UFV Research Chairs

Dr. Jon Thomas is the Director of the Esposito Family Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (EFCIE) at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV). He also holds the BC Regional Innovation Chair in Canada-India Partnership Development at UFV and is an Associate Professor (Innovation & Entrepreneurship) at the School of Business (UFV). In his role as the BC Regional Innovation Chair, he is engaged in building research partnerships between Canada and the world, with a major focus on India. He believes that high-impact teaching and research can be fostered through collaborations that transcend disciplinary and organizational boundaries.

Jon has provided innovation and entrepreneurship mentoring to students, post-doctoral fellows, scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs for nearly two decades. His innovation and entrepreneurship research has garnered several awards including the National Doctoral Fellowship (India) and the Mitacs Elevate Postdoctoral Fellowship (Canada). His interdisciplinary research has been published in leading academic journals like Nature Nanotechnology, Technovation, Journal of Engineering & Technology Management, Scientometrics, and the Journal of Cleaner Production, among others.

He is regularly invited to speak on innovation and entrepreneurship topics and is keenly interested in the pre-formation and early post-formation stages of venture emergence, particularly from university settings.

More information on the activities of the Chair