British Columbia Innovation Council

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Media Release | October 21, 2009

VANCOUVER, BC – The University of British Columbia Faculty of Applied Science and Sauder School of Business are pleased to launch Entrepreneurship@UBC, a new program to support student entrepreneurship, in partnership with the BC Innovation Council (BCIC) and the generous support of Peter and Diane van der Gracht and Greg Peet.

At Connect ’09, BCIC’s event for technology start-ups and innovators on October 19, Peter and Diane van der Gracht and Greg Peet announced support totaling $250,000 for the program. BCIC matched the contributions with their own contribution of $250,000 for a total of $500,000.

“The support of the community is essential to the success of this program,” said Applied Science Dean Tyseer Aboulnasr. “We are honoured to have the partnership of BCIC and the support of Mr. and Mrs. van der Gracht and Mr. Peet.”

“Entrepreneurship@UBC provides innovative and entrepreneurial students with mentorship from the business community and the opportunity to start their own companies with pre-seed capital from the venture fund created for this program”, said Dean Rockwell, CEO of BCIC. “The Council is committed to working with BC’s educational institutions and private investors to build a network of incubators, such as Entrepreneurship@UBC, that will train students to become entrepreneurs and launch new businesses.”

“This collaboration speaks to the strong synergies between the BC Innovation Council and UBC, and the impressive level of student entrepreneurship that is happening here,” said Daniel F. Muzyka, Dean of the Sauder School of Business at UBC. “This unique initiative will foster valuable learning and career opportunities for our students, enabling them to take business innovation and creativity directly to the marketplace.”

The Entrepreneurship@UBC program will develop entrepreneurs who will not only make a difference by transforming ideas into reality, but will also drive the economy.

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About UBC
The University of British Columbia is one of Canada's largest and most prestigious public research and teaching institutions. Located in the Pacific Rim gateway of Vancouver, one of the world's great cities, and in the Interior city of Kelowna, UBC is a global centre of research and learning. It offers more than 50,000 students a range of innovative undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in the arts, sciences, medicine, law, commerce and other faculties. UBC consistently attracts more than $450 million per year in research funding from government, non-profit organizations and industry for about 7,000 projects.

UBC is consistently ranked among the world's 40 best universities, one of only two Canadian universities in this category. It is ranked within the top 10 North American universities, and first among Canadian universities, in terms of the number of U.S. life sciences patents and the quality of activity generated from those patents, including spin-off company creation.

About BC Innovation Council
The British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC) is the lead organization charged with developing entrepreneurial talent and driving the commercialization of new technologies in British Columbia. BCIC is focused on accelerating the growth of our science and technology communities and competitively positioning British Columbia in the global science and technology economy in order to provide significant employment opportunities and a high standard of living for British Columbians. BCIC is a Crown agency of the Province of British Columbia. For more information about BCIC, visit www.bcic.ca.

For more information about the Entrepreneurship@UBC program, please contact:

ErinRose Handy
Communications Manager
Faculty of Applied Science
The University of British Columbia
Tel: 604.822.1524
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Derek Moscato
Manager, Public and Media Relations
Sauder School of Business
University of British Columbia
Tel: 604.822.8345
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Lindsay Thom
Communications Specialist
BC Innovation Council
Tel: 604.602.5249
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it