Change is afoot at Conrad. In early June, the University of Waterloo’s Board of Governors officially changed the Conrad Centre into the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business. This change reflects what Conrad has become and where it is going. We are eager to keep our community aware of what is changing, what is staying the same, and what to expect from the new Conrad School.
While our mission to serve Waterloo students from every faculty with world-class entrepreneurship education, and our spirit of searching for solutions to big problems remain unchanged, our name has shifted to reflect these goals more appropriately.
Our long-awaited move to the newly constructed Engineering 7 occurred at the end of August, 2018. We are located on the second floor of the building, which has been designed with the entrepreneurial experience top of mind. In addition to a dedicated hub space designed for casual meetings and collisions, the floor includes a lecture hall; two graduate seminar rooms; 14 breakout rooms for student meetings and study groups; a pitch space; over 30 offices for staff, faculty, visiting scholars, and students; lounge space for students and work space for Enterprise Co-op and BETS students.
To create enhanced learning opportunities and meet the growing needs of our students, new offerings at the Conrad School have been developed. We have launched a 3-year, modular part-time Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology program, and expanded our course offerings in the Graduate Diploma in Business and Entrepreneurship that are also available to professional graduate students in Engineering. We have streamlined our Minor in Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurship Option, and now offer 13 undergraduate courses, an increase of 1200% since 2010. Undergraduate courses being offered in fall 2018 include BET 100 (Online) Foundations of Entrepreneurial Practice, BET 300 Foundations of Venture Creation, BET 310/340 Essentials of Entrepreneurial Planning and Execution, BET 320 Entrepreneurial Strategy, BET 420 Entrepreneurship for Social Impact, and BET 430 Sales Fundamentals.
“Becoming a School is a recognition of what the Conrad Centre has become and of the bold and exciting course it has been charting over the last few years – to be a powerful academic engine for entrepreneurship education at Canada’s most innovative university and a global leader in entrepreneurship and innovation education”
Looking forward, you can expect to be invited to visit us at the Engineering 7 Grand Opening event on October 29th, to see the Conrad School adopt a new visual identity to reflect our renewed vision, and to witness Conrad School faculty and staff working hard to meet the needs of the inspiring community of which we are proud to be a part.
For more information or queries, please contact Pamela Braza Pitman, pbraza@uwaterloo.ca.