Build ventures. Drive innovation. Lead change.
The Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business is the academic engine for entrepreneurs. Affiliated with Canada’s most innovative university, we provide students with hands-on experiences in innovative commercialization and strategic start-up success, helping them thrive as the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders.
Undergraduate
Enhance your undergraduate degree by joining Conrad School's specialized programs, experiences, and courses.
Graduate
Commercialize your ideas and earn your master's degree or complement your studies with graduate offerings.
News
Conrad School launches Academy of Research Commercialization (ARC) to accelerate deep-tech ventures
The Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business is proud to announce the launch of the Academy of Research Commercialization (ARC), a new initiative designed to empower University of Waterloo doctoral students in turning deep-tech discoveries into investor-ready ventures.
Celebrating the retirement of Tracie Wilkinson
Her retirement marks the conclusion of an extraordinary chapter, and the Conrad School community extends its sincere gratitude and best wishes as she begins this next stage. As reflected by founding Director Howard Armitage, Tracie’s steady leadership, good humour, and problem-solving ability made her a foundational presence at Conrad.
Her retirement marks the conclusion of an extraordinary chapter, and the Conrad School community extends its sincere gratitude and best wishes as she begins this next stage.
Alumni Impact Series: Kamal Lutfi (MBET ’21)
After the closure of his first venture during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kamal Lutfi entered the Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program seeking a structured path to relaunch as a founder in Canada’s innovation ecosystem. MBET provided the clarity, community, and disciplined approach he needed to rebuild his entrepreneurial foundation.
Kamal credits the program with reshaping his leadership, strengthening his customer-development discipline, and teaching him to leverage Waterloo’s innovation network. He learned to treat each iteration as a hypothesis and to view failure as valuable data.
Today, Kamal is building a purpose-driven venture grounded in validated opportunity and long-term impact. He continues to stay connected to the Conrad School through mentorship, sharing real-world experience, and creating opportunities for future founders. His journey reflects MBET’s core mission: transforming setbacks into strategy and empowering resilient, evidence-based entrepreneurship.
Blog
Building real-world impact in 36 hours
Charles Huxley, Tom Kizito, and Joshua Olonade, three MBET candidates, won the Experience Ventures Hackathon by building a fully functional zero-waste analytics tool in 36 hours. Their “constraint-first” approach, shaped by MBET’s focus on rapid prototyping, customer discovery, and problem-driven design, allowed them to deliver the only live product in the competition: the Zero-Waste Dashboard. The tool provides instant transaction processing, customer segmentation, product insights, and actionable recommendations that small retailers can implement immediately. Their win highlights how MBET equips students to build fast, validate assumptions, and create real-world impact. The team is now exploring opportunities to extend the platform to other retailers seeking simple, data-driven solutions.
How Hayley So turned a classroom idea into ClickNShare
When Hayley So, a Kinesiology student in the Faculty of Health, competed in the Spring 2025 Problem Pitch competition, she walked away with $7,500 in R&D funding to advance her startup,ClickNShare. The platform aims to make creative equipment like cameras and devices easier and more affordable to access, helping students and creators alike share their tools and talents.
Where are they now: how Conrad School undergrad alumni built Zero Experience and shaped the future of innovation
When Covid-19 hit and students started losing their co-op placements, two Conrad School BET 300 students and Problem Pitch alumni Holden Beggs and Jackson Mills teamed up to give their peers experience anyways.
That idea changed everything. It became The Zero Experience, an all-online program that has now reached over 5,000 learners worldwide and been recognized in Forbes 30 under 30 Class of 2025.
“Zero was born from our experiences with the Problem Lab, entrepreneurship at Conrad, research across national labs, and too many side projects to count,” says Holden. “We saw common threads in successful innovation, but also a big gap: there was no true first step for students who didn’t yet have ‘a great idea’ or didn’t feel like innovators.”