Kingston Innovation Week
Schedule
Events
Partners
Sponsors
Kingston, Ontario - October 13-15, 2026
Three days the whole
city builds together.
Founders, researchers, students and investors — one week of pitches, robotics, AI and a whole lot of introductions. Hosted across campus and downtown by the people who actually build things here.
WHY THE WEEK EXISTS
Kingston's innovation community is small enough that everyone can fit in one room — and good enough that they should.
Innovation Week pulls the region's accelerators, labs, university research offices and funders onto a single calendar. If you're starting something, researching something, or looking to back something, this is the week to show up.
The Schedule
Kickoff & Pub Night
An evening opener downtown — a fireside chat on the new support programs landing for Kingston companies, then drinks.
Details coming soonRobotics & AI Symposium
RISE Pitch Event
Regional Pitch Competition
Two competitions in one day — life science & health in the morning, sector-agnostic in the afternoon.
The Events, in detail
Innovation Week Kickoff
KEDCO opens the week with a fireside chat spotlighting new support programs for Kingston companies, followed by a pub night for everyone attending.
Robotics & AI Symposium
A morning of robotics and AI talks in a campus classroom, then lunch at Ingenuity Labs with a poster session and live demos before the afternoon pitches.
RISE Pitch Event
Regional startups pitch live in the Ingenuity Labs space, with a $10,000 prize on the line. Runs from 1:30 PM into the late afternoon.
DDQIC Regional Pitch Competition
The annual regional competition, split into two: a life science and health stream in the morning, and a sector-agnostic stream in the afternoon.
$40,000
ON THE TABLE
Awarded across two pitch events in two days — $10,000 at RISE and $30,000 in non-dilutive funding at the DDQIC Regional Pitch Competition. No equity taken.
Thank you to our sponsors
Your Logo Here
Put your name on the week.
Sponsorship puts you in front of every founder, researcher and investor in the region — and helps keep the whole week free to attend.
Getting here
Kingston sits halfway between Toronto and Montreal on the VIA corridor — about two and a half hours from either. Ottawa is two hours by car.
Venues
Most of the week runs out of Mitchell Hall and Ingenuity Labs on the Queen's campus, with the Tuesday kickoff downtown.
Parking & Stays
Campus lots are a short walk from both venues, and downtown hotels are ten minutes away on foot. Room block details to follow.
Kingston Innovation Week 2026
October 13-15 - Kingston, Ontario