Saskatchewan Polytechnic joins NATO DIANA test centre network through ICON consortium
Press Release
Saskatchewan Polytechnic is now part of the NATO Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) test centre network through its membership in the Innovation Centre of the North (ICON) consortium. The institution will contribute its expertise in digital innovation, applied artificial intelligence and machine learning through its Digital Integration Centre of Excellence (DICE).
“DICE being selected as a member of the ICON NATO DIANA test centre network is a tremendous honour,” says Dr. Larry Rosia, Sask Polytech president and CEO. “This partnership underscores our commitment to developing innovative digital solutions to the security challenges faced by Canada and our NATO Allies to support a more peaceful future.”
ICON is a pan-Canadian consortium that includes four testing and research sites: 3 Points in Space Media (ARDTIC), Area 55 Advanced Cold Research Facility, ACME Testing and Consulting, and Sask Polytech. As part of the NATO DIANA network, Sask Polytech’s DICE will help start-ups and entrepreneurs test and validate technologies for both defence and civilian applications. Innovators affiliated with NATO DIANA’s global network of more than 200 sites will gain access to Sask Polytech’s advanced digital research infrastructure and expert guidance.
"DICE's inclusion in ICON is tremendously exciting for our consortium,” says Richard Borger, ICON secretary. “They bring specialized expertise in AI and machine learning, along with access to world-class digital research labs at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. With DICE as one of our founding partners, ICON now spans three provinces, giving us greater reach and depth to support innovators tackling defence and security challenges across Canada and throughout the NATO alliance."
DIANA connects innovators across NATO’s member countries to develop dual-use technologies that support both security and civilian needs. The program offers training, funding, commercial advice and access to defence expertise and investors. Selected companies receive grant funding, acceleration support and access to DIANA’s network of accelerators and test centres through competitive challenges to solve critical defence, security and resilience challenges.
“We are honoured to have Saskatchewan Polytechnic as a member of NATO DIANA’s Test Centre network, a group of professional test facilities that have been endorsed by their nations to provide technical testing support to DIANA programme participants. Testing facilities like Saskatchewan Polytechnic help our innovators advance the technologies that will solve critical defence and security challenges across the Alliance for decades to come,” says Christine Hanson, North American Regional director, NATO DIANA.
Sask Polytech’s inclusion in the DIANA network opens new opportunities for international collaboration and knowledge exchange.
“This partnership strengthens Sask Polytech’s international presence and provides Canadian innovators with invaluable access to expertise and resources from allies across the network,” says Dr. Ian McWilliams, associate vice-president, Applied Research and Innovation. “Our DICE team is excited to continue to engage with innovators from diverse backgrounds as we explore new avenues for technological advancement.”
The NATO DIANA network enables innovators from across the Alliance to access Canada’s cutting-edge facilities and collaborate on emerging technologies to help solve NATO’s defence and security challenges.
Noah Note: Add another place to the Canadian list! DIANA continues to expand it's global network of facilities, now stretching hundreds of facilities. We just spoke about the 2026 cohort for DIANA a few days ago, a monumental moment for Canadian companies that took up nearly 15% of the list, the third highest behind the UK and United States.
To quote myself on Diana and what it does…
DIANA, also known as the Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic, is NATO's premier accelerator for dual-use technologies.
Its primary mission is to identify, develop, and deploy dual-use emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs). DIANA acts as a bridge, recognizing that many of the most critical advancements in Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Biotechnology, and Autonomous Systems are coming from Industry.
DIANA aims to ensure the Alliance maintains its technological edge against potential adversaries who are aggressively modernizing their own capabilities.
DIANA became operational in 2023. It maintains the NATO DIANA North American regional office in Halifax, Nova Scotia, along with a regional office in London, England, and a regional hub in Tallinn, Estonia.
DIANA functions not as a single entity, but as an ever-increasing, decentralized network of infrastructure and centers spanning the Alliance’s member nations. It coordinates a transatlantic ecosystem that includes over a dozen accelerator sites and a network of nearly 200 test centres.
It leverages the unique infrastructure and capabilities that each member state brings to ensure that cohort members have access to whatever facilities that may be, in whatever environment they want to test in. This tackles one of the biggest issues that many SMEs and startups struggle with—access to the tools and spaces they need to get work done, facilitating the rapid Testing, Evaluation, Verification, and Validation (TEVV) of new technologies.
Undiscussed but an organization, especially an educational facility like SaskPoly benefits as well from DIANAs global network. It not only provides them unique opportunities to collaborate with Industry but also creates an established network for they themselves to tap into. It opens to more global collaborations and partnerships, something that I know DIANA encourages and hope to see more of.
So I see this as a win for everyone!