MindFuel

A quiet moment on stage before the announcements begin...

After a day of pitches, presentations, and thoughtful deliberation, our judges are ready to reveal this year’s TFC Innovation Showcase winners. We can’t wait to introduce them to you next week, so stay tuned!

Right now, inside the Tech Futures Challenge 2026 Innovation Showcase…

Among our distinguished guests today is Guy Levesque, Executive Director of the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking. He’s here today to introduce our Inspiring Speakers, and then to moderate a panel among them.

The audience listens as Dr. John Froh, STARS Ambulance, Grant Sanden, GeologicAI , and Melissa Power, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, share what innovation looks like in the real world.

From AI enhancing critical care and emergency response, to deep tech transforming resource discovery, to new approaches shaping the future of energy —these are the kinds of ideas moving industries forward right now.

And just as important: the people behind the ideas. These are leaders who’ve built, tested, failed, adapted —and kept going.

Sessions like these are meant to give young innovators a clearer sense of what’s possible, and how to get there.

Around the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking at the University of Calgary, different rooms have come to life.
TFC teams are presenting their prototypes to judges who are asking questions and getting a real sense of what these teams have created.
From clean tech and energy solutions to biotech, agri-tech, and AI-driven tools, the range is wide —and the thinking is bold.
Our judges —bringing experience from across industry, research, and entrepreneurship-- are listening closely, challenging assumptions, and helping push ideas a little further.
There’s a lot on the line, too.
Best Prototype — $5,000
Runner-Up — $2,500
Most Iterative Project — $1,000
Most Tangible Next Steps — $1,000
People’s Project Choice — $500
The TFC 2026 Innovation Showcase is thought provoking and it’s hands-on. And it’s where innovation takes shape.

Earlier… At the mic at the Tech Futures Challenge 2026 Innovation Showcase…

Corey Hogan, Member of Parliament for Calgary Confederation, is bringing greetings from the Government of Canada, speaking to something we’re seeing firsthand today: When young people are given the tools to build, create, and experiment, the impact doesn’t stay in the classroom —it carries into our economy.

With experience spanning public service, academia, and government, Corey brings a clear view of how innovation —and the people driving it— shape Canada’s competitiveness and long-term prosperity.