VeloCity Entrepreneur Bootcamp, described as a new kind of collaborative training centre, is set to help create the country’s future economy.
Or, at least it will help the young entrepreneurs who will create it.
Applicants to the program will submit an overview of their start-up ideas, then post a YouTube video promoting the idea. VEB is open to any post-secondary student in Canada.
The University of Waterloo runs the event from May to July. It’s held at Waterloo's VeloCity, a new hybrid student residence and high-tech incubator where several strong startup companies in mobile communications and digital media have begun.
The VeloCity Entrepreneur BootCamp (VEB) will enable top student entrepreneurs to fast track the launch of their technology-based startups. Selected students will be mentored by some of Canada's most experienced and successful entrepreneurs, organizers describe. They will live rent-free at VeloCity and will work out of office space provided at no charge by the Accelerator Centre in Waterloo's research and technology park.
The students will each receive $3,000 (up to a maximum $9,000 for each team) and own 100 per cent of their intellectual property. As well, they will attend seminars and workshops on important business-related topics. It is the first nation-wide, residence-based program of its kind in North America.
"The new approach of the VeloCity Entrepreneur BootCamp is a model for the future of Canada during these turbulent economic times because we must find new ways to encourage and grow innovation and entrepreneurship," said David Johnston, president of the University of Waterloo. "VEB embodies Waterloo's reputation as the university that prepares young people to solve not only the problems of today, but also those of tomorrow. This initiative brings together enterprising students, who with the support of a leading university, learn teamwork and how to collaborate with the technology incubator, startup and venture capital communities."
Waterloo joined forces with the Ontario Centres of Excellence's (OCE) Centre for Commercialization of Research to set up VEB. Other key partners include the Accelerator Centre; Communitech, which will provide programming and access to their network of mentors; and the Impact Entrepreneurship Group, which will help promote VEB on campuses across the country.
At the end of the bootcamp, students will be ready to launch their products or services for the benefit of the Canadian economy. They will also be eligible for additional seed funding through the OCE's Centre for Commercialization of Research's new entrepreneur program.
"We are really excited to be part of this pioneering initiative," said Mario Thomas, managing director, Centre of Excellence for Commercialization of Research. "In aiming this program specifically at students we are helping to create a culture of entrepreneurship among young people which is really critical to the long-term development of innovation."
For details, go to www.velocity.uwaterloo.ca.