R-D Collaboratory 2016-03-02

• Strategies for creating and supporting startup companies are being explored and debated in Canada and countries all over the world. But Israel seems to know something that the rest of the world doesn’t, and is a global leader in its concentration of startup companies.  Israel’s chief scientist Avi Hasson sat down with Maclean’s to provide some insight into what Canada might be able to learn from Israel’s startup ecosystem.
• A good sign for Canadian startups  came from The Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association, who released an infographic showing that venture capital investing is on the rise. 
• A Canadian Business article makes the case that Canadian Tire is one of Canada’s most innovative marketers, with a savvy digital marketing strategy.
• Contrary to what Marge Simpson says, graduate school isn’t a terrible life choice. PhD students do great things. That’s basically the premise of the CBC radio show Ideas from the Trenches, which profiles some of the amazing work being done by Canadian PhDs in Canada and around the world.  But outstanding research isn’t always enough to get hired after graduation, and an essay on InsideHigherEd.com suggests that PhDs need to take advantage of opportunities for collaboration.