Ryan Carter joined Innovation UBC a year ago as our Program Specialist, leading the Venture Founder program, a 16-week program that helps new ventures find their footing in areas like customer segmentation, market analysis, and intellectual property. To mark his first year on the team, we're looking back at our original conversation with Ryan from when he joined, on his background, what drew him to the role, and what he was most looking forward to.
Ryan brings a varied background to the role, having worked in project management, IT, non-profits, and law. Across all of it, one thread has stayed constant: a focus on impact, helping communities, individuals, and companies build networks and deepen their reach by working together. In this Q&A from July 2025, read about what Ryan does for Innovation UBC's Venture Founder program, his learnings from UBC's research community, and what excites him most about his work.
Tell us about your role at Innovation UBC.
I'm the new program specialist here at Innovation UBC, and I'll be running our Venture Founder program. It's a 16-week program that new ventures take to help find their feet in their businesses, covering things like customer segmentation, market analysis, and intellectual property.
What does your background look like, and what's brought you to this point?
My background has been quite varied. I've worked in project management, I've worked in IT, I've worked in non-profits, and I've worked in law. One of the guiding threads through all of this work has been a focus on impact: helping diverse communities, individuals, and companies find their feet, build networks, and broaden and deepen their impact through working together. That's taken the form of boot camps, capacity-building workshops, and bringing together employers, newcomers, and civil litigants, among others.
You're also a UBC alumnus. How has that shaped your perspective coming into this role?
As a UBC alumnus, I've had the privilege of working on both sides of these things. Back in the day, I completed my master's here, so I've seen the research community from that side, and now I'm getting to see it from a very different angle. Something I'm already taking away from this world is just how dynamic and engaged the research community is.
What are you most looking forward to in this new chapter?
For me, it's not really just about running these programs. It's about understanding how these programs can help our research community, and really help UBC grow and thrive in the years to come.
To learn more about Innovation UBC's Venture Founder program, click here.
