, as well as for developing and founding the Ryerson Digital Media Zone (DMZ), a multidisciplinary workspace, business incubator and startup accelerator for digital media businesses. She is principally responsible for making industry and institutional connections, and for bringing partnerships and collaboration to the DMZ. She holds multiple patents, including one for the concept of the “Universal Shopping Cart” and four patents for the “Synchronized Multi-Tablet Internet/TV System.” ^[1]

Career

Valerie began her career at IBM Canada in 1993 where she was the National Practice Lead of User Experience Design. In 1999, she worked as the Creative Director for the Official Sydney Olympics website. In 2004, she became a Professional and Executive Coach. In 2006, after leaving IBM Canada, Valerie began her career at Ryerson University, becoming the Director of Innovative Technology Solutions. In April of 2010, she founded the Ryerson Digital Media Zone. ^[2]

Awards and recognition

Valerie received the Outstanding Achievement award for her role on the IBM Executive Design Consultancy Board, as well as an Award of Excellence for the Sydney Olympics website design. In 2012, Valerie received the prestigious Canadian Women in Technology (CanWIT) Sara Kirke Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, provided by the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATAAlliance). ^[3]

References

Hossein Rahnama

Hossein Rahnama (born 1980) is an academic entrepreneur and an innovator. His research interests are in the field of context aware computing, ambient intelligence and the emergence of Internet of Things. His work in applying the principles of context aware computing is recognized in the field. He is the research and innovation director of the Ryerson Digital Media Zone (DMZ) where he leads the DMZ’s market-driven research and academic programs. He is also the founder of the MaRS Innovation spin-off company Flybits, which has brought the concepts of context aware computing to market. ^[1] Hossein has more than 15 publications and patents on ubiquitous and pervasive computing. ^[2] In 2012, Hossein was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the RTA School of Media at Ryerson University.

Career

As an undergraduate student at Ryerson University, Hossein began his career at Rogers Communications as a wireless applications developer in 2000 under the supervision of Brad Fortner. In 2003, he worked at Alpha Global Labs as a software and knowledge engineer working on medical expert systems and the applicability of mobile devices in medical settings. Prior to his doctoral studies at Ryerson, Hossein was a mobile applications architect at Primus Telecommunications Europe in London, England. From 2007 to 2010, Hossein served as the Vice President of Research and Innovation at Appear Networks located in Kista, Sweden where he participated in a successful European Research Project (MUSIC). In 2009, Hossein completed his doctoral studies at Ryerson and in 2010, he became the research director at the Ryerson Digital Media Zone. ^[3]

Under Hossein’s direction, the DMZ’s Research and Innovation team has completed more than 16 funded projects and deployed large-scale projects internationally. Hossein is an advocate of experiential learning and is interested in involving undergraduate students in research and innovation projects from early stages of their careers. Hossein has supervised more than 21 students as of 2012.

Awards and recognition

• ORION Innovation Award 2011
• Isadore Sharp Award for Outstanding Recent Graduate 2011
• Selected as Ryerson University's Top 30 Under 30, 2009 ^[4]
• Selected by Royal Canadian Institute as one of Canada's 25 most influential scientists for 2009
• Ontario Centers of Excellence International Scholarship 2008
• Semi Finalist for Harvard Business School's 2008 Business Plan Competition
• Apple Computers student scholarship at WWDC 2007, 2008
• Ryerson NSERC Innovation Challenge Award 2007
• Best Research Seminar Award – Department of Electrical Engineering, Ryerson University 2007
• Nomination for Canada’s 2006 Governor General Gold Medal Award

References