Two $40,000 prizes announced for Capstone Design

Friday, January 24, 2014

Brigette Lau (BASc, CompE, 1999) and Chamath Palihapitiya (BASc, ElectE, 1999) partners of The Social + Capital Partnership in Palo Alto, CA, returned to campus on January 23 to announce two new prizes of $40,000 each for Capstone Design in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

New fund supports ECE Capstone Design teams

With the announcement of the new Palihapitiya Lau ECE Venture Creation Fund, two ECE student teams will be selected to receive $40,000 towards their fourth year Capstone Design projects.  The ne2015w program integrates the fourth-year mandatory Capstone Design project in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) with curriculum embedded entrepreneurship training.  

The awards include $6,000 per student in support of living expenses, to a maximum of four students, and $16,000 for expenses related to project development.

2012 ECE Capstone Design Symposium
In addition to financial support, the award recipients will receive industry mentorship as part of an entrepreneurial work term. With the option of completing their September 2015 co-op term in Silicon Valley, Toronto or Waterloo, teams will refine their design projects and business plans while benefiting from industry mentorship and networking.  

Capstone Design

Students at 2012 ECE Capstone design symposium
Capstone is "entrepreneurial by design" fostering the entrepreneurial spirit that embodies Waterloo Engineering -- an appetite for real-world problem solving, a willingness to test new ideas and the joy of shared invention.

Supported by numerous awards, Capstone Design provides Waterloo Engineering students with the unique opportunity to conceptualize and design a project related to their chosen discipline. 

Ground-breaking ideas leading to the creation of Athos, BufferBox, Intellijoint HIP, Myo armband and the Pebble smartwatch had their genesis in Capstone Design.

Brigette and Chamath
About Chamath Palihapitiya and Brigette Lau

Chamath Palihapitiya (BASc, Electrical Engineering, 1999) and his wife, Brigette Lau (BASc Computer Engineering, 1999) are partners of The Social+Capital Partnership, a venture capital fund based in Palo Alto, CA investing in breakthrough companies in education, healthcare, financial services, mobile and enterprise software.

Chamath was the longest tenured member of Facebook's executive team and is widely credited for driving its user base to over one billion.