British Columbia Innovation Council

Will Fraser of Yupiq (far left) with Logan, Jeff and Torben, all first year entrepreneurship@UVic students

When Sir Terence Matthews, founder and Chairman of Wesley Clover, visited the University of Victoria (UVic) in 2009, the world-class serial entrepreneur inspired a new generation of entrepreneurs and gave rise to the entrepreneurship@UVic program.

entrepreneurship@UVic, developed by BCIC in partnership with UVic, premier investment group Wesley Clover and the Alacrity Foundation, offers engineering graduates specialized entrepreneurship training, and real life experiences, guidance and
mentorship from successful technology developers and investors. Upon completion of the program, students will leave with Master's degrees, entrepreneurship graduate diplomas and arguably more important, will have developed their own companies.

Now in its second year, entrepreneurship@UVic has successfully groomed one student company that is close to going public, while a second team of students began their 20-month journey in September 2010.

The first student team, who has named themselves Yupiq, is comprised of two software engineers and two electrical engineers. Now settled in the direction of their technology company, the team is in full "sell" mode, talking with potential customers on an international scale and testing all sides of the market.

For these students, the business training and support from industry received as part of the program is as vital as the idea. The program mandates eight months of hands-on entrepreneurship training through UVic's business program. "As engineering students with no formal business training, the entrepreneurship@UVic program has been an incredible experience," said
Fraser. "Victoria has a huge tech community and we've been incredibly lucky to have had the mentorship and support of such high caliber individuals and organizations including VIATeC and Wesley Clover."

For more info on the program, check out the entrepreneurship@UVic site and other success stories.

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