Queen’s University is the newest member of ONRamp – a University of Toronto-led collaboration built to support entrepreneurship and help accelerate new businesses by providing access to work space, events, and networking opportunities. With facilities based in downtown Toronto, ONRamp will allow Queen’s and Kingston-based startups to connect with a broader network of innovators and potential investors.

“Queen’s and its partners in Kingston have nurtured a thriving innovation ecosystem here in the city,” says Kimberly Woodhouse, Vice-Principal (Research). “ONRamp will extend the influence of our entrepreneurs in Southern Ontario, increasing awareness of the cutting-edge research, invention, and commercialization coming out of our university and community.”

The ONRamp space is located at the University of Toronto’s Banting Building near Queen’s Park, major hospitals, and across the street from MaRS Discovery District. Its 15,000 square-foot facility provides free, secure co-working space for members, 24-hour meeting rooms, a kitchen and lounge, and technology-enhanced rooms for presentations and more.

Queen's plans to use the ONRamp space to showcase startups and researchers, to host pitches, networking events, and consultations with Toronto-based stakeholders, including alumni, government and industry partners, and venture capitalists. Queen’s will also invite entrepreneurs, startups, and community partners to use the ONRamp facilities as a landing pad for meetings in downtown Toronto with potential investors, customers and suppliers, and government officials.

Queen’s is the newest academic partner to join ONRamp, joining the University of Toronto and three other university partners, including McMaster University, the University of Waterloo, and Western University. Launched by U of T in 2017, ONRamp has since been utilized by 50 startups, and currently has 600 active users.

“We’re thrilled to have Queen’s join the ONRamp entrepreneurship community,” says Derek Newton, Assistant Vice-President of Innovation, Partnerships, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Toronto.

For more information about ONRamp, or how to access ONRamp facilities and programs via Queen’s membership, contact Amanda Gilbert, Communications Coordinator at Queen’s University’s Office of Partnerships and Innovation. The ONRamp initiative is the latest innovation partnership for Queen’s, adding to other partnership efforts in Kington, Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, and in Upstate New York. Visit the office’s website for information about all Queen’s innovation initiatives.

Upcoming ONRamp events will be posted on the Queen’s events calendar.