Entrepreneurial mindset reaps rewards at Better Together
Design sprint participants collaborate to solve real campus challenges
The University of Manitoba continued its support of entrepreneurial thinking with a second Better Together learning event November 12 and 13, hosted by The Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. Fittingly held during Global Entrepreneurship Week, the event brought together nearly 50 participants from 11 different faculties together in a non-competitive design sprint to solve real challenges facing the university.
Entrepreneurial thinkers are everywhere
On Day 1 of the event, held in UMSU’s Multi-Purpose Room, the nine Better Together teams were introduced to the concepts they would use during the design sprint.
Janine Carmichael, Faculty Specialist in Entrepreneurship at The Centre, helped attendees understand how very broad the idea of entrepreneurial thinking can be. “It is a willingness, and an ability, to make an impact,” she said. Today’s entrepreneurial thinkers develop solutions to a wide range of problems – in scenarios that may not involve starting a business. She explained that some innovative thinkers are “intrapreneurs,” working proactively within a company or organization to develop new products and services.
Carmichael noted that our global challenges increasingly require an entrepreneurial approach, whether by entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs. “Think mitigating climate change, bolstering human health, and advancing Reconciliation,” she said.
Participants reviewed the five steps of design thinking before jumping into the sprint, in which each team created a three-minute video pitch tackling one of these challenges:
- How might we build resilience within the UM community to reduce climate anxiety? (Submitted by the Office of Sustainability)
- How might we address the underlying causes of retail theft on campus? (Submitted by the University of Manitoba Students’ Union)
- How might we help newcomers navigate their successful transition into the UM community? (Submitted by the UM Graduate Students’ Association)
Teams were supported by three UM mentors during the event. Rajeev Koyal, Program Manager of UM’s IDEA START, Daniel Heschuk, Program Development Specialist at the Science Innovation Hub, and Ben Isakov, Startup Coach at the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, all lent an ear and helped teams develop their ideas.
Three-minute videos showcase creativity
By the time the teams submitted their video pitches after lunch on Day 2, a sense of community was evident, thanks to a feeling of shared purpose and a healthy dose of adrenalin.
Teams applauded each others’ ideas during the video watch party, which demonstrated how much can be accomplished in a short time when creativity and experimentation are encouraged.
Several participants from the 2023 event returned this year because they’d enjoyed themselves so much the first time around. International student Maryann Mozaffari, a Master of Supply Chain Management and Logistics student in the Asper School of Business, participated last year on a team that addressed food security on campus.
“The environment, the way they had us think outside the box – it was an amazing experience for me last year,” she said. “It’s a hands-on experience, it’s using a lot of our abilities. It’s also really refreshing, after being in classes all the time.”
Computer engineering student Kanwar Lubana also attended both years. “I came to connect with like-minded people,” he said. This year his team generated five pages of ideas before developing an app to help international students find housing and roommates. “I’m excited about entrepreneurship,” Lubana said. “Given the limited time given, I think it’s cool how we came up with a good chunk of ideas and a prototype.”
Leveraging new skills
To wrap things up, Connie Korchak from UM’s Career, Community, and Experiential Learning Centre addressed participants, encouraging them to reflect on how many valuable competencies they had developed during the event. She demonstrated how the experience could provide valuable information for resumés, LinkedIn profiles and more, such as job interviews where employers ask situational questions like, “Tell me about a time that you had to solve a complex problem.”
The Better Together event will be added to the participants’ Experience Record, an official record of university-approved and facilitated activities that support student development in venues that are not for academic credit. Participants also received a $50 gift card to UMSU businesses.
