Welcome to the Problem Lab's Problem Pitch Winter 2026 Competition Finals hosted and sponsored by the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business!
The Quantum Valley Investments® Problem Pitch competitions challenge students to research an important problem and pitch their research to a panel of judges. Funding of $7,500 is awarded to support the student team that demonstrates the most thorough understanding of their chosen problem to develop a solution. This semester, the theme of the competition is Global Futures.
The competition will take place on Friday, March 27th, 2026, from 12:00 - 2:00 pm in the Conrad School Hub, Room PSE/E7 2354.
The student team finalists are:
- FireScape
- ABR Detect
- Aqualis Bio
- Canada's Emergency Room Issue
- Terms and Conditions Apply
The judges' panel includes:
- Aliya Kassamali, founder of The Health Aisle
- Andre Edelbrock, founder of Tuhk
- Drew Davidson, Founder of ArcticEdge Technologies
Meet the finalists
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FireScape, Marco Li and team: In emergencies, the difference between life and death often comes down to incomplete information.
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Terms and Conditions Apply, Parth Sharma: How might we improve decision-making related to T&Cs for college students in Canada in order to protect data privacy?
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Aqualis Bio, Ellie Zarnke and Chuchi Chen: Addressing barriers in pigment production, quality, and sustainability in salmon aquaculture.
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ABR Detect, Kulsum Ali and team: Addressing Delays in Detecting Antibiotic Resistance.
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Canada's Emergency Room Issue, Olajide Alefila and team: The Missing Clinical Layer in Virtual Healthcare Access.
Meet the judges
Andre Edelbrock: Andre Edelbrock is a distinguished global entrepreneur with expertise in online payments, risk management, and digital identity. In 2005, he founded Ethoca, serving as CEO until its acquisition by Mastercard in 2019. Following the acquisition, he held the role of Executive Vice President of Cybersecurity & Intelligence at Mastercard for the integration.
Currently, he serves on multiple boards and actively invests in startups and growth-stage companies across the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and the U.K. Andre holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo, class of 1998.
Drew Davidson: Drew is the CTO of ArcticEdge Technologies Inc., where he is working to prevent firefighters from getting cancer by developing safe materials for use in firefighter gear. Drew started working on this project after being inspired by his mother, a retired firefighter, to apply his expertise in materials science to the problem of work-related cancer in firefighters.
Drew is currently a PhD student in Chemical Engineering at UW and is pursuing an MBET (as an Entrepreneurial PhD Fellow) in the Conrad School of Business. He also holds a BASc in Nanotechnology Engineering and MEng in Chemical Engineering from UW.
Aliya Kassamali: Aliya holds a PharmD and a Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) from the University of Waterloo, along with an ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management. She serves on the Board of Directors for Green Shield Canada Insurance and brings a unique blend of clinical insight and entrepreneurial strategy to her work.
As the founder of Health Aisle Media and The Health Aisle, she focuses on making complex health information accessible and creating practical self‑care solutions for new parents. Her pharmacy background shapes her systems‑thinking approach, while her business training fuels her drive to turn ideas into impactful ventures. She also contributes actively to startup communities and is passionate about helping innovators navigate ambiguity, test assumptions, and move concepts into real‑world applications.