Sociable, a modern and innovative student engagement platform developed by three Saint Mary's students was the grand prize winner in the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre's second annual Innovation Cup Final Competition held Friday, November 29.
Olivian Sanderson (B.Comm Accounting and Management) Jason Phonchareon (B.Sc Psychology) and Stuti Sandhu (B.A Psychology) developed the start-up Sociable to address student loneliness within universities.
Sociable helps students connect with each other, get peer support, and gain access to campus events. A standout feature is Pre-Connect, which allows students to join group chats before an event. What sets Sociable apart is limiting the range of connections to students within the same school, promoting meaningful interactions and relationships.
"When I came to university, I found it hard to make friends and I didn't have many likeminded people around me," said Olivian Sanderson, one of the three members of the Sociable team. "Luckily, I found a group of people who aligned with me, including my co-founder, Jason Phonchareon, and we started talking about this issue."
"The vision with Sociable is to be the platform that ends student loneliness. We want to be in every school to give as many students as possible the accessible opportunity to meet people that they mesh well with. In a digital world, it's so important to ensure we are still fostering those in person relationships, which is why this platform is a necessity."
The team will use the $10,000 towards completing their UX design, as well as legal fees, marketing, and cloud storage.
This is the second year for the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre Innovation Cup a 10-week experiential learning program for Saint Mary's students, where 10 teams compete for the grand prize of $10,000. Each team is made up of three students from across the three faculties of Arts, Commerce and Science.
"During the 10 weeks of the program, students have weekly training sessions and workshops, connect with industry experts to increase their business understanding, skills and network," said Michael Sanderson, Director, Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre. "All while turning their start up idea into tangible ventures. It's a transformational learning experience."
The other two finalists for the 2024 Innovation Cup were Alaagi, a startup focused on creating innovative, biodegradable bioplastics from seaweed; and Bean, a food assistant that helps plan meals, track ingredients, and reduce waste effortlessly.
The judges for this year's final competition were Katerina Msafari, Founder Success Lead at Tribe Network and COO of Adrigo Insights; Mike Rothenburg, Economic Development Officer at ACOA; Bethany Deshpande, founded and exited SomaDetect, and currently supporting innovative companies and leaders through strategic guidance and coaching.
The Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre at Saint Mary's University is Atlantic Canada's premier hub for cultivating entrepreneurial mindsets and driving open innovation. The Centre has grown regional prosperity by helping business and student leaders reach their entrepreneurial potential. In the last five years, the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre has engaged more than 4,000 students and 3,000 businesses in entrepreneurial support and promotion activities.
