Editor’s note: This is the sixth article since May 20, 2026 in an ongoing series by Dr. Andrew Maxwell, the Bergeron Chair in Technology Entrepreneurship in the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University. Every week – and occasionally every other week – we’ll present a new article by Maxwell, in a series whose wide-ranging and incisive themes encompass: Canada and innovation policy; productivity and industry; innovation frameworks; AI and higher education; research and intellectual property; technology adoption; entrepreneurship and commercialization; universities and higher education; entrepreneurship education; and AI and the future of work. 

Canada’s advanced manufacturing sector stands at a crossroads. We have world-class researchers, growing innovation clusters and strong national firms – but we still struggle to translate invention into adoption at the pace required to remain globally competitive.

Next Generation Manufacturing Canada’s (NGen) global innovation cluster recently sought ideas on how post-secondary institutions could play a stronger role in accelerating the growth and competitiveness of Canada’s manufacturing sector. A proposal for a national Post-Secondary Institution (PSI) Network represents a rare opportunity to build the institutional architecture Canada has been missing: a coordinated platform that links technology development, industrial adoption, skills training, and global collaboration.

Below, I outline a set of strategic priorities – focused, actionable, and aligned with international best practices – that would allow such a network to meaningfully transform Canada’s manufacturing landscape.

1. Build co-located innovation testbeds and living labs

Canada needs applied spaces where industry, faculty, technologists and students work together on real production challenges. These “Applied Innovation Zones” should include:

• Advanced manufacturing and robotics equipment.
• AI-enabled production tools and analytics.
• Rapid iteration and prototyping capacity.
• Embedded researchers and technologists.
• Apprenticeships, work-integrated learning students, and graduate teams.

This model is used by the Fraunhofer Institutes (Germany) and the UK Catapult Centres, both of which accelerate adoption by co-locating technology, expertise and real industrial problems.

York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering’s MTEC–Mosaic partnership (high-volume 3D printing arrays) demonstrates how quickly value emerges when technology, users, and learners operate in the same space.

2. Launch a national problem-solution matching platform

Manufacturers need frictionless ways to articulate challenges and discover solutions. A PSI Network should include a national platform where:

• Firms post operational or technical problems.
• Researchers showcase emerging technologies.
• Startups share deployable solutions.
• Students contribute through structured experiential challenges.
• AI tools triage and match needs with capabilities.

This approach mirrors the A*STAR model in Singapore and the challenge-led partnerships used by Manufacturing USA.

3. Integrate training for industry and graduate students

Canada must build both technology and capability. Every collaborative project should embed:

• Micro-credentials in AI adoption, advanced manufacturing, commercialization and regulatory literacy.
• Short courses for operators, technicians, engineers and managers.
• Shared national curriculum assets.
• On-the-factory-floor implementation coaching.

This is how Manufacturing USA dramatically accelerated workforce readiness in areas like additive manufacturing and advanced materials.

4. Create national knowledge communities connected to global expertise

The PSI Network should host sector-based communities – materials, robotics, automotive, cleantech, food processing – that:

• Connect researchers, companies, and students.
• Share adoption playbooks and failure lessons.
• Host AI-enabled knowledge libraries.
• Build international partnerships with Fraunhofer, Catapult, A*STAR, etc.
• Support collaborative project development and commercialization.

These communities serve as the “connective tissue” between Canada’s regional clusters and the global ecosystem.

 Provide incubation, soft landing and commercialization support

PSIs can serve as on-ramps for both Canadian SMEs and international entrants. The network should provide:

• Incubation and fabrication space.
• Testing, validation and pilot-line access.
• Soft-landing support for global advanced manufacturing firms.
• Regulatory, IP, and financing advisory services.
• Talent pipelines and research partnerships.

Denmark’s GTS Technological Service Institutes offer a powerful model – professional applied engineering teams that sit between universities and industry, accelerating adoption while mitigating risk.

6. Pair funding with adoption, education and outcome measurement

A powerful lesson from every successful international system: adoption must be engineered, not left to chance.

A. Adoption requirements

Each funded project should include:

• Early operator involvement.
• A trial deployment within the firm.
• A documented adoption plan.
• Post-deployment measurement and reporting.

B. Embedded education

Every project should produce:

• Training materials or micro-credentials.
• Implementation guides.
• A case study (success or failure).

C. Outcome measurement

NGen should lead in developing a national Adoption Scoreboard capturing:

• Productivity gains.
• Cost reductions.
• Time-to-adoption
• New products launched.
• Workforce upskilling.
• Environmental impact.
• Number of adoption-ready technologies.

This shifts evaluation from publications and patents to results, competitiveness and national capability.

7. Build a culture that embraces risk, iteration and learning from failure

Canada’s innovation system is often risk-averse and process-heavy. But every global leader – from Fraunhofer to Catapult – embraces a culture where:

• Early failure is treated as learning.
• Prototypes are deployed quickly.
• Iteration cycles are rapid.
• Lessons are shared widely (including failure cases).
• Industry partners feel psychologically safe trying new approaches.
• Speed matters as much as accuracy.

Adoption will not accelerate unless our institutions model the culture we expect from industry: try, learn, adapt, repeat.

Conclusion: Toward a national research-to-results network

Canada is ready for a bold step. A PSI Network that focuses on co-creation, adoption and industrial capability – not just collaboration – would give Canada the integrated system it has long lacked.

By bringing together testbeds, problem-solution matching, shared training, global expertise, industrial incubation and a national adoption scoreboard, NGen can build an innovation engine capable of delivering the productivity, competitiveness, and resilience Canada urgently needs.

This is not about adding another network.
It is about building the missing architecture of Canada’s future manufacturing strength.

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International models and what they offer Canada

Fraunhofer Institutes (Germany)

• 76 applied research centres.
• Co-located labs with industry; strong SME engagement.
• Focus on technology adoption, not publications.
• Key lesson: applied engineering + industry partnership = adoption at scale.

Catapult Centres (United Kingdom)

• Sector-specific innovation hubs (e.g., High Value Manufacturing, Digital, Medicines Discovery).
• Pilot lines, demonstrators and SME test facilities.
• One of the most rigorous impact measurement frameworks in the world.

Manufacturing USA (United States)

• 17 national institutes.
• Joint R&D, training, and adoption initiatives.
• Shared curriculum and national workforce development programs.

A*STAR (Singapore)

• Challenge-led funding.
• Industry-problem-first research.
• Deployed technical talent embedded inside firms.

GTS Institutes (Denmark)

• Applied engineering service providers bridging academia and industry.
• Certification, testing, validation, adoption coaching.
• Agile, industry-facing institutional design.

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