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.
Building on past success
ARC builds on the momentum of the Conrad School’s Entrepreneurial PhD Fellowship, a unique pilot program that enabled innovative, business-minded doctoral students to complete the part-time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) program tuition-free alongside their PhD studies. The Fellowship gave participants the opportunity to pair their cutting-edge research with entrepreneurial training, sparking new pathways to commercialization.
While the pilot Fellowship is no longer being offered, the Conrad School remains committed to supporting entrepreneurial PhD students. The launch of ARC represents the next chapter in this mission: a program focused squarely on commercialization skills, mentorship, and funding pathways.
Doctoral students who are interested in developing entrepreneurial skills and exploring how their research can create real-world impact are also encouraged to participate in the ARC program.
Participants in ARC benefit from being part of one of Canada’s most founder-dense ecosystems. Key advantages include:
- Retaining ownership of intellectual property under Waterloo’s Policy 73, giving researchers full control over their inventions.
- Access to the Velocity launch platform, incubator support, mentorship, and funding-pathway coaching.
- Close proximity to labs, funders, industry partners, and commercialization experts.
What is ARC?
ARC is a dedicated program for PhD students doing frontier research in engineering, science, and related fields. The initiative offers curated workshops, mentorship, collaboration, and resources necessary for bridging the gap between lab discovery and real-world impact. Generously funded by the Esch Foundation, the ARC program also provides pre-seed funding opportunities for PhD students in engineering and science.
Over three terms, ARC will guide participants through:
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Fall Term: Foundations and Workshops: Commercialization fundamentals, IP, market discovery, business models, and two intensive weekend workshops.
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Winter Term: Building and Collaborating: Mentorship, regulatory and technical refinement, and collaboration with MBET students to test commercialization pathways.
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Spring Term: Go-to-Market and Funding Prep: External pitching, funding application support, milestone development, and a culminating live pitch.
At program completion, participants receive a Certificate of Completion and present their work to an external review panel.
Looking ahead
With ARC, the Conrad School is reinforcing its commitment to empowering PhD students not just to publish research, but to see it create economic, social, and technological value. ARC stands as a new platform for entrepreneurial researchers to turn world-class science into world-changing impact