Waterloo (Ontario), CANADA, Wednesday September 17, 2014 – The Accelerator Centre® (AC), an award-winning centre for the cultivation of technology entrepreneurship located in Waterloo, Ontario, announced today it has entered into a five-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the University of Wollongong to provide programming and mentorship to iAccelerate, a University of Wollongong initiative aimed at helping young technology companies and entrepreneurs achieve sustainable business growth in the Australian start-up landscape.
The MOU sets out the terms on which the Accelerator Centre team in Waterloo will collaborate with the University of Wollongong to further develop iAccelerate serving Australia’s greater Illawarra Community, and provides iAccelerate with full access to the Accelerator Centre’s world-class programming and methodologies, as well as deepens the ongoing knowledge sharing between Accelerator Centre and iAccelerate staff and each organization’s in-house team of mentors.
The agreement between the two accelerators further enriches a longstanding commitment between the University of Waterloo and the University of Wollongong. University of Waterloo currently offers study abroad opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students with the Australian University.
“We have long admired the entrepreneurial spirit and technology ecosystem in Waterloo Region, with UW as its centerpiece,” says Elizabeth Eastland, CEO of iAccelerate and Director of Innovation and Commercialization Research, University of Wollongong. “We are incredibly excited that discussions with the AC team, which began a few years back, have now culminated in this agreement. The opportunity to leverage the AC’s world-class programming and learn from the team’s hands-on experience in building great companies is truly wonderful, and will allow us to fast track program delivery, establish iAccelerate as a peer and partner in the global incubation market, and ultimately develop new opportunities for start-up success in our own country.”
“We warmly welcome the University of Wollongong and iAccelerate into our now global, growing Accelerator Centre family,” says Paul Salvini, CEO of the Accelerator Centre. “This agreement allows both sides to learn and share our respective knowledge while working together to create a compelling worldwide environment for sustainable business success.”
2014 AC Client Showcase
Join clients, graduates and staff of the AC, various partners and dignitaries from the Waterloo Region for the AC’s 2014 Showcase, taking place 4-7 PM on Wednesday, September 17, 2014. Elizabeth Eastland, CEO of iAccelerate will be in Waterloo for the event and will deliver a keynote address at the event speaking to the continuing relationship forged with the AC. The event will introduce more than 40 AC clients, and provide guests with the opportunity to discover more about their entrepreneurial determination, and the products and services that are driving them towards commercialization at the AC.
About the Accelerator Centre
The Accelerator Centre® (AC) is dedicated to building and commercializing technology start-ups. The AC provides an essential combination of mentorship, educational programming, professional office space, networking, and access to funding, with a goal of building successful companies. Over a two- to three-year period, we help entrepreneurs move from start-up to scale-up, accelerate their time to market, and attract customers, investment and revenue.
Since 2006, the Accelerator Centre has developed and nurtured over 130 early-stage technology start-ups, creating 1100+ new jobs and generating over $120 million in revenue. Forty companies have graduated from the Accelerator Centre, and more than 85 percent of these companies have remained in Waterloo Region. For more information visit www.acceleratorcentre.com.
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For further information, please contact:
Ellyn Winters-Robinson
Communications Mentor/Advisor
Accelerator Centre
Cell: (519) 574-2196
E-mail: ewinters-robinson@acceleratorcentre.com