UÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ’s flagship entrepreneurship program
Launchpad is a six-month co-curricular experience designed for those that want to build a tech venture or gain entrepreneurial skills by joining a team. This program is for UÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, staff, faculty, and alumni.
What is Launchpad?
Launchpad is a six-month co-curricular experience designed for the UÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ students, postdocs, staff, faculty, and alumni who want to build a tech venture or gain entrepreneurial skills by joining a team.
Over the course of this program, participants work on real startup projects through weekly expert-led sessions, hands-on workshops, personalized coaching, and a final pitch competition. Whether you’re launching your own idea or looking to collaborate with others, Launchpad provides the structure, mentorship, and support to help you develop your venture and your career. Open to all faculties, Launchpad is where bold ideas take flight.
Applications are open from August 25 - September 28, 2025.
Upcoming events
Connect, learn, and get ready to launch. Whether you’re exploring Launchpad for the first time or looking to meet teammates, these events will help you take the next step.
Learn everything you need to know about Launchpad, who it’s for, and how to make the most of the program before you apply.
Join us to meet like-minded peers, pitch ideas, and form your startup team before Launchpad kicks off.
Couldn’t make the first one? Come connect, collaborate, and find your co-founders at this second Team Formation session.
Who can apply?
Launchpad is open to all members of the UÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ community. We welcome participants from all faculties and encourage multidisciplinary teams that bring diverse perspectives and skills to the table. You can apply as an individual or as part of a team.
Meet last year's first place team, Colokick
Kapilan Panchendrabose and Nivethan Panchendrabose
Why join Launchpad?
- Grow your startup or idea with structured support designed for early-stage tech ventures.
- Gain practical skills in strategic thinking, communication, problem solving, presenting, leadership, and more.
- Learn from experts through weekly presentations, hands-on workshops, and personalized coaching.
- Get matched with a team or build your own and improve your collaboration skills.
- Receive project funding of up to $1,000 to support your startup development.
- Get the chance to pitch your venture at the end-of-program competition for a chance to win prizes.
- Build your network and collaborate with changemakers across faculties and industries.
- Join a community of like-minded peers who will support and motivate you throughout your journey.
- Boost your career and gain experience that will set you apart from others beyond academia.
Key topics you'll learn throughout the program
Program Details
Duration & Format:
- October 2025 – March 2026 (6 months)
- In-person weekly expert-led sessions, workshops, and interactive learning modules.
- At the end of the program, top teams will be selected to pitch their ventures at Launchpad Liftoff, a high-energy public event where participants present to a panel of judges made up of entrepreneurs, investors, and innovation experts. Finalists will compete for funding and prizes to help take their startup to the next level.
Support:
- Personalized coaching from experienced mentors.
- Up to $1,000 in project funding for eligible teams.
- Ongoing feedback on deliverables and progress.
Meet last year's runner-up team, NeuraSense
Tania Rizwan, Lily Gentile, Christine Dowling, Fionna Dela Cruz and Shekinah (Yna) Arpon
Program Timeline
Before your Launchpad journey starts, learn more and meet potential teammates at the Information and Team Formation sessions.
This six-month program runs from October to March, with weekly expert-led sessions, workshops, and coaching. It all leads up to the final pitch competition, where top teams present their ventures for a chance to win prizes.
What qualifies is a tech venture?
A tech venture is a startup or project that uses technology to solve a problem, deliver a service, or create new value in an innovative way.
A tech venture can include:
- Software or app development
- AI, machine learning, or data-driven tools
- Tech-enabled platforms or marketplaces
- Health tech, clean tech, ed tech, or fintech
- Hardware or engineering-based innovations
- Any scalable solution with a digital or technical component
You don’t need to be a coder or engineer to apply. Teams benefit from a variety of skills, including business, strategy, design, and communications. Everyone has something to contribute.
Don’t have a tech venture idea or looking to join a team?
Learn more about Launchpad Liftoff Alumni
See where Launchpad can take you. Meet some of the standout teams and changemakers who have gone through the program and turned their bold ideas into ventures. From pitch competition winners to emerging entrepreneurs, our alumni are making waves across industries.
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First Place: Colokick
- Nivethan Panchendrabose and Kapilan Panchendrabose
- Colokick is an ergonomic medical positioning device to support patients during colonoscopies. This device is meant to reduce nurse strain and lower hospital procedure times.
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Runner-up: NeuraSense
- Shekinah (Yna) Arpon, Fionna Dela Cruz, Christine Dowling, Lily Gentile, and Tania Rizwan
- NeuraSense is revolutionizing stroke detection for children on life support by creating a multi-modal, continuous, bedside monitoring system. Their product provides real-time insights on risk of stroke, enabling health care providers to make informed critical care decisions.
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People’s Choice Award: DNADetect
- Amber Quo, Meagan Davies, Muhammad Faeez Ansari, and Sana Wahab
- DNADetect is a novel biosensor technology focused on providing early diagnostic options to individuals for Alzheimer’s disease, enhancing outcomes and prognosis.
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Liftoff Participating Teams
- BidHawk: Ivan Chen
- Velma.AI: Dimitar Janevski, Tommy Dinh, Ideen Banijamali, Jacob Schon, Ajay Arumugam
- NerveGuide Pro: Mahnoush Alsadat Mohammadi Jahromi, Kapilan Panchendrabose
- Greenblox: Vasu Rakeshbhai Shah
- While She Is True: Ebunoluwa Makinde, Naomi Phan
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First Place: RespiraLinkÂ
- Caitlin Calder-Bellamy, Behina Tabatabaei, Matthew Fung, Faith Luu
- RespiraLink won with their groundbreaking Class II medical device, COPDWatch. Their product empowers patients to manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) proactively.
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People's Choice Award: Munitora Livestock Management SolutionsÂ
- Luiz Felipe Gama Di Grado, Ana Clara Perrone, David San Kim, Diogo Jose Notario Guaitolini
- Munitorais dedicated to transforming farm management by combining tradition with innovation to create tools that make a real difference in the field.
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Liftoff Participating Teams
- CraftXR: Farzana Aktar, Hamza Afzaal, Yash Terase, Ryan Mabley
- Glacial Armour: Aylin Habibiyan, Majid Mohseni
- iResuscitate Consulting: Jennifer Bacon, Ian Blanchard, Taylan Cicek, Liam Harrison, Ryan Lee, Jeanine Zotzman
- CardGuru : Michael Ocenar, Elvin Limpin
- Vitalize: Risat Haque, Catherine Betancourt Lee, Jay Gurjar, Amy Miller, Rishabh Ruhela
- Younme: Jay Chang, Yu-ming Chang
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First Place: Autosoles
- Hady Ahmed, Kyle Wu, Nashid Islam, Steven Ma
- Autosoles is a foldable, pocket-sized electric skate for shoes. Their device can reduce a 30-minute commute to just 12 minutes with zero emissions, saving commuters time and energy while having fun.
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People's Choice Award: Equusense
- Nathalie Drzewiecki, Elian Dupre Sarmiento, Hamza Syed, Peter Shmerko, Ryan Baker
- Equusense provides real-time remote horse monitoring to owners of outdoor boarded horses, improving owners’ peace of mind.
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Liftoff Participating Teams
- Advocacy and Innovation in Child Prosthetics (AICP) Foundation: Brandon Pentz, Devjyoti Dutta, Hemanth Veeraghanta
- PELTA: Christian Aguilar, Gabriel Vanorio Cilento, Harsh Shah, Jay Chang, Long Tran, Rod Babic
- Finberry: Haseeb Khan, Brooke Mitchell, Gary Wu, Hassan Tariq, Daniel Long
- Hidden Gemz: Ranique Mclaughlin, Evan Lester, Arian Haghighat
- Assemble Health: Winston Cheung, Brandon Pentz, Tina Wong
- Climate Change Materials: Cigdem Demirkaya, Anna Ulrich, Jesus Guayaquil Sosa, Paola Herrera
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First Place: Neocycle
- Subasthika Thangadurai, Arshia Mostoufi, Ramin Kahidi 
- Neocycle explored recycled electronic waste as an alternative feedstock for rare earth elements (REEs).
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People's Choice Award: ZOHRBS
- Ameer Hashim Cheema, Syed Osaid Abdullah, Bilal Rauf, Rashidul Islam, Zain Kamran, Sahil Nazari 
- ZOHRBS revolutionized carbon credit trading by allowing individual facilities participating in the market to meet net zero emission targets.
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Liftoff Participating Teams
- Dexpert Rehab: Michael Francis, Omar Al-Ghabari, Nizar Abdul-Halim, Maaz Ishtiaq, Hamza Mubarik, Luca Romano 
- MRKS Aviation: Michael Nikitenko; Reece Stefanyshyn; Kevin Le; Sheldon Glowatski
- Packsy: Paijani Sheth, Meghana Kompally, Neel Marella
- Serenity Solutions: Aditya Verma, Kunj Patel, Steven Duong, Puneet Kaushal, Utkarsh Kaushal, Muhammad Hassan
- SYZTMic: Michael Gelfand, Tejus Gangadhariah, Zachary Lau, Yicheng (Bobby) Zhou
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First Place: yOIL
- Sara Far, Juan Sebastian, Andrew Symes, Michael Wahba
- yOIL is revolutionizing seed grading by introducing an automated computer vision solution, providing farmers with quick and accessible information on their harvest quality.
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People's Choice Award: bAlm
- Gillian Alm
- bAlm provides affordable skin care with a mission to educate young women on skin health, so they can have skin that they are confident in.
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Liftoff Participating Teams
- Ciclo Technologies: Camilla Fernandes de Oliveiria, Felipe Gomes Camacho, Milanpreet Kaur, Luis Daniel Virla Alvarado
- EcoDomes: Misson Rahman, Firaz Farhan, Hassan Saeed, Temoor Tayyab
- LunarOPV: Dr. Mahmoud Farhat, Francesco Tintori
- MyBuild App: Giuseppe Dagalea, Gabriel Oblea
- RenewCell: Ian Choveaux, Syed Atif Pervez
- Stack-a-Pack: Atharva Naik, Lukas Kobler, Metro Anderson
Ready to start something at the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking?
Apply for Launchpad
Launchpad isn’t just for startup founders. It’s for anyone looking to strengthen their skills in leadership, collaboration, strategy, and communication, while exploring innovative, impactful solutions. Whether you’re driven by a tech venture idea or looking to join a team, Launchpad is your place to build, grow, and take your next step. Applications are open until September 28, 2025 at 11:59 PM MST.
Have a traditional business idea?
Have a traditional business idea that you want to launch, such as a brick-and-mortar shop, service-based business, or consultancy? Our Business Playbook program might be the better path for you. It’s an 8-week, hands-on program designed to help you build and launch your traditional business.
Have more questions?
Still have questions or need more clarity on this program? We’re here to help! Email us at hunterhub@ucalgary.ca and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.