茄子直播

The Next 36 for 2012 , a group of budding entrepreneurs from universities accross North America (Photo courtesy of The Next 36)

茄子直播 Students Form One-Third of The Next 36

Selected from candidates across North America for special entrepreneurship program

University of Toronto students comprise fully one-third of the 36 students chosen from universities across North America for the prestigious entrepreneurship program, The Next 36, in 2012.

鈥淓ntrepreneurship and the commercialization of research play a crucial role in building economic prosperity,鈥 said Professor Peter Lewis, associate vice-president (research) and acting assistant vice-president (innovations and partnerships). 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted to see so many 茄子直播 students recognized for their ability to take intellectual risks and develop bold, innovative solutions to problems.鈥

The Next 36 is based on 鈥淓conomics of Entrepreneurship鈥, the popular 茄子直播 undergraduate course taught by entrepreneur Reza Satchu which seeks to change the way students define and approach problems. Satchu is one of the program鈥檚 founders, as is Professor Ajay Agrawal, the academic director and Peter Munk Professor of Entrepreneurship at 茄子直播鈥檚 Rotman School of Management.

鈥淭his program offers unparalleled opportunities for ambitious students, providing insightful mentorship, intensive skills development and a powerful peer network,鈥 said Lewis.

An intensive, eight-month program, The Next 36 aims to transform the country鈥檚 most promising undergraduates into Canada鈥檚 top entrepreneurs through a mix of team work, business planning, the startup of a mobile-app business, mentoring, and three months of intensive entrepreneurship instruction.

鈥淭here鈥檚 something great about the opportunity to spend time with peers who are like-minded,鈥 said Melinda Jacobs, 22. Now in her fourth year of international relations studies at 茄子直播鈥檚 Trinity College, Jacobs learned she鈥檇 been accepted into the program over the weekend.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e getting 36 highly motivated people from across the country together all from interdisciplinary or varied backgrounds but all with a similar interest in impact and entrepreneurship,鈥 Jacobs said. 鈥淎nd then there鈥檚 mentorship from the business community and the access to academic resources through the Entrepreneurship Institute through the summer months 鈥 it鈥檚 a very exciting opportunity.鈥

The winning candidates represent 14 universities and were drawn from more than 1,000 applicants from 62 schools across North America. The students hail from a wide range of disciplines including science, engineering, the arts, business, mathematics and architecture.

Until August 2012, they will work in multidisciplinary teams of four to invent, launch and sell a product or service for the mobile or tablet market. They鈥檒l also receive in-class instruction on entrepreneurship from faculty from around the world in what The Next 36 calls an 鈥渋nnovation boot camp鈥 beginning in May 2012.

鈥淭he team members bring a lot of different life experiences and perspectives,鈥 said Jacobs. 鈥淢y team has three 茄子直播 students and one Queen鈥檚 student, but we come from industrial engineering, commerce, computer science and international relations 鈥 and although we鈥檙e all Canadian citizens we come from diverse backgrounds, growing up in Jordan, China, Fredericton, and Toronto.鈥

茄子直播 is a founding partner in The Next 36, launched last year by a group of business leaders, academics and entrepreneurs. Other institutions backing the program include McGill University, University of Waterloo, University of Western Ontario, Ernst & Young, Rogers Communications and MaRS Discovery District.

This year鈥檚 winning candidates from 茄子直播 include:

  • Zerzar Bukhari (electrical and computer engineering)
  • Freddy Chen (computer engineering)
  • Cheryl Cui (engineering science/biomedical engineering)
  • Anthony Darcovich (international relations, energy science & economics)
  • Rafal Dittwald (engineering science)
  • Melinda Jacobs (international relations)
  • Layan Kutob (industrial engineering)
  • Alexandru Litoiu (computer engineering)
  • Michael Murchison (psychology)
  • Anthony Vaz (commerce)
  • Donnie Yee (mechanical engineering)
  • Ji Zhou (engineering science)
     
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