With seven business accelerators underway and another in the works (see more about this here), and more than 50 courses, programs, labs and clubs devoted to entrepreneurship, U of T offers a huge variety of resources for students and faculty who think they have the next big idea. Now, the university is bringing these pieces together conceptually under the Banting & Best Centre. Named for two of the men credited for discovering insulin at U of T, the centre will help members of the U of T community navigate the university’s vast entrepreneurial ecosystem. Visit entrepreneurs.utoronto.ca.
CREATIVE DESTRUCTION LAB
Rotman School of Management
FOCUS: Information and communications tech
ENROLMENT: 130 applicant companies; 18 admitted; one team is cut from program every two months
Funding: Potential investment by a successful entrepreneur
Services: Mentoring with a successful entrepreneur; working with MBA students
THE HATCHERY
Applied Science & Engineering
hatchery.engineering.utoronto.ca
FOCUS: Engineering enrolment: 13 mostly undergrad teams admitted from 50 applicants
Funding: $5,000 summer fellowship, plus grants from a prototype fund
SERVICES: Mentorship, business support
THE HUB UTSC
FOCUS: Information and communications tech
ENROLMENT: 26 undergrads currently enrolled; 10 projects
FUNDING: None
SERVICES: Work stations, break-out space, boardrooms, MaRS workshops, mentorship
I-CUBE
U of T Mississauga
FOCUS: Open to all disciplines; undergraduate, graduate, alumni
ENROLMENT: Ramping up to 10 teams, 50 students
FUNDING: Modest stipend to be determined
SERVICES: Meeting/office space in the Institute for Management and Innovation, 3-D printer, workshops, hackathons, mentors
THE IMPACT CENTRE
Arts and Science
FOCUS: Natural sciences
ENROLMENT: 30 companies currently enrolled, mostly grad students and postdocs; 70 start-ups since 2010
FUNDING: None
SERVICES: Office/lab space, small-scale production; mentorship, networking
TECHNA INSTITUTE
U of T and UHN
FOCUS: Medical technology
ENROLMENT: 43 principal investigators, engineers, post-docs, medical trainees
FUNDING: Principal investigators raise own project funds from industry, grants
SERVICES: Equipment, project management, financial services, software engineering
UTEST
U of T and MaRS Innovation
FOCUS Early-stage software companies
ENROLMENT: 80 to 100 applicant teams a year, five admitted
FUNDING: $30,000 per company
SERVICES: Office space, MaRS workshops, mentoring. U of T takes 2.5%; MaRS Innovation takes 2.5%, with option to invest up to $200,000 in second round of funding
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