Entrepreneurship initiatives at uottawa engineering since 2006

Abstract

Since 2006, uOttawa Engineering has been successful in developing and implementing an entrepreneurial ecosystem with the main objective of broadening - and making more relevant - the education of its undergraduate and graduate students in engineering and computer science. Building upon successful academic programs that have been in place for many years (undergraduate option in engineering management and entrepreneurship, graduate program of studies in engineering management) and also on a long-standing productive relationship with University of Ottawa's business school, uOttawa Engineering now offers a comprehensive 'pracademic' (Wilson et al. 2014) portfolio of activities and programs that includes academic and experiential as well as curricular and co-curricular elements: access to fabrication equipment and facilities, including 3-D printing and rapid prototyping; courses (undergraduate, graduate); external advisors, judges, mentors; guest lectures; student competitions. This endeavor has required - and will continue to require - the active involvement and support of academic leaders, alumni, faculty members, members of the business community, and students. uOttawa Engineering firmly believes in the importance of educating students about intra- and entrepreneurship and of providing them with a variety of relevant hands-on opportunities to apply and use this education and training during their studies. Our ultimate objective is to ensure that future engineering and computer science professionals will be better prepared to lead and manage change in both existing organizations and new ventures. Accelerated change will be the norm of the XXIst century, especially when it comes to engineering and computer science products and services. uOttawa Engineering's entrepreneurial ecosystem aims to be a significant contributor on that front.