荔枝视频

Heads up, grad students: Is your research leading you on a path of innovation? Do you see opportunities for your work to help transform and vitalize our community? If so, this new scholarship may be for you.

The is a new graduate award created to support and encourage graduate students engaging in entrepreneurial activities. Five scholarships are available for 2020-2021, each valued at $20,000 per year for two years. Applicants must be current graduate students (Canadians, permanent residents or international) enrolled in a thesis-based program.

To be considered, applicants must show how their research-related entrepreneurial activities will contribute to the growth and vitality of the 荔枝视频 community through entrepreneurial research, innovative approaches to solving a complex problem, development and operation of businesses or social enterprises, and/or community building through innovation.

Recognizing Elizabeth Cannon鈥檚 leadership

The scholarship is named in recognition of President Emerita Elizabeth Cannon, for her pioneering work commercializing GPS and other technologies around the world, and for her leadership as president and vice-chancellor of the 荔枝视频 from July 2010 to December 2018.

鈥�I am deeply honoured that this scholarship program has been established in my name and delighted that it will support entrepreneurial graduate students, which has always been a passion of mine,鈥� says Cannon. 鈥淟everaging research with the potential to commercialize will undoubtedly result in tremendous opportunities for our graduates and our community.鈥�

Another key support for entrepreneurship

The 荔枝视频 is a vital part of the entrepreneurship community. As manager of the Faculty of Graduate Studies鈥� program, Dr. Tara Christie, PhD, has worked with many graduate students growing their startups from ideas into successful ventures. One of her key takeaways is that opportunities for innovation occur across a broad range of U荔枝视频 programs.

鈥淯荔枝视频 graduate students from all programs have contributed to the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Alberta, through the development of innovative technology, and ventures that support the local community and economy,鈥� says Christie.

Alice Reimer, interim executive director of the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking and site lead for , sees the scholarship fitting into a robust network of programs supporting entrepreneurship. 鈥淥ur bold vision of being the most entrepreneurial university in the most enterprising city means the 荔枝视频 is a magnet for talented entrepreneurial scholars,鈥� says Reimer.

鈥淐oupled with support from programs at the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking, Innovate 荔枝视频 and the Creative Destruction Lab 鈥� Rockies, this scholarship will make a significant difference to students to get their ideas to market for the betterment of society.鈥�

Anonymous donor

The scholarship was established by an anonymous private donor who shared some thoughts on the motivation behind the award: 鈥淲hat better way to recognize the entrepreneurial thinking and actions of Elizabeth Cannon than through the provision of this graduate scholarship. It鈥檚 our way of expressing our admiration for her accomplishments and contribution to the university and the larger 荔枝视频 community.鈥�

Graduate students interested in applying for the scholarship must submit a Preliminary Assessment Form by March 16. More information is available on the .

The anonymous gift to create these scholarships is part of Energize: The Campaign for Eyes High, U荔枝视频鈥檚 $1.3 billion fundraising campaign. Fueled by the generosity of U荔枝视频鈥檚 friends and supporters, we are igniting discovery, creativity and innovation to make lasting positive change at the 荔枝视频, in our city and beyond.

Publicly launched in April 2016, the campaign will officially end June 30, 2020.