Stephen Hartlen

As Assistant Vice President (Industry Relations) and Executive Director of the Office of Commercialization and Industry Engagement (OCIE) at Dalhousie University, Stephen Hartlen interacts with the local private sector community to develop research contracts and create student internships with local, national and international industries. He is helping to grow the $132 million worth of research being carried out by the Dalhousie faculty, and working to enrich the learning experience for future leaders and innovators.

Stephen Hartlen spent the last eight years at Innovacorp, Nova Scotia’s crown corporation for the commercialization of early stage research, serving as vice president (mentoring) and most recently, interim president and CEO. OCIE and Innovacorp are both housed in Dalhousie’s Life Sciences Research Institute and the combination of the two helps to strengthen university-industry research partnerships and provide economic growth to Nova Scotia.

Dalhousie’s OCIE commercializes research at the university, manages and facilitates collaborations between companies and university researchers and assists in the creation of spin-off ventures. Innovacorp helps high potential early stage Nova Scotia companies commercialize their technologies and succeed in the global marketplace.

In addition to Innovacorp, Mr. Hartlen has worked with companies including xwave, Infointeractive, MTT, and Keltic Inc. He has served on several Nova Scotia government committees such as the Deputy Minister’s Leadership Team on the Economy and Environment and was included in recent consultations for the Savoie and O’Neill reports. He is also an advisory board member for Dalhousie’s Corporate Residency MBA program.