EPICentre is thrilled to receive a generous grant from the John Dobson Foundation’s Dobson Entrepreneurship Excellence Project Award (DEEPA) to train our future entrepreneurial thinkers through the VentureU Skills Bootcamp.
The VentureU Skills Bootcamp is designed to teach students the fundamentals of idea validation and provide them with the opportunity to work on a real problem in a team setting. The ultimate goals are to stimulate entrepreneurial mindset and critical thinking among students, to equip them with fundamental idea validation knowledge and skills, and to learn to work collaboratively in a diverse team.
“People with entrepreneurial mindset tend to be able to adapt in the rapidly changing environment, such as at the time of crisis, better than others,” said Wen Teoh, Director of EPICentre. “We are excited to have the support from the John Dobson Foundation to provide such an amazing opportunity to our students.”
The DEEPA grant will enable EPICentre to train up to 72 students over three cohorts, with the next one taking place during reading week from October 10th to 14th. This ambitious project will also involve over 30 alumni and community members as speakers and judges.
Over five days, participants will learn the fundamentals of idea validation, problem-solving, and critical thinking and will work collaboratively in teams to develop an innovative solution to a real-world problem. Participants who complete the program will receive a $200 participation award and have a chance to win one of two $500 prizes during the pitch competition.
Our inaugural cohort featured 23 dedicated University of Windsor students who embarked on a four-day rollercoaster of creativity and innovation during reading week in February 2023. The success of the pilot program propelled EPICentre to apply for further funding from the DEEPA grant to extend the program to more students. A recap of the pilot program can be read at
https://www.epicentreuwindsor.ca/thats-a-wrap-on-the-ventureu-skills-bootcamp/.
Applications for the October cohort close on September 26th, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. For more details, please visit our website: https://www.epicentreuwindsor.ca/ventureu/
Stay tuned for updates, success stories, and more exciting adventures as we continue to nurture the next generation of innovators and problem solvers!
