{"id":122038,"date":"2018-03-08T13:11:44","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T18:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.niagaracollege.ca\/?p=10938"},"modified":"2018-03-08T13:11:44","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T18:11:44","slug":"social-enterprise-start-up-weekend-students-to-pitch-innovative-solutions-for-niagara-march-9-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.niagaracollege.ca\/insidenc\/2018\/03\/08\/social-enterprise-start-up-weekend-students-to-pitch-innovative-solutions-for-niagara-march-9-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Enterprise Start-up Weekend: Students to pitch innovative solutions for Niagara, March 9-11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Niagara College is calling on its student entrepreneurs to spark ideas and set them ablaze as part of a Social Enterprise Start-up Weekend.<\/p>\n

Hosted by the College\u2019s entrepreneurship hub, ncTakeOff, and sponsored by Meridian Credit Union, the Social Enterprise Start-up Weekend will be held from March 9 to 11 at the College\u2019s Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus. Participating students are tasked with coming up with a business idea around this year\u2019s social enterprise theme, forming a business model, and pitching them to a panel of industry professionals.<\/p>\n

Event judges \u2013 including St. Catharines mayor Walter Sendzik, executive director of Niagara Connects Mary Wiley, director of operations at Innovate Niagara N\u2019ora Kalb, and director of small business at Meridian Credit Union Shaun Adams \u2013 will select a winner for the grand prize of $1,000 cash, and professional development tools to support the winning start-up. The winner will also be automatically advanced to the second stage of the Ignite Pitch Series Competition which will be held on April 4.<\/p>\n

Participants will have a chance to hear from keynote speaker Yashvi Shah, founder of Code Niagara \u2013 a Niagara-based social enterprise that aims to break down barriers to learn to code or become more tech-savvy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel that this weekend will give students an amazing opportunity to become more aware of what\u2019s going on in the Niagara region, brainstorm and create some innovative solutions for the region,\u201d said ncTakeOff project manager Madi Fuller. \u201cNiagara is a rapidly-growing region with a lot of different moving parts, so I\u2019m excited to see what is important to students and where they would like to see some improvement or progression.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the second year that ncTakeOff has hosted the start-up weekend, following last year\u2019s event that had an agri-food theme. Fuller is expecting about 30 students to participate in this year, and noted that this year\u2019s social enterprise theme is drawing students not only from the College\u2019s Business programs\u00a0 but from a variety of study areas \u2013 including \u00a0Culinary Innovation and Food Technology, Fitness and Health Promotion, and more.<\/p>\n

Faculty from the School of Business will serve as mentors at the event, along with advisors from Niagara-based entrepreneurship and innovation hubs including Innovate Niagara, BioLink, and various social enterprise owners.<\/p>\n

NC Event Management students are helping to plan and execute the event, while faculty from across the College, and staff from the Centre for Student Engagement and Leadership have offered additional supports.<\/p>\n

The event is free of charge for students and participants must register by March 2. All participants must be Niagara College students. Entries may be submitted on an individual or team basis.\u00a0 All contestants must register via Eventbrite by March 2.<\/p>\n

For details visit www.nctakeoff.ca\/site\/pitch-series-startup<\/a><\/p>\n

Following the Social Enterprise Start-up Weekend, the second stage of the Ignite Pitch Series \u2013 Pitch Perfect event will be held at Niagara College on April 4. Open to students from any Ontario college or university, the second pitch event, in turn, gives the winner a chance to advance to the Ignite Niagara community pitch competition where participants compete for a $10,000 prize and a bundle of business services valued at $30,000. Six finalists will be chosen to pitch at an evening event in May, 2018 from 5-8pm (Exact date TBA).<\/p>\n

Social Enterprise Start-up Weekend Schedule<\/strong><\/p>\n