Innovation at KDays includes startups, video games, and robots

Hop off the midway or emerge from the beer garden into the air-conditioned Edmonton EXPO Centre and you'll find all manner of innovation on display at KDays. The Innovation Zone within Hall E runs on the same dates as the rest of the party, July 17 to 26, with partner organizations exhibiting and curating within themed time blocks. July 17 to 19 is for makers and inventors; July 20 is for health and inclusivity; July 21 to 23 is for technology and industrial design; and July 24 to 26 is for sustainability. Access is included with general admission.

A great time for networking with entrepreneurs is July 21 to 23, when Technology Alberta presents a rotating group of 25 organizations at booths and on stage. If you're looking to get involved with a group, check out the Dev Edmonton Society for software developers. If you need legal support for your company, talk to the University of Alberta's Entrepreneurial Law Clinic. If you want to talk to companies with success under their belts, check in with RNARevive, which was just named one of 100 Science Startups to Watch by Falling Walls Foundation; Nanostics, which continues to make progress with its prostate cancer screening tool; and Ciba Health, an American company that picked Edmonton for its Canadian headquarters in 2023.

After getting some business cards, there's plenty of fun to be had. Game Discovery Exhibition, better known as GDX, features indie games from the Interactive Arts Alberta ecosystem and beyond. Locals include Cozy Comet Games, Ode Software, Daisy Chain Games, a consortium of board game-makers, and many others. And don't forget the FIRST Robotics Competition in Hall C, where STEM students will put their inventions to the test.