Better Together bears fruit
UM community supports an unexpected entrepreneurial thinker and doer
Jesse Lei Reyes, a UM student working towards her Canadian English Dental Aptitude Test, hosted a gratitude wall in UMSU University Centre in the end of March.
It was the second event for Reyes’ initiative called Port-a-Kindness. The first was a mobile campus hangout in collaboration with the International Centre in February.
Reyes’ unexpected entrepreneurial journey all began with an invitation to Better Together.
Better Together is a 2-day experiential learning opportunity to build entrepreneurial thinking skills and collaborate with others in interdisciplinary teams. Participants also engage in a rapid design sprint to develop and share a validated solution to a campus challenge. Over 150 UM community members – staff, faculty and students – have participated in the past two years. It is hosted by Janine Carmichael and Meaghan Ewharekuko from The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning.
“Originally, I thought Better Together was about starting businesses so I didn’t think it was for me. My friend encouraged me to come, and I learned that entrepreneurial skills can be used to address all kinds of problems, not just those of customers,” said Reyes.
Reyes’ team worked on addressing theft at campus retailers, a challenge submitted by the University of Manitoba Students’ Union.
“At Better Together, the tables are set with big pieces of paper and supplies like sticky-notes, markers and fidgets. We started by deeply understanding the problem before brainstorming solutions and developing our pitch. I remember jotting down “mobile campus hangout” during the event. I even took a picture of it.” said Reyes.
After Better Together, the idea continued to percolate.
“I met Daniel Heschuk from the Faculty of Science Innovation Hub at Better Together. Like Janine, he has supported me with meaningful suggestions. I learned at Better Together about other entrepreneurial supports on campus and I’m now taking SCI4000: The Entrepreneurial Mindset for Scientists and Engineers. This course has been very timely for this season of my journey. My instructor, Joshua Zaporzan, has helped me develop my idea, too,” Reyes added.
After Better Together, Reyes connected with others on campus, including the International Centre, Science Students’ Association, UMSU, and IDEA START. Rajeev Koyal, Program Manager at IDEA START, invited her to set up her initiative outside their space in UMSU University Centre.
“So many people are longing for meaningful connections with others. Our mobile campus hangout helps with that. And our gratitude wall helped the UM community take a moment to reflect on what is good. Gratitude and connection are like an antidote to uncertainty and loneliness.”
Reyes is grateful for the support she has received from many entrepreneurial supports on campus.
“Not only that, many other people stopped at the gratitude wall to offer to be involved. This may just be the beginning.”
Got an entrepreneurial idea? Not sure where to go for assistance?
IDEA START is UM’s new unit dedicated to ensuring entrepreneurial thinkers and doers are connected with the right support at the right time. That may be the Faculty of Science Innovation Hub, Partnerships, Knowledge Mobilization and Innovation, The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, UMSU Ventures, or other supports on and off campus.
If you are a student, staff, faculty or alumni reach out so the UM community can support you.
