September 2020: Monthly update from the President
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador unveiled its budget for 2020-21 on Sept. 30 and Memorial’s base budget remains largely unchanged.
While government allocated no new money to the university to address deferred maintenance, Memorial continues to work with the province on plans to address aging infrastructure on all campuses.
However, we cannot become paralyzed because of budget challenges. Whenever I am talking with people, I always emphasize that Memorial is an investment in the future of Newfoundland and Labrador. Over the last several weeks I’ve been taking some time to meet current clients of Genesis, as well as some of the graduate companies who have gone on to make tremendous contributions to this province’s economy and to solving real-world problems here at home, and globally.
The technology sector has significant growth potential in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Genesis clients and graduates continue to hire new employees, secure investments and sell their products around the world.
Take Verafin, for example, industry's leading financial crime management platform – a company started by three Memorial engineering graduates. They began with a little office in Genesis in 2003. They are now in a building with 600 people, hiring on average 100 more a year, mostly Memorial students and graduates. And last year, they raised $515 million, the largest venture capital deal in Canadian history.
Everyone with electric baseboard heating (including me) should learn more about Mysa, a company started by Memorial graduate Zachary Green and his brother, Joshua, with a solar heater made out of a recycled pop can. With help from Genesis at the beginning, today they design and sell smart thermostats for homes and businesses to save energy and created the first thermostat for electric baseboard heating. (I’m getting some!) They employ 70 people and 70 per cent of those employees are Memorial graduates.
These are made in Newfoundland and Labrador success stories. They prove that with the right idea and the right support, companies can grow and thrive in our province.
These are Memorial alumni starting successful companies, just two of the more than 200 companies Genesis has supported over the past 23 years – companies that have staying power. One of its first clients in 2002, Genoa, is involved in 3D design and production for the national ship building strategy. They have grown over the years to more than 200 employees here and across Canada, many of them engineering and Marine Institute graduates.
Since opening in 1997, Genesis companies raised $615 million in private capital and generated $200 million in annual revenues. More than 2,000 jobs have been created. These companies are hiring Memorial students and graduates. And they’re supporting each other. Another more recent startup, Cyno, a current Genesis company, is a virtual platform for employee wellness who work remotely. Verafin is one of its clients.
If these companies prove anything, it’s that we have reason to be optimistic.
Memorial’s enrolment has grown to a record high in the fall semester 2020. More than 19,400 students registered, with increases in graduate and undergraduate student numbers.
They enrolled in record numbers because they have hope for the future. And who knows? With all the resources Memorial has at their disposal and the support they can count on from professors, alumni and the community, I think it’s safe to say one or more will walk through the doors of Genesis and say, “I have an idea.”