Innovation at the University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is home to many innovative minds and has fostered more than a handful of successful businesses like Embark and Nicoya. Therefore, it is essential that the proper systems are created to support these students and push them forward in all and any of their endeavours.
Below we have highlighted the amazing centres at the University of Waterloo that have made it their mission to support student innovation!
Thoroughly exploring the problem you are trying to solve is the first step to any ground-breaking solution. The Problem Lab helps established organizations, newly created ventures, and aspiring entrepreneurs recognize obstacles at the initial stages in order to set teams up for success. To help prepare students for the termly Quantum Valley Investments® Problem Pitch competition (where students can win up to $7,500 for R&D), The Problem Lab will be starting up workshops this term!
Zero is a perfect starting place for students who want to make an impact but don’t know how. They offer two programs: Zero Experience, and Zero work.
Zero Experience is a term-long- program that lets you start from scratch to build your problem-solving skills, pushes you to make an impact, and discover what you want from your business.
Zero Work answers your question of, “how do I get a job, and what are the right stepsI can take after graduating?” A one-day workshop sprint will teach you dozens of career strategies and networking techniques. Then, you will receive support through the term from a team of peers and weekly touch-points to help you reach success.
The best part – no experience required!
Interested in social innovation? GreenHouse is the place to be. This impact incubator offers programs, opportunities, and a community for students to develop skills and ideas – all while creating new forms of sustainable impact around social or environmental change.
Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business
Velocity Science is the Faculty of Science’s scientific innovation and entrepreneurship support initiative. It aims to grow and uplift University of Waterloo community members interested in student-driven venture creation and translational research. This is supported through the coalescence of diverse, interdisciplinary resources across the University of Waterloo ecosystem and the dedication of community members.
The Entrepreneurship Society (EntSoc)
EntSoc is a student-run club that aims to build inclusive innovation at UWaterloo by exposing students of all faculties and experience to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. They do this by building bridges between campus organizations and clubs, connecting students to resources, running events, and working on internal projects that fill gaps within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Some of the things you can look forward to are Founder’s Club and Project Janus!
The library has an abundance of resources for student entrepreneurs at all levels. They have a dedicated entrepreneurship librarian that can help guide you through an extensive catalogue of helpful information including market research, company information and reports, industry-specific data and statistics, patent information, and more. Books can be just as valuable as Google – if not more!
How could we forget ourselves? We (Concept) are the on-campus arm of Velocity Incubator. We provide experiences that inspire and inform ambitious students from all backgrounds and life experiences. Whether you have an idea, are working on a project, or want to build your skills, we’re here to help you! Some examples of ways you can get involved this term are by:
- Attending one of our intro sessions on various topics
- Getting hands-on experience at one of our working sessions
- Applying for our $5k Pitch competition
We have new programs and offerings every term, so be sure to stay up to date! We are always open to suggestions to create the programming that YOU want. Be sure to fill out feedback surveys after our events or email us at any time.
Be sure to join us virtually on Sept 21 2021 at the University of Waterloo Innovation Ecosystem Session to learn more about all these resources!
