+ What is imYEG?

imYEG is a program designed to facilitate the launch of successful post-secondary institution-driven and inventor-led innovations.

+ What does imYEG hope to achieve?

imYEG wants to:

• Create a culture of innovation with a focus on translational and implementable applications;
• Increase the volume and quality of innovation leaving postsecondary institutions;
• Build a strong and diverse innovation eco-system within the participating postsecondary institutions;
• Increase commercial returns stemming from participating postsecondary institution innovations;
• Create new, highly qualified personnel (HQP) jobs for graduates of participating postsecondary institution innovation, and Alberta at large;
• Increase the relevance and reputation of the participating postsecondary institution innovation within the public and private sector and with government.

+ What are the benefits of enrolling into imYEG?

The innovators will have direct access to highly experienced mentors (Council of Founders) to guide the innovators through the commercialization process. Those mentors will provide advise in regard to business, intellectual property strategy, financing, regulatory, and other areas that a typical innovation requires for a successful launch.

+ Who is running imYEG?

imYEG was designed by Brass Dome Ventures Inc. in collaboration with the University of Alberta. It is operated and run by Brass Dome Ventures Ltd.

+ What makes imYEG different from other accelerator programs?

imYEG is not an accelerator program. It is an industry-led early industry foundry, focusing on advancing academic and research-based innovations. Through the Council of Founders, which is composed of industry leaders with proven track records of success, the imYEG program provide experience-based mentorship, support, and links to other resources.

+ Is there a fee to enroll in imYEG?

imYEG is a free service to innovators from participating postsecondary institutions.

+ What are the eligibility criteria to join imYEG?

imYEG is open to innovations either discovered at or being worked on at participating post-secondary institutions. Innovations are assessed for fit to ensure that they will benefit from enrolling into the program.

To be eligible for the imYEG program, your innovation needs to meet all of the following criteria:

1. Include at least one Innovator who is currently associated to a participating post secondary institution in one of the following capacities:

   • Faculty (Professors, Instructors, etc.)
   • Post-doctoral fellow
   • Graduate student
   • Undergraduate student

2. Be created as a direct result of a discovery made at the participating post secondary institution.

+ Who are the participating postsecondary institutions?

The imYEG Program is currently accepting Innovations from the following institutions:

• University of Alberta
• University of Lethbridge
• University of Calgary
• All Post-Secondary Institutions in Alberta

We plan on partnering with other postsecondary institutions. For more on that, please contact us at info@imyeg.com.

+ Is imYEG restricted to health sciences innovations?

No, imYEG supports innovators from all disciplines.

+ Can I enroll in imYEG if I am part of another accelerator program?

Yes!

+ My innovation is just at the concept stage. Am I too early to apply?

We encourage you to apply to the imYEG program and we can assess your technology's fit within the program.

+ How do I apply to the imYEG Program?

For consideration into the imYEG Program, please head to this page and sign up to complete an Expression of Interest form. Once we receive your Expression of Interest, we will evaluate your innovation's fit into the program and inform you of that decision.

+ What happens after I submit an Expression of Interest form?

Once we receive your Expression of Interest, we will evaluate your innovation's fit into the program and inform you of that decision. If the innovation is a fit, you will be asked to complete a Secondary Application Form to supply additional information.

+ I have submitted a Secondary Application Form. What happens next?

We will be setting up a meeting with you to go through our Readiness Assessment Radar.

+ Who do I contact regarding the status of my application?

For any questions regarding your application, please contact us at info@imyeg.com.

+ Does imYEG retain any IP ownership?

No.

+ Does imYEG provide investment to the innovators?

imYEG is an advisory and management program. imYEG does not, on its own, provide innovators with investments, but may help innovators with introductions to investors who may be interested in the innovation.

+ Will imYEG be responsible for commercializing my innovation?

imYEG will facilitate meetings between innovators and members of the Council of Founders, who will in turn provide advise and recommendations that may assist with commercializing the innovators' technologies. The responsibility of commercialization falls on the innovator.

+ What is the "Council of Founders"?

The Council of Founders (CoF) is a highly prestigious group of key opinion leaders from a diverse range of industries, who mentor imYEG innovators. By setting strict criteria and ensuring the right cultural fit, these mentors enable imYEG to be the place where ideas meet experience.

+ Can I pick a mentor in the Council of Founders?

During each imYEG session, innovations are presented to the Council of Founders. Innovators are then asked to leave the room and Founders get to express interest in mentoring the presented innovation. Based on that, one or multiple Founders are assigned to the innovation, mentoring the innovator(s) until the next session, where the same process occurs.

+ Will I be assigned the same Founder(s) for the duration of the program?

It depends! During each session, Founders indicate their interest in mentoring the innovator(s). They are assigned to that innovation until the next session. Then, the same Founder(s) may choose to continue mentoring the innovator(s), or new Founders may indicate their interest.

+ What if no Founder indicates interest in mentoring me?

In the case that no Founder volunteers to mentor your innovation, a discussion will be held by the Founders to highlight some of the gaps that are needed to be filled for the innovation to be mentor-ready. These points will be shared with the innovator(s), who will have the opportunity to work on advancing their innovation for the upcoming imYEG session. In the upcoming session, if no Founder(s) volunteer to mentor the innovation due to lack of progress, a vote will be held in the Council of Founders to determine whether or not the innovation should be given another opportunity to advance to the next session, or if it is deemed in the best interest of the innovator(s) to exit the program at this time to continue working on advancing their innovation to be ready for the commercialization process.

+ How long is the duration of the imYEG program?

Innovations are accepted year-round. The goal of the program is for innovations to show marked commercialization advancement over the course of their involvement with imYEG. If an innovator wishes to exit the program, a one-month notice prior to the upcoming imYEG session should be provided to allow the team to prepare for the exit presentation.