SASKATOON — The University of Saskatchewan (USask) has received $450,000 in funding from Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) to support SIGMA, a unique interdisciplinary program that trains and develops future entrepreneurs.
SIGMA (Saskatchewan Innovation Growth and Market Acceleration) is housed in USask’s College of Engineering and is a one-of-a-kind program in Canada that promotes entrepreneurship, provides education, and creates opportunities for burgeoning tech innovators. SIGMA programming and events include industry-focused speaker sessions, mentorship, and a four-month intensive lab with the goal of supporting users to build and apply skills learned through USask classes and move their innovations to the marketplace.
The funding, which equates to $150,000 per year over the next three years, is going towards the delivery of the SIGMA program, the Engineering Executive and Entrepreneur in Residence, and support of USask as a founding member of a partnership with the Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) through the Global Leadership Entrepreneurship Educators Network, an international collaboration meant to connect and improve the education of young entrepreneurs around the world.
“PrairiesCan’s support has helped amplify the impact of engineering entrepreneurship at USask and the LaBorde Chair,” says Tate Cao, SIGMA co-ordinator.
“SIGMA is the bridge that connects classroom learning with Saskatchewan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Students can apply the tools and knowledge they gain in engineering entrepreneurship classes at USask to develop their ideas into viable businesses through SIGMA’s mentorship and applied learning.”
SIGMA is led at USask by associate professor and La Borde Chair in Engineering Entrepreneurship Tate Cao in the College of Engineering’s Ron and Jane Graham School of Professional Development. Many students who have gone through SIGMA have gone on to work with USask’s Opus startup incubator and other tech incubators such as Co.Labs, Cultivator, and Creative Destruction Lab.
“SIGMA was the main reason I pursued entrepreneurship. I had always been interested in entrepreneurship, but didn’t really know how to start,” says Colton Breitkreuz, CEO of TAUlab, and USask College of Engineering alumnus.
“SIGMA taught me that entrepreneurship was all about trying things and learning from your failures. That’s why I think engineers make good entrepreneurs.”
The funding from PrairiesCan will further advance USask’s entrepreneurial initiatives and ongoing efforts to turn homegrown ideas into innovations that reach the marketplace.
— Submitted by USask Media Relations
