Hub350: The Gateway to Canada’s Largest Technology Park is Creating Space for Tech Talent to Create and Collaborate

A new hub where professionals can connect in an environment that inspires is now open in Canada’s largest technology park, where some of the world’s most established tech companies and burgeoning start-ups call each other neighbours. 

Launched late last year by the Kanata North Business Association (KNBA) in Ottawa, Hub350 helps foster a sense of collaboration and community for the more than 540 tech companies located in the Kanata North Technology Park, located in Ottawa’s west-end.  

“Hub350 serves as the gateway to the technology park and a meeting place for the community. The centre promotes growth on a global scale by bringing together industry, academia and finance professionals in Kanata North to further support its member companies,” says Jamie Petten, KNBA President and CEO.

The point is to give the 28,000 high-skilled professionals who work in the technology park a space to connect. Hub350 creates opportunities for cooperation, innovation and access to funding, enabling and supporting entrepreneurs and the local tech industry to compete successfully at home and on the world stage. 

At the heart of Hub350 is the park-wide 5G Innovation Zone, powered with the support of TELUS, CMC Microsystems and CENGN, allowing businesses to conceptualize, develop, test and commercialize 5G-powered innovations and disruptive solutions in a setting that encourages local companies to leverage new technologies to solve real-world challenges.

Recent reports estimate 5G will add 250,000 jobs and contribute $150 billion to Canada’s economy over the next two decades. The Innovation Zone is intended to harness that potential to create significant economic and societal benefits for the Canada of tomorrow. 

“Partnering with the KNBA and Hub350 coincides with our vision to address real customer problems and drive our economy forward through our world-leading technology by developing Canadian solutions and intellectual property for our customers through various 5G pilot programs,” says Ibrahim Gedeon, Chief Technology Officer at Telus.

Hub350’s anchor partners include other major corporations like RBC, Salesforce and Education City. 

“We are committed to supporting entrepreneurs – from startup to scale up – who are disrupting business models, industries and sectors,” says Raymond Rashed, Director, RBCx. “We feel we can do this best at Canada’s largest technology park and look forward to helping companies grow their ideas and products so Canadian-led innovation can be front and centre on the world stage.”

World-class academic partners such as Carleton University and University of Ottawa are making sizeable investments in Kanata North with the opening of their respective satellite campuses, and Algonquin College and Queen’s University have also partnered to help connect talent and research to companies in the park.

The technology park has a long legacy as a world-class hub for innovation in the telecommunications and connectivity sector. With so many companies, from start-ups to major multinationals, concentrated within just a few square kilometres, the technology park operates as a self-sustaining ecosystem of industry meeting the market’s demands for next generation connectivity solutions. The economic activity generated at the tech park contributes $13 billion to the country’s GDP, earning Hub 350 the support from government partners like the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Tourism, Invest Ottawa, Queensway Carleton Hospital and the Province of Ontario. 

The activity has created greater than ever demand for talent, with more than 1,200 roles open in the park today. In response the KNBA has launched an intuitive job board to create a single online destination to connect job seekers to real-time listings. Ottawa, and the Kanata North tech park, are desirable for talent because of the many opportunities to contribute to meaningful and impactful work with global companies working on solutions to global challenges, in a setting that is green, affordable and family-oriented, notes the KNBA. It’s why the association’s next steps are focused on the development of a complete and connected living lab community with mixed use residential development, next generation mobility solutions and a vibrant culture of collaboration across the park. 

The sprawling 12,000-square foot Hub350 location offers a modern and bright coworking space and a venue for professionals to network in their own backyard. It includes a media lab, meeting rooms, soundproof phone booths, hot desks, cafes and lounges. You don’t have to be a member of the tech park to access the space — instead, the KNBA bills it as an inclusive space for everyone from students to entrepreneurs, companies, investors and creatives to collide. More information about the hub, including the opportunity to book a tour, is available online at hub350.com.