The Queen's Partnerships and Innovation (QPI) team supports the University’s strategic goal to build community partnerships and fully embed Queen’s in the community. QPI contributes to the building of deliberate, strategic, respectful, and mutually beneficial engagement with communities outside the University, including Kingston, the region, other organizations and institutions, and national and global networks that share our goals.
A few QPI programs have closed or evolved into new programming for researchers, entrepreneurs, startups and/or small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Choose from the options below to explore past programs.
Please contact us if you have interest in learning more about these programs.
Researchers, Faculty, Departments and Research Centres
The Technology Development Pilot program was made possible with funding from the Office of the Vice-Principal, Research (VPR) and was aimed at advancing selected inventions with commercial potential to position them for other funding opportunities and make them attractive to potential licensees or investors.
Visit the Technology Development Pilot program page for more information.
Technology Entrepreneurs, Startups and SMEs
The Growth Acceleration program was QPI's three-month acceleration program for post revenue startups and SMEs poised to grow.
For more information about the program, please visit our Growth Acceleration program page.
The Growth Accelerator Health and Health Innovation Bootcamp was a program consisting of three half-day sessions, delivered virtually, and designed to give Health and Health Innovation companies the guidance and tools needed to build a growth strategy.
Download the Growth Accelerator Health and Health Innovation Bootcamp PDF brochure (1.9 MB)
Women Entrepreneurs
This program was open to Kingston area woman entrepreneurs who were looking to grow their business. Meeting one-on-one with the WE-CAN Project Manager, WE-CAN clients created a focused Growth Plan to help move their business forward.
This program was available for women entrepreneurs in a technology sector, women entrepreneurs who identified as Indigenous and women entrepreneurs from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.
The WE-CAN Masterminds ran twice per year (June – December and January – June). There were two Mastermind groups: one for companies in the early stage of business (1-2 years) and one for those in the growth stage of their business (3+ years). Each Mastermind was comprised of 8-10 participants.
This program was available for women entrepreneurs in a technology sector, women entrepreneurs who identified as Indigenous and women entrepreneurs from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.
PropelHER was a 5-person cohort, 20-week accelerator program crafted to remove the barriers to scale-up experienced by women entrepreneurs. This program recognized the unique attributes of each enterprise, and the needs of individual founders. The programs’ value proposition leveraged the synergy of group lived experience, plus individual business and personal development learnings, translated to implementation.
This program was available for women entrepreneurs in a technology sector, women entrepreneurs who identified as Indigenous and women entrepreneurs from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.
The Fast Track Exporting program was designed and delivered by the Kingston Economic Development Corp. (now Invest Kingston) for women entrepreneurs who reside in Kingston and the surrounding region. The program engaged women entrepreneurs who were seeking opportunities to scale their business through export, and facilitated customized information sessions to assist in the due diligence process to prepare for export opportunities. In addition, the program supported women entrepreneurs through the process of exporting and accessing new markets.
This program was available for women entrepreneurs in a technology sector, women entrepreneurs who identified as Indigenous and women entrepreneurs from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.
The Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneurship Mentorship program weaved entrepreneurial business principles with the traditional values and contemporary worldviews of Indigenous cultural groups in Eastern Ontario, with priority given to those who live in the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and the greater Kingston area. Both one-on-one and small group mentorship options were offered in the traditional territories of the Kanien’kehá:ka and Anishinaabe. The purpose of the mentorship program was to provide support to Indigenous women (18 years+) who are looking to start and/or grow their own business. This program was offered in Kingston and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory.
The Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneurship Workshop series provided women entrepreneurs and business owners who identify as Indigenous and reside in Eastern Ontario, with priority given to those who live in the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory and the greater Kingston area with a range of basic, intermediate and advanced entrepreneurship training and experiences. This interactive workshop series was designed to be entry-level, accessible, relevant, inclusive of Indigenous culture(s), knowledge, business intelligence and skill sets.
Led by the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (now Invest Kingston), Hire Yourself was a program designed to support women who are newcomers to Canada (last 10 years) who are interested in starting a business in Kingston. The purpose of the program was to support women newcomers in starting their own business, strengthening their entrepreneurial skillset, and supporting them in the launch of their business. Bootcamps were delivered twice per year by a specialized team. One-on-one consultation services were also available to support business launches.
This program was offered for women entrepreneurs in the greater Kingston area who were interested in starting or growing a business and who self-identify as a newcomer to Canada, including but not limited to those belonging to a visible/racialized minority, or someone with a disability.
Led by the Dunin-Deshpande Queen's Innovation Centre (DDQIC), The Hive was a year-round program for idea-stage women entrepreneurs, on a rolling admissions basis. This program provided access to space, training, networking opportunities and an interactive online platform.
This program was designed for women in the greater Kingston area, with focus on women entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups, including those who are under the age of 40, who are curious about entrepreneurship.
SparQ Studios is a makerspace and design studio that provides a wide range of tools, machinery, knowledge, and expertise so that you can bring your idea into a physical form. The Dunin-Deshpande Queen's Innovation Centre ran prototyping workshops for women entrepreneurs who are unfamiliar with working with the tools to help them be successful in the lab.