Celebrating Campus-Born Innovation

On Nov. 14, the University of Saskatchewan’s startup program, Opus, brought together its newest cohort of innovators from its i2Build program for the 2025 edition of the Opus Innovation Expo, a networking event designed to showcase and celebrate entrepreneurs among students, faculty and researchers.

What is Opus?

Opus is USask’s startup incubator and pre-accelerator, designed to help students, staff, faculty and recent alumni turn promising ideas into actual startups or marketable innovations. Its mission is to mobilize innovation on campus by offering support for business development, mentorship, access to networks, infrastructure and entrepreneurial training tailored to those coming out of academic research. 

By design, Opus especially leans toward scientific and research-based innovations, where collaborators often need help navigating the path from lab-scale concepts and theories into real-world and workplace development. Since its establishment in 2022, Opus has emerged as a transformative force at USask, providing an institutional home for turning research, ideas and entrepreneurial spirit into tangible ventures.

Opus’s Programs and Supports

Opus offers a variety of programs, each tailored to a different part of founders’ innovation journeys, and works to assist their members throughout their work. 

Their first program, i2Explore, is tailored for those who are still refining their ideas. Through one-on-one advisory sessions, networking events, workshops and webinars, i2Explore provides a low-barrier entry to entrepreneurship. Participants can easily book a time online to learn more about Opus and their numerous supports and programs.

Their next program is i2Build, a more intensive 8-month pre-accelerator from March to November designed for founders with an idea involving technology or a proof-of-concept. i2Build offers bi-monthly workshops, hands-on business coaching, mentor or advisor networks, field validation, pitch sessions and a final “demo day.” USask students, faculty and staff can apply as teams or individuals.

Next, there’s the i2Market, which is tailored for graduates of i2Build who are ready to scale. This program provides long-term mentorship, infrastructure support and resources to facilitate market adoption.

Opus’ last program is the Student Ambassador program, which is a student-led initiative to foster entrepreneurial culture on campus. Ambassadors organize events and promote Opus, and in doing so, gain business, marketing and networking experience.

What is the Opus Innovation Expo?

The Opus Innovation Expo is the culmination of the Opus i2Build program for participants. It serves as a “demo day” of sorts where founders get the opportunity to pitch their startups, showcase prototypes or business plans and network with mentors, industry partners and potential collaborators. The 2025 Expo was free to attend and took place on Nov. 14 at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites located directly across from the University.

People’s Choice

At the event, an award is presented to the startup that receives the most votes after all of the pitches have been given. The group that received this award was IPPM Now, a startup created by Teresa Aguiar-Cordero, Gabriel Guerra and Emilio Tellarini-Prieto. 

IPPM Now presents itself as an “AI-Powered Sustainable Pest Management Solution” tailored for prairie agriculture in Canada. It focuses on the unique needs of farmers, primarily in Saskatchewan, where large-scale grain production and diverse pest pressures present ongoing challenges. Its models are trained on common Prairie crops such as wheat, canola, pulse and barley, as well as the insects that most frequently affect them. This region-specific design sets the platform apart from more general pest-identification tools.

The main promise of the startup is instant identification of crop pests using computer vision and AI. Farmers can photograph a pest that they find within their field, upload the photo to their interface, and receive an identification as well as the best ways to deal with that pest within seconds. Once a pest is identified, the system claims to offer integrated pest management plans including tailored treatment suggestions, biological-control or spraying schedules and economic-threshold calculations to help farmers decide whether intervention is warranted. IPPM Now hopes that this system will significantly help Canadian farmers in taking care of their fields effectively and efficiently. 

For growers who may not have regular access to agronomists or who farm large acreages, the system’s instant feedback and mobile convenience could be valuable. The platform also includes educational resources and a knowledge base designed to support farmers as they learn more about both pests and their ecosystems.

Why the Expo Matters

The Expo and the broader Opus program offer a structured path for researchers and students to turn lab ideas into market-ready ventures, something especially critical for science-based startups that need more than just a high-fidelity pitch.

IPPM Now’s emphasis on local crops and taking care of pests within these crops aligns with provincial strengths. With a product that protects valuable crops, this startup can contribute to regional economic development by promoting sustainability and crop maintenance.

For participants, the Expo is a milestone, marking a transition from academic work to entrepreneurship. For the broader university community, it signals that ideas emerging from research are not just theoretical, but have real potential to grow into businesses. The Expo also draws attention from industry mentors, investors and ecosystem partners. This helps founders connect beyond campus and provides visibility to emerging talent and innovation at USask.

Conclusion

The 2025 Opus Innovation Expo was more than a presentation night. It was a celebration of ambition, creativity and possibility. From technological innovations to an engaged community rallying behind student founders, the Expo showed how academic research can translate into tangible solutions for today’s challenges.

IPPM Now’s People’s Choice win is a powerful example: a group of students and their passion, paired with scientific knowledge and entrepreneurial support, resulted in a startup with real potential to impact crop maintenance and assist farmers. 

As Opus continues to support STEM technology and research-driven ventures, the 2025 Expo marks a milestone. Not just for its winners, but for the broader vision of turning ideas into impact at USask.