Student ventures, and students themselves, have been recognized for their outstanding accomplishments this winter term. Everyone at the Conrad School is proud to share these highlights.
Proteus Innovation Challenge
PV Parkway is an alternative energy venture founded by current full-time MBET student, Angad Vohra and supported by class and teammates Arshmeet Singh and Saatvik Arora.
The team recently competed in the Proteus Innovation Challenge. Co-organized by Western University and WORLDiscoveries, in this pitch competition, teams competed by proposing viable commercialization strategies for novel technologies.
The PV Parkway team is one of five winning teams and earned themselves $5000 CAD from the Waterloo Commercialization Office for their venture. Congratulations Angad, Arshmeet and Saatvik!
Concept $5k
Once again, Conrad School student ventures had a tremendous showing at this term's Concept $5k pitch competition. Half of the semi-finalist teams are led by current or former students as are two of the final winners - Moonlight Haptics and Tulay.
Moonlight Haptics, a wearable haptic device mimicking vision through the sense of touch allows for independent and safe mobility for individuals with visual impairment, wherever they want, whenever they want. Founder Alex Wei, is enrolled in BET 400: Early-Stage Venture Marketing this term.
Tulay is a virtual insurance brokerage dedicated to helping international students understand health insurance in Canada and connecting them to the right insurance coverage that suits their unique needs. Co-founders Alyssa Mariano and Bernice Ebata are both current MBET students.
Congratulations Alex, Alyssa and Bernice!
RBC Student Pitch Competition at the University of New Brunswick
Team Tulay’s winning streak continued outside the Waterloo campus with a win at this year’s RBC Pitch Competition hosted by the University of New Brunswick (UNB). Alyssa and Bernice won $1k for their venture. They were joined by fellow MBET students Tony Le and Sabrina Pehilj co-founders of Tako.
Ontario Award of Excellence in the Equality of Opportunity
Angela Pause is a part-time MBET student and Waterloo Faculty of Engineering staff member who was recently recognized for her significant contributions to two Waterloo Engineering initiatives focused on supporting marginalized and underrepresented groups in education: Hive Mind Tutoring and the Indigenous and Black Engineering Technology (IBET) PhD project.
The Minister’s Awards of Excellence were launched in 2020 to recognize the significant contributions of Ontario postsecondary faculty and staff members during the early stages of the pandemic.
In her MBET studies, Angela developed Hive Mind Tutoring, a free program aimed at Grade 10, 11 and 12 students who are struggling in advanced functions, calculus, chemistry and physics — all key subjects required to pursue postsecondary engineering and other STEM programs.
Anglea also led the writing efforts for the 2021 launch of the country’s Indigenous and Black Engineering Technology (IBET) PhD project that has grown to include 12 Canadian engineering and architecture programs with 16 IBET Momentum Fellows and 24 mentors registered from across the country.
Congratulations Angela on this well deserved recognition for your excellence in both entrepreneurship and strategic program development!
Social Impact Showcase
Last but not the least, ConnectMe won the Winter 2022 Social Impact Fund, hosted by Greenhouse. ConnectMe connects newcomers in Canada who are struggling with migration dilemmas with a diverse range of coaches of the same cultural background.
ConnectMe Co-Founders, and current MBET students, Parmiss Aghdaei and Delaram Amani won $3300 CAD for their startup.
Congratulations Parmiss and Delaram!
If you are a current Conrad School student and would like to share a recent accomplishment, please email the details to Pamela Braza Pitman.