CONESTOGA COLLEGE
New program gives students work-learning placements to explore entrepreneurship

The Conestoga Entrepreneurship Collective (CEC) is leading a new initiative at the college that will give students meaningful, hands-on experiences while supporting the business community.

Experience Ventures creates impactful work-integrated learning opportunities by enabling post-secondary students to collaborate with real-world innovators through entrepreneurial thinking placements. Conestoga is the regional lead partner for the program, funded in part by the Government of Canada and powered by the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking at the University of Calgary.

"We are excited to join the network of institutions offering Experience Ventures programming," said CEC director Rose Mastnak. "These placements are a wonderful opportunity for students to begin developing an entrepreneurial mindset and connect with innovators in our community."

Through this partnership, 99 placements are currently available for Conestoga students. These placements are particularly beneficial for students whose programs may not traditionally offer co-op opportunities, making experiential learning more widely accessible.

Students will work on real-world challenges, gaining practical experience and earning honorariums. Business partners benefit from fresh perspectives and access to next-generation talent. The program offers five types of placements: hackathons, challenges, projects, students-in-residence and interdisciplinary projects.

Food Security Ideathon: In partnership with the Cambridge Food Bank, 35 students will spend 16 hours over two weeks designing innovative solutions to help address food security challenges in the region.

Sustainability Solution Lab: 25 students will dedicate 40 hours over five weeks to analyzing the root causes of food insecurity and designing and presenting actionable solutions. This placement is in collaboration with experts from the Circular Innovation Council and the University of Guelph.

Projects: 25 students will collaborate in teams of five to work on five real-world projects provided by partner ventures. These projects span diverse areas, including sales lead generation, VR/AR performance tracking and AI feedback, software quality assurance, marketing plan design and game design. Over the course of 80 hours, students will work towards achieving project objectives while receiving valuable mentorship from venture founders.

Student-in-Residence: Eight students will serve as expert residents, each specializing in one of four fields: graphic design, photography, web design or social media. Over 80 hours, these students will support multiple ventures with their expertise.

Interdisciplinary Placements: Six students will help Venture Lab for Global Tech company, Playmove, to expand into the Canadian market. Each student will take on a specific role: translator, video editor/designer, web designer, market researcher, copywriter or sales planning assistant. Each student will dedicate 80 hours to their role.

For deadlines and more information on placement opportunities, visit the website or email experienceventures@conestogac.on.ca.

The Conestoga Entrepreneurship Collective empowers and inspires students and alumni to successfully participate in the Waterloo Region entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem by providing multiple pathways for engagement that include developing a new business, becoming a corporate innovator and providing support systems to the ecosystem.

The collective has three core labs: the Venture Lab supports founders of early-stage ventures across all sectors for up to one year; the Gig Lab supports the monetization of industry-level skills by launching a freelance business; and the Sales Lab helps leverage an aptitude for sales to upskill and gain access to the lucrative tech sales industry.