Stu Clark New Venture Championships: Graduate Edition

The Stu Clark New Venture Championships – Graduate Edition went virtual for the first time.

Over an exciting two-day period, the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship (virtually) hosted 15 graduate teams as they competed for over $40,000 in cash prizes.

The competition received more than 50 applications from across North America and on event day, the final competition teams included nine Canadian and seven US teams that all connected via Zoom. Participating schools included Johns Hopkins University, Western University, University of Waterloo, Simon Fraser University, Penn State University, University of Louisville, University of Arkansas, Duke University, University of Tennessee, and of course the University Manitoba.

The Stu Clark New Venture Championships challenges students to think outside the box, challenge the norm, and bring new ideas to market, and that is exactly what they did. The ideas the teams presented represented an impressive array of solutions.  Everything from complex medical challenges, to technological advances touching on a variety of industry problems, to innovative ideas aimed at making life better for our world – the competition had it all this year.

Joshua Zaporzan [BComm.(Hons.)/17], Strategic Partner & Venture Support Lead, Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship

This competition would not have been possible without the support of more than 25 local business executives and professionals from a broad range of public and private sector organizations that offered the students incredible feedback while selecting the winners. In addition, University of Manitoba alum, donor, and competition namesake Stu Clark [B.Comm. (Hons.)/76, LL.D./11] joined us virtually alongside, Silvia de Sousa, Chuck LaFlèche [BComm. (Hons.)/84], and Stuart Henrickson [BComm. (Hons.)/85] to judge the Championship Round. 

“We are continually amazed with the variety and quality of ideas generated and the caliber of presentations, and this year was no exception. Although meeting virtually is a different experience, we were still able to showcase Winnipeg’s unique community, and for a few days provide students from across North America with the opportunity to come together and share their business ideas. These students represent our future – and based on what we saw this year – we are in excellent hands!”

–Debra Jonasson-Young, Executive Director – Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship

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Congratulations to the 2021 winners:

Elevator Pitch Winners:

1st  Place Pathlogix, University

2nd Place Mente, Duke University

3rd  Place Quantum Lock Technologies, University of Tennessee

Business Plan Winners:

1st Place Quantum Lock Technologies, University of Tennessee

2nd Place ReGen, University of Arkansas

3rd Place Viridis Health Solutions, Simon Fraser University

4th Place Birthwrite Technologies, University of Louisville

The Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship is grateful for the continued support from all the community partners, industry judges, and university partners as the Centre transitioned this competition to a virtual format and hope to experience the outstanding support into 2022.

Asper Staff