Thanks to a new initiative, University of Ottawa students who wish to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true will be able to find support and partners. The University of Ottawa has announced that it will invest $1 million to create an on-campus Entrepreneurship Hub.
The hub will facilitate entrepreneurship promotion through various existing initiatives as well as serve as a catalyst for new actions across all faculties and schools.
“The uOttawa Entrepreneurship Hub will not only help to produce graduates who can integrate the latest knowledge into better products, but who also have the skills and experience to start their own businesses or innovate within existing companies,” said Allan Rock, University of Ottawa president and vice-chancellor.
The Entrepreneurship Hub will be led by the Telfer School of Management, the Faculty of Engineering and the Technology Transfer and Business Enterprise office. It will continue successful programs such as Startup Garage and will implement new initiatives such as an entrepreneurship mentoring program to bring young entrepreneurs together, a co-op program to enable students to earn money while working at their own companies and an entrepreneurship fund to provide space, financing and mentoring to startups.
“There are a lot of things which can't be taught in the classroom. Students need to have real hands-on experience in trying to build a business. They also need mentors and role models to help them. When things don't go according to plan, they must learn to adapt. The key to entrepreneurship is persistence,” says Joshua Chan, founder of Alpha App Studios and winner of the Faculty of Engineering 2011-2012 Prize in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Indeed, the number of student business projects is increasing, as is the number of success stories, for example, an app, Knowline, and a business, MicroMetrics, both created by University of Ottawa students.
“With this in mind, the University of Ottawa remains fully committed to ensuring that its students receive first class training as well as all the resources necessary to go from ideas to action and from the classroom to their business,” said Rock.
The University of Ottawa is holding its first Entrepreneurship Week [This link is no longer available], featuring a range of activities, including panels and workshops, November 18 to 22.
