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Runway Ready Innovation Challenge

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This challenge is open and accepting submissions until July 25 2025 11:59pm ET.

Runway Ready Innovation Challenge - 10

Innovate with Dexterra Group, a trusted operations partner serving airports, hospitals, defense sites, wildfire bases, Indigenous communities, and more. The Runway Ready Innovation Challenge presents ventures the chance to test, refine, and scale cutting-edge workforce management solutions in a real-world, high-impact environment in collaboration with Dexterra Group and the GTAA.

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Runway Ready Innovation Challenge - 12

About the Runway Ready Innovation Challenge

The Challenge

 

Every year, millions of travellers pass through Toronto Pearson International Airport — Canada’s busiest airport and one of the most connected global hubs. Behind every passenger’s journey is a team working hard to keep washrooms, terminals, and shared spaces clean, safe, and welcoming.

Yet, workforce management and scheduling today often struggle to keep pace with the real, dynamic flow of travellers.

Traditional routines can miss the mark — leaving high-traffic areas underserved during peak times, and resources stretched thin where they’re needed most.

The Runway Ready Innovation Challenge is calling on Canada’s brightest innovators, startups, and technology entrepreneurs to help reimagine workforce management — so they work for everyone who depends on them.

Who Should Apply?

 

  • Ventures who are ready to develop tech-driven solutions that strengthen workforce well-being and efficiency.
  • Ventures with existing solutions that address this challenge. Ventures are also invited to develop or adapt proven ideas and approaches to address this challenge.
  • This challenge invites solutions that can:
    • Predict cleaning needs: Use flight arrival and departure data, historical trends, and passenger feedback to anticipate traffic.
    • Optimize workforce scheduling: Align cleaning tasks with real passenger flow, reducing gaps and redundancies.
    • Improve experiences for everyone: Help custodial teams work smarter, not harder; and ensure travellers feel safe and cared for.
  • Relevant startups might be working on task automation tools, tools for frontline communication, task reassignment, or apps that sync workforce plans with external event triggers (like flights or weather).

The Opportunity

 

  • Develop a tech-driven solution to pilot and refine innovative workforce management solutions that can scale across Canada’s busiest airport.
  • Pilot your tech-driven solution in Canada’s busiest airport.
  • Collaborate with one of Canda’s largest workforce management companies
  • Prove to the world the effective of your solution and get real world validation for your startup.
  • Up to three (3) teams will be selected from the pool of eligible applications. Each selected team will receive $5,000 in funding and access to relevant data to support development. Selected teams will work in collaboration with Dexterra to refine and strengthen their proposed solution.
  • One (1) top team will receive an additional $25,000 in funding to further develop and prepare their solution for deployment during one of Pearson International Airport’s busiest travel seasons.

Expand your market

Partnering with Dexterra means the chance to pilot your innovation at Toronto Pearson International Airport — Canada’s busiest airport and one of the world’s vital global hubs. Your solution won’t just help shape how Pearson stays clean, safe, and welcoming for millions of travellers; it will also demonstrate how your approach could transform custodial management in other high-traffic spaces like shopping malls, hospitals, and public facilities across Canada.

A successful outcome could position your company as a trusted co-seller or embedded vendor on future bids, creating new pathways for growth and long-term impact. It’s more than a pilot — it’s an opportunity to prove your solution works where it matters most, and scale it to serve communities everywhere.

Runway Ready Innovation Challenge - 12
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Pilot in a high-stakes, high visibility platform

 

  • Your solution could be deployed at Canada's busiest airport, stress-tested during peak travel season, and could set a new standard for large public spaces including malls and hospitals.
  • Perfect for proving your value in complex, regulated environments that command attention.
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Collaborate with a national scale partner

 

  • Skip the months-long wait for pilot approvals and show your value quickly.
  • Work with a buyer that is ready to move and a trusted operator across airports, hospitals, defense sites, wildfire bases, Indigenous communities, and more.
  • Have the unique opportunity to solve a mission-critical problem with a buyer who’s ready to move.
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Establish a Lighthouse or Beachhead Deal

 

  • Use this engagement to validate your product at enterprise scale — proving how your solution performs in complex, high-traffic environments and demonstrating its value to major buyers.
  • Turn one deployment into many—across Dexterra’s national footprint or into adjacent markets like health care, logistics, and smart infrastructure.

Eligibility

  • Must be a legal resident of Canada (excluding Quebec)
  • Must be an incorporated business in Canada (excluding Quebec)
  • Must be solving an economic or social problem with an innovative business model and technology-driven solution (hardware or software)
  • Must have less than $500,000 CAD in current assets
  • Must have less than $1 million CAD in annual revenue in the last fiscal year
  •  (PDF file) Full challenge rules and eligibility guidelines here

Timeline

  • Startups and innovators apply online to be considered for Phase 1 of the competition. Submissions should demonstrate the capability to leverage Ligthouse.io and arrival flight data for workforce scheduling and optimization.
  • The deadline for submissions is July 25, 2025 at 11:59 pm.
  • Up to three (3) teams will be selected based on their applications, and will receive $5,000 to refine their solutions during Phase 1. 
  • The three (3) selected teams will develop, refine, and/or deploy proof-of-concept solutions, incorporating predictive models and workforce optimization strategies using the available data (July-August).
  • The Phase 1 teams will present their solutions to a panel of judges between August 1 - 14 2025. Solutions will be evaluated based on feasibility, innovation, scalability, and impact on workforce optimization.
  • The top team will advance to Phase 2, receiving an additional $25,000, and have the opportunity to connect directly with Dexterra Group. 
  • The top team from Phase 1 will collaborate directly with Dexterra to refine and test the solution in real-world scenarios. This will include real-world testing, data validation, and adjustments based on feedback from Dexterra. 
  • Phase 2 will culminate in a Showcase Day in February 2026, where the Phase 2 winner will present the final solution and outcomes. This day will highlight the achievements of all participants and celebrate the innovation demonstrated throughout the competition.

Applications close July 25

Have questions? Reach out to us at zonelearning@torontomu.ca.

Partners

Dexterra facilities management and operations provides an integrated approach to its services, improving the overall efficiency and customer satisfaction of new or existing facilities, while reducing their total cost of ownership. With a focus on innovation and customer-centric solutions, Dexterra supports a diverse clientele in industries including government, healthcare, education, commercial real estate, and more. The company leverages advanced technologies to ensure cost-effective and environmentally responsible service delivery.

The Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) is a non-profit organization responsible for the operation and management of Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), Canada’s busiest airport and a vital international hub. The GTAA oversees all aspects of the airport’s operations, including terminal management, security, infrastructure development, and customer services, with a focus on maintaining high standards of safety, efficiency, and passenger satisfaction. The authority also plays a significant role in ensuring the airport’s environmental sustainability, community engagement, and economic contribution, making it a cornerstone of Canada’s transportation and tourism sectors.

Zone Learning, Toronto Metropolitan University’s innovative network dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, offers a comprehensive suite of resources designed to equip students with the skills and mindset necessary to excel in today's rapidly evolving economic landscape. This includes a diverse range of courses, workshops, and startup incubators strategically positioned both on and off campus. With 10 on-campus incubators and 4 off-campus zones and programs, each tailored to specific industries, Zone Learning serves as a dynamic catalyst within TMU’s ecosystem. By bridging industry and community, it empowers members to tackle real-world challenges head-on and create meaningful impacts.