Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Priming creativity: as the axis of a growing cluster of innovation spaces throughout campus, a new Technology Entrepreneurship Centre will bring students and start-ups together, purposely blurring the lines between industry and academia with a reciprocal flow of talent and knowledge.
Commercialization. Startup growth. Talent pipeline.
Companies of all sizes are increasingly seeking entrepreneurial thinkers—individuals who can rapidly problem-solve and work collaboratively to create new markets and business models for emerging technologies.
Technology Entrepreneurship Centre (TEC)
The Technology Entrepreneurship Centre (TEC) will support startups to activate a flow of talent, knowledge and new ventures across disciplines and industries. Harnessing UBC Sauder’s expertise, the TEC will give UBC students more opportunities to gain skills and hands-on experience in early-stage technology entrepreneurship, while serving as a hub for bringing innovations to life and creating positive social impact through business and ingenuity. By providing more interdisciplinary programming, more curated collisions, and more capacity to feed and support the venture pipeline, the TEC will be a significant addition to BC’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Accelerating Startups
A dedicated home for the exceptionally successful CDL-Vancouver entrepreneurship program within the TEC will provide more startups with sustained access to the high-quality judgement and mentorship that is critical to new venture creation.
Student Learning Opportunities
Expanded student learning opportunities through undergraduate and MBA specializations in entrepreneurship and popular courses like New Venture Design will help students learn how to be both entrepreneurs and ‘intrapreneurs,’ who build innovation and engage creative thinking in organizations of all sizes. As UBC continues to expand its focus on innovation, UBC Sauder is uniquely positioned to increase access to education in entrepreneurship.
“We’re preparing students, not for the theory of a future business world, but for the messy, ambiguous reality.”
Our Community in Action
Serendipity and an MBA: Factors in finding a career in competitive intelligence
David Washer is fascinated by the power of data. The UBC Master of Business Administration (MBA) alum is an expert at mining, sorting and synthesizing facts and numbers to reveal answers about a complex world. It’s a passion he gets to practice every day as the Director of Data Operations for Vancouver-based tech company, Klue.
The first faces behind the UBC Sauder Founders’ Pledge | Part 1
A wellness advocate who launched a plant-based pharmacy, an app creator reinventing the job search process, a pioneer of innovative footwear, and a self-described “start-up junkie” who helps people create their own private label cosmetics. What do these founders have in common? They’re all proud alumni of the UBC Sauder School of Business who are building philanthropy into the ethos of their companies because they’re guided by the principle of paying it forward.
Protecting B.C. fruit orchards from climate change
A group of enterprising students from the UBC Sauder School of Business and the UBC Faculty of Applied Science are tackling the harmful effects of climate change in B.C.’s fruit orchards with the creative use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
Building a future in cybersecurity with a UBC MBA
A software engineer by training, Adolphus Bassey feared he might lose his technical skills if he chose to pursue a business education. He was eyeing a future in the technology sector and didn’t want to change course.
CDL-Vancouver introduces Compute stream to scale revolutionizing technologies
In the midst of a digital transformation precipitated by a global pandemic, CDL is launching a specialized stream to advance core enabling technologies that will have the impact of the printing press, personal computer or internet.
HSBC partners with CDL-Vancouver to support Canadian climate ventures and the Net Zero transition
Creative Destruction Lab-Vancouver (CDL-Vancouver), based at UBC Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, welcomes HSBC Bank Canada (HSBC) as a CDL-Vancouver Climate stream Founding Partner. This partnership will help support ventures commercializing high impact, scalable climate solutions across Canada and enable access to global networks for founders.
Dining out and scaling up: The story of DYNE
UBC Sauder Bachelor of Commerce student Arnav Mishra has not let the pandemic slow down his entrepreneurial dreams. He’s the brainchild behind DYNE, a technology platform that helps friends connect at local restaurants. In just five clicks, his app enables foodies to schedule meet-ups at any one of the 400 restaurants in its database. Shortly after he first launched his app, public health restrictions placed limits on dining out with friends, but that didn’t stop Mishra from believing in the potential of DYNE. Instead, thanks to his ingenuity and perseverance, he was able to pivot his platform and rebuild from the ground up. The pandemic isn’t over yet, but DYNE is now well on its way to massive uptake and has seed funding in place to nourish his vision.
Harnessing data to mentor and empower entrepreneurs
Cheryl Cui only just graduated from the Master of Business Analytics (MBAN) program at the UBC Sauder School of Business, but she’s already running Kikstart Ecom, a design studio that partners with Shopify to help people across the globe realize their dreams of running an online store.
An app that takes the guesswork out of grocery shopping
When Sang Le moved from Vietnam to Canada in 2017, she had a problem. As a student juggling classes, homework and campus activities, she was often too busy to cook, so the groceries she bought would spoil or pass their expiry date before she could eat them. She also tended to over-buy certain items, which created more waste.