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Generation Changemaker students & staff from Earl of March Secondary School, and members from �Ӱ�ԭ�� University’s Innovation Hub at Pitch Night 2023

Back row left to right: Calvin Tong, Jet Chiang, Arin Salwan, Noah Shi, Alex Zelenski, Soran Majeed, Vincent Zhong, Anson Liang, Renesh Guri, Aryan Halli, John Nelson, Shu Chen.

Front row left to right: Deborah Wilmhurst, Rosalie Vigneron, Angelina Zhong, & Alya Bustnani.

�Ӱ�ԭ�� University’s Innovation Hub facilitates a number of programs to encourage university students to learn about social innovation and entrepreneurship, and inspires them to create solutions to problems which impact the community. By providing unique, hands-on learning opportunities through our programs, students in the Innovation Hub are able to take their first step into the Ottawa entrepreneurship ecosystem, and can create new ventures which disrupt existing markets, or solutions which address pain points and problems in others.

The Hub hosts pitch nights at the end stage of each program, where students strengthen their critical thinking and communication skills by showcasing their bright ideas to a panel of judges on campus at �Ӱ�ԭ��, or on the RBCx stage at the Hub350 space in Kanata. This May 2023, the Innovation Hub had the honor of hosting a pitch night for the final phase of the Winter 2023 edition of the Generation Changemaker program, an immersive eight-week experience that engages a new generation of students coming from local high schools in the community. This program empowers high school students in Ottawa to develop thoughtful community solutions to issues that matter to them. If they decide to attend �Ӱ�ԭ�� in the future, they could also qualify for an additional bursary from some faculties at the university.

Students are encouraged to explore their passion spaces, and are pushed to their full potential to produce solutions like new product ideas, social enterprise services, policy points or academic research, that align with one of their personal goals. Through Generation Changemaker, students attended weekly hands-on workshop sessions where they gained valuable support and established their solutions. 

After weeks of working with Innovation Hub mentors and coaches as individuals and small teams of 2-3, the pitch night was the final stage of the program where students confidently delivered their solutions. The pitch night on May 4th, 2023 welcomed back Earl of March Secondary School who originally participated in the inaugural cohort of the Generation Changemaker program in Spring of 2022.

We saw a variety of creative pitches that touched on areas including: health and wellbeing, quality education, industry, innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production. The high school students eagerly took to the RBCx stage to deliver their pitches and receive insightful feedback from the judges. This year’s panel of judges included Jaclyn DeButte, acting director of the Future Edge Talent Ecosystem at �Ӱ�ԭ��; James Mackenzie, a serial entrepreneur and industry expert with over 25 years of experience; and David Mosley, an experienced business advisor and one of the mentors at the Hub. 

Innovation Hub pitch nights always fill the room with inspiration, but the Generation Changemaker pitches were especially heartening, as the audience got the pleasure to hear the young grade 11 and 12 students display their optimism for the future. The Innovation Hub gives back to the local community in Ottawa through our programs and we look forward to having more students participate in our dynamic learning environment! 

1st Place Winner: Rosalie – Business Idea / Community Solution: Let’s Get Outside 

Rosalie, a student at Earl of March Secondary School, took first place this year. Rosalie always wanted to join a club like boy scouts but felt discouraged by the name not being gender inclusive. Her business idea was an organization called ‘Let’s Get Outside’, that aims to provide affordable outdoor activities to kids to help get them off their phones and outside doing physical activities.

Rosalie’s pitch for keeping costs low was to run weekly outdoor activities at local parks in Ottawa such as Mooney’s beach and partnering with Mountain Equipment Co-op to help market and advertise the program. To keep kids coming back, she wants the curriculum to be as fun as possible and foster a non-competitive environment. 

As a community solution, Let’s Get Outside relates to the United Nations goal of good health and wellbeing. Rosalie told the judges, “You will be investing in the future and wellbeing of our youth”. The organization’s mission is for local Ottawa youth to grow up as more confident individuals and have more physical literacy.