SPARK Alberta supports the commercialization journey of digital health innovations by providing advice, education, and connections.

W21C Research and Innovation Centre

July 31, 2024.

SPARK Alberta supports the advancement of digital health innovations at Alberta’s post-secondary institutions. Clinical and social impact are the key drivers of SPARK, where we aim to bridge science and clinical practice and ensure that important ideas and discoveries make it into practice to benefit patients.

SPARK Alberta is located at the W21C Research & Innovation Centre, supported by Innovate Calgary, and funded by Alberta Innovates. SPARK is conducted in a hybrid format to accommodate the pan-provincial reach of the program, currently with opportunities to gather in-person at W21C in Calgary and the ability to join our sessions through Zoom.

Expected Outcomes

The goal of SPARK is to advance evidence-based digital health innovations to increase their chance of impact for patients in clinical and community settings. We respect that each participant’s pathway and the barriers they face in the innovation ecosystem are unique. Therefore, each innovator’s journey and program outcomes will look different. As part of your application, you will map out your desired pathway and we will work with you to achieve those goals.

The deadline for applications for the Fall 2024 cohort is 11:59pm on September 11, 2024.

Click here to begin the application process.

Interested in applying and want to learn more?
Sign up for the SPARK Alberta info session, to be held virtually September 4, 2024.

If you are interested in SPARK Alberta and want to know more before putting your application together, join SPARK Director, Dr. Scott Kraft, MD, Nicola Quiggin, and Elise Fawcett at a virtual application information session.

This session will cover the following:

  • A short description and history of SPARK and SPARK Global, including its origins at Stanford University
  • SPARK program information and values
  • The application process for SPARK Alberta’s spring 2024 cohort

We will also leave plenty of time for questions at the end.