By McGill Reporter Staff
The Next 36, a program aimed at developing high-impact Canadian entrepreneurs, hopes to draw several members of its next cohort from among McGill’s best, most ambitious undergrads, Founding Chair Reza Satchu told a Sept. 26 gathering of students and faculty members from across the University.
“We’re trying to solve a major problem,” said Satchu (BA’91) at the event hosted by the Desautels Faculty of Management. Canada’s productivity lags that of the U.S. not because of the average worker, but “because there are not enough Googles being created” in Canada. The Next 36 is targeting candidates “who, we think, in their life can create something of real value which will have real significance for the country.”
The privately funded program, in its second year, will select 36 undergrads from among hundreds of applicants across Canada for an intensive program of entrepreneurial training and mentoring. The students are divided into teams, provided with $50,000 in capital and support, and challenged – relentlessly — to develop a venture built around a mobile app by next August.
Executive Director Claudia Hepburn told the gathering that The Next 36 is seeking participants from a variety of academic disciplines. What’s important is that they have “a track record of innovating, of starting things, of identifying problems and building solutions to them.”
The program is supported by more than 50 Canadian business leaders, including founding patrons Galen Weston, Paul Desmarais Sr. and Jim Pattison.
The application deadline is Oct. 7.
For more information: www.thenext36.ca