Partnerships

Velocity is an on-campus pre-incubator offering, dedicated to further supporting the University of Waterloo student community through business advisement for early-stage ventures. Science-focused ideas have a unique home in the Velocity Science program, a collaboration between Velocity and the Faculty of Science. Student teams within the Velocity Science stream who require physical space to perform essential pilot studies, assemble prototypes, or hammer out their computational work have a place with their name on it in the Science Innovation Hub! Check out the Velocity Science webpage for more information.

The University of Waterloo is home to world-class academic programming with a unique emphasis on innovative entrepreneurship. The Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business offers multiple frameworks that directly support and elevate students in venture creation, entrepreneurial skill development, and international networking.

Through enterprise co-op (E-coop), students are able to reframe the co-op work terms inherent to their degrees as dedicated time for venture creation and growth. The Faculty of Science has partnered with the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business to provide a space for interested students to expand upon their ventures through E-coop work terms within the Science Innovation Hub. If this sounds like something you would like to become a part of, please apply through the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business. There are additional undergraduate courses (BET 300 and BET 400) that serve as natural extensions to the E-coop experience and are dedicated toward further developing students’ venture creation abilities.

For teams already in the Science Innovation Hub, Conrad School of Business and Entrepreneurship provides a unique resource through their specialized BETS program. Venture teams that have a small, readily digestible work piece may apply to hire two first-year Engineering co-op students for a micro work term placement in order to get that boost they need to really get their work going. More information can be found here. 

University of Waterloo’s iGEM team was founded in 2005 and brings a rich history of student experiential learning, leadership, and community to the Science Innovation Hub. Focused on the wonders of synthetic biology and genetic engineering, iGEM provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity for undergraduate students of all years, experience levels, and Faculties to delve into open-ended, inquiry-based research. The Science Innovation Hub is proud to be the new home of the iGEM Waterloo team starting in 2020, providing ample lab space, operational infrastructure support, and an environment of driven, like-minded individuals to further stimulate the creativity and dedication that defines iGEM. To find out more about how you can become a part of the iGEM team, please go to their application page.

The Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College advances expansive and innovative understandings and practices of peace locally and globally by catalyzing collaboration among our participants and partners. Programs include the Epp Peace Incubator, which offers funding, mentorship, and an inclusive community for new ventures tackling peace-related problems. The Centre for Peace Advancement supports Waterloo students in several ways: 1) we run a PeaceTech Living Learning Community through Conrad Grebel’s residence program, drawing on our experience with efforts to use technology to create a more peaceful and just world; 2) we facilitate the University of Waterloo’s participation in Map the System, a global pitch competition organized by Oxford University that is focused on understanding complex social or environmental problems; and 3) we provide a gateway for Waterloo graduate students to access Mitacs funding to launch their own social impact venture through our incubator program. Visit the Centre for Peace Advancement's website for more information.

Students with socially-minded entrepreneurship ideas focused on bettering both the economy and the human condition are welcome to connect with St. Paul’s GreenHouse. Located within St. Paul’s College on campus, GreenHouse provides support and community for students driven to address today’s and tomorrow’s problems in a socially impactful way.

The Science Innovation Hub has partnered with St. Paul’s GreenHouse to provide physical lab space and technical advisement for teams that are looking to implement some form of scientific research and discovery into their social innovation. Whether you need a place to build that hospital bed prototype or you have questions about how to even begin tackling the increasingly prevalent problem of microplastics, St. Paul’s GreenHouse and the Science Innovation Hub have the resources in place to make your passion a reality. Application information for St. Paul’s GreenHouse programs is available on their website.