Your innovative ideas can make an impact in the world
Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is a collection of activities, competitions and events aimed at making it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale, or grow, a company. This November, GEW 2021 is rallying almost every nation in the world to empower their entrepreneurs and encourage their citizens to find new and better ways of doing things. GEW 2021 is a call to action for all societies to come together and leverage the power of new ideas and innovation for the benefit of all.
Many Faculties, departments and clubs across campus are coming together to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week in our community. Check out opportunities to learn more, get involved and start your innovation journey.
Global Entrepreneurship Week partners
- Archway
- DeGroote School Business
- Faculty of Engineering
- International Affairs
- McMaster Industry Liaison Office
- MGD Health Innovation, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship
- Student Affairs
- Student Success Centre
- The Clinic @ Mac
- The Forge
Join the conversation
Use hashtags #GEW2021, #IAmAnEntrepreneur and #IAmAnInnovator on social media to get involved and contribute to the conversation around global entrepreneurship.
More events are coming soon. Check back frequently for updates.
From Steeltown to Innovation City: The Emerging Health Startup Ecosystem
November 9, 2021, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
Where do you go to bring your innovative idea to life? This session is designed for those wishing to better understand the McMaster University and local Hamilton innovation ecosystems. By the end of the 60-minute session, you will…
- Describe various types of organizations and the ways in which they contribute to idea exploration and development
- Identify key members of the McMaster University and Hamilton innovation ecosystem
- Understand types of resources that are appropriate for different stages of innovation development, using Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs).
Presenters
- Sarrah Lal (Assistant Professor of Health Innovation at Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine; Director, Health Ventures Development)
- Frances Lasowski (Adjunct Assistant Professor at McMaster University; Executive Director, C20/20 Innovation Hub)
Hosted by Michael G. DeGroote Health Innovation, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship
Social Innovation: Finding Your Why
November 9, 2021, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET
Social Innovation: Finding Your Why is an official activity of Global Entrepreneurship Week, an international movement to empower entrepreneurs and help make it possible for anyone, anywhere to start and scale (or grow) a business.
This workshop will include inspiring stories of social entrepreneurship, help you align your personal strengths and values with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and provide concrete theories and tools to execute your future innovations!
Hosted by Impactus Labs
Competitive Presentations & Competitive Speaking: A Personal Perspective
November 10, 2021, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET
You snap to your feet, stumble onto the stage. Your microphone fails, projector cuts out, you mumble opening remarks, swallow your name. Or it’s a Zoom call, an important interview, and you fumble with your camera or microphone, ask if you can be heard. Or it’s our high-octane, rapid-fire pre-recorded video. Your first impression: it can’t be undone. The rest of your pitch confirms your audience’s bias and impressions.
In this session, we draw on our experience: writing and directing plays, running entrepreneurial and exhibition booths, mentoring and coaching candidates for competitive presentations, as well as delivering webinars, workshops and award-winning talks around the world. We discuss story, first impressions, ethics, citation, subtext, staging, authenticity, articulation, scripts, images, slide design, staging, stage presence and respecting your audience.
Show them, don’t snow them!
Presenters
- John Bandler, McMaster University
- Daniel Tajik, McMaster University
- Aline Eid, Georgia Tech
Hosted by the Office of International Affairs
Proteus Innovation Competition Launch
November 10, 2021, 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
The Proteus Innovation Competition is a four-month long pitch competition that challenges you to create a commercialization plan for one of six technologies developed out of southwestern Ontario’s top research institutions. Successful teams have the chance to win one of six prizes of $5,000! Learn more about the competition and technologies at the Proteus Launch event. Register by Tuesday, November 9, 2021.
Hosted by McMaster Industry Liaison Office (MILO)
Free Budgeting for Success Class
November 10, 2021, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET
Untangle your money! Give every dollar you have a job, and watch your money work for you. Learn how you can use budgeting to supercharge your finances in this free class. Whether you’re a budding entrepreneur or a student needing to know how to better manage their money, this class is for you! Budgeting for Success give you a unique and real way to think about how you track and categorize money. This interactive class will give you the freedom to ask question and build your budget live with our unique tool. Start focusing on your financial goals, planning for a crisis and ensuring your money is always working in the best way possible.
Hosted by Shalicia Harris, Entrepreneur and the Forge Business Incubator Client
How to Start a Side Gig
November 11, 2021, 9:30 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. ET
Starting a side gig isn’t as difficult as you might expect. At this session, join Student Success Centre experiential peer leaders to find out how you can get started and learn what opportunities and support are available to you. Then, ask questions during the Q&A period to get all the information you need.
Hosted by the Student Success Centre
You Don’t Have to Be a Founder
November 11, 2021, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET
How does entrepreneurship play a role in our daily lives? What if we told you there is much more to entrepreneurship than being a founder?
Join us this week as we delve into the extended world of entrepreneurship. Uncover your potential as someone who enables entrepreneurship outside the founder life. Join the McMaster Industry Liaison Office (MILO) at our virtual event hosting three amazing presenters as they share their journeys and how entrepreneurship plays a role in their lives and how it could play a role in yours as well.
Hosted by McMaster Industry Liaison Office (MILO)
Falling in Love with the Problem
November 11, 2021, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. ET
Learn how to approach problem solving with an innovative mindset and set yourself up for success. Learn how to approach the process of innovation by starting off on a solid footing: focusing on the right problem will save you time, heartbreak and provide a defined pathway of success for your innovative endeavor. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to define a problem, how to validate the problem with your target market and the necessary tools to help you along the way.
Meet the presenter
Riley Moynes, MBA, supports startups as the Forge incubator manager. His skillset lies in product development, customer validation, business strategy and marketing. He enjoys assisting young companies figure out the fastest pathway to market. Previous to the Forge, Riley worked as a client services manager at Innovation Factory. Riley is a filmmaker turned design/business strategist originally from Regina, Saskatchewan. Riley has an entrepreneurial background having owned and operated a film and video production company for over eight years while living in Saskatchewan.
Prior to starting his MBA in Design Strategy at the California College of the Arts, Riley started a Saskatchewan-based solar energy company. Riley is incredibly excited to offer support to fledgling startups in the Hamilton business ecosystem and to utilize his design thinking skills in the process.
Hosted by the Forge
Kill Your Darlings
November 12, 2021, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ET
How do you tell a good idea from a great one? This session is designed for those wishing to focus in on the best opportunity for impact ASAP. By the end of the 60-minute session you will…
- Explain the importance of needs-based approaches to uncover unmet needs in healthcare
- Apply a simple checklist to prioritize opportunities for health innovation.
- Reframe ideas to illustrate value from multiple stakeholder perspectives.
Presenters
- Sarrah Lal (Assistant Professor of Health Innovation at Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine; Director, Health Ventures Development)
- Frances Lasowski (Adjunct Assistant Professor at McMaster University; Executive Director, C20/20 Innovation Hub)
Hosted by Michael G. DeGroote Health Innovation, Commercialization & Entrepreneurship
Virtual Challenge Info Session
November 12, 2021, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET (drop-in session)
If you have questions on how to create a pitch that addresses a problem, solution, impact and timeline or you have specific questions about the challenges themselves, please attend this event.
You will be able to chat with the following people:
- Shalicia Harris, Founder and CEO of InCharge Inc.
- Riley Moynes Incubator Manager, The Forge at McMaster University
- Sarrah Lal, Assistant Professor of Health Innovation & Entrepreneurship at McMaster University
Hosted by the Forge
Founders Tell All: Equity-Free Funding
November 13, 2021, 2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. ET
This event will be a hybrid of an information session as well as a panel event. The information session aspect of the story will introduce the audience to alternative methods of funding, including Clearco’s funding method. The panel will consist of three–five Clearco-funded founders, who will share their startup story with the entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs attending the event. They will discuss the hardships they came across during their startup journey, how they sought funding as well as the different types of funding they accessed, and how they scaled their business with equity-free funding. The event is intended to both inspire and educate the audience, ending off with a Q&A session, where the audience will have the opportunity to interact with our founders by asking them questions to help inform their own journey!
Hosted by Clearco in partnership with the DeGroote MBA Campus Venture Scouts
How can we reduce financial stress among young Canadians?
Deadline: February 28, 2022
$525 in prizes (five in total), plus one-on-one mentorship opportunities
In Charge works to empower young Canadians to be in charge of their finances. They focus on financial literacy, money coaching and creating financial tools to help build financial confidence and power. This leads to a better relationship with money, better financial decisions and better financial options.
How the challenge works
- Submit a three–five-minute pitch video.
- Submit additional graphic assets.
- You could win $525 and a 30-minute, one-on-one mentoring meeting with Incubator Manager at the Forge, Riley Moynes.
How can we improve healthcare and stroke diagnoses?
Deadline: February 28, 2022
$525 in prizes (five in total)
Propose a way to diagnose patients with acute strokes early in order to allow for early endovascular/medical therapeutic strategies. Stroke is a leading cause of death and presents clinically as a sudden onset of neurologic deficits. Early and rapid detection of stroke is critical to long-term health outcomes of the patient, as treatment efficacy declines quickly after even a few hours.
How the challenge works
Create a video (five minutes maximum) that addresses…
- The problem
- The solution
- The impact of your proposed solution
- A proposed timeline/plan for solution development
You could win $525 if your solution is chosen as one of the five winning submissions.
Entrepreneurship terms
If you’re new to the world of entrepreneurship and business innovation, then there’s a good chance you’re not clued in to the specialized lingo that’s sometimes associated with the industry. So, let’s clear up any confusion you may have by going over eight common terms and concepts, courtesy of the Forge at McMaster.
Creating a side gig
Do you have a hobby or idea that you’ve thought, “people could use this?” or “I could make some money off of this?” For some of our students and alumni, these ideas led to side gigs, where they have gained rewarding experiences and some extra money for school and interests. Check out the Instagram Live series to learn and get inspired from McMaster student and alumni entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship and innovation connections
One of the best ways to explore the world of entrepreneurship as a student is to get involved and engaged. Meeting like-minded people can help get the ideas rolling. The McMaster community has a wealth of extracurricular and academic opportunities for you to explore.
The Forge
The Forge is a startup incubator for the McMaster University and Hamilton region that’s open to anyone pursuing scalable companies — or companies you can grow. The Forge leads programs and events, including the Startup Survivor Competition and Business Incubator to inspire and educate you, the community of entrepreneurial-minded students and innovators at McMaster.
Innovation Factory
Innovation Factory is a regional innovation centre for Hamilton that provides workshops, programming, one-on-one mentoring and support and access to funding. Its mission is to help startups commercialize their ideas and small–medium enterprises innovate within their organizations.
Hamilton Business Centre
The Hamilton Business Centre provides information and tools that entrepreneurs need to grow their businesses. Its a one-stop source for business information, guidance and professional advice on starting and leading a successful business.
Impactus Labs
Impactus Labs aims to provide low-stakes opportunities for the Hamilton community to explore social entrepreneurship and develop scalable, socially-oriented start-ups. Highlights include the Startup Lab innovation event.
DeGroote Entrepreneur
DeGroote Entrepreneur hopes to give everyone the opportunity to further their knowledge through entrepreneurial presenters and test their knowledge in business-related competitions.
MDG Health Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship (ICE)
MDG Health Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship works with McMaster students, researchers and health professionals to create a community of health entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialization.
International Education Week
November 1–5, 2021
For International Education Week (IEW), let’s think globally and reflect on how international issues affect all of us locally. Join us during International Education Week to…
- Find events and socials to engage in that promote a global perspective.
- Learn more about global opportunities on and beyond our campus.
- Connect with McMaster’s global community — no travel necessary!
McMaster Global
November 1–12, 2021
McMaster Global is an annual, university-wide showcase of global engagement activities. This initiative supports McMaster’s vision and mission to make global engagement and knowledge an integral part of its identity and presence in Canada and the world. Global-themed events and activities hosted during McMaster Global may include virtual academic lectures, workshops, panel discussions, seminars, presentations, information fairs and more!