Beedie School of Business

Beedie School of Business News

The Beedie School of Business’ interdisciplinary social innovation lab and venture incubator, RADIUS, in conjunction with Ashoka Canada, will host the second annual SFU Changemaker Showcase, a celebration of the brightest ideas and social innovators at Simon Fraser University. The SFU Changemaker Showcase will provide an opportunity to celebrate some of the brightest ideas and innovators at SFU who are working to foment positive change in the community and beyond. It will feature three TED-style […]

Beedie School of Business News

A quartet of Beedie School of Business alumni were among the winners at the recent Business in Vancouver (BIV) Top Forty Under 40 awards. The prestigious list recognizes 40 of the top business stars under the age of 40 in Vancouver each year. This year’s winners were honoured at a gala awards evening on January 30, held at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver The four Beedie alumni listed include Terry Beech, co-founder and chairman […]

Beedie School of Business News

Two teams of students from the Beedie School of Business took their place on the podium at the sixth Annual SFU Entrepreneur of the Year Competition. This year’s competition took place at the SFU Surrey Campus on November 16, and brought together SFU’s finest entrepreneurs in a Dragon’s Den style competition to compete for funding and resources to take their venture to the next level. Second place at the competition went to Salvedge Bags, a […]

Beedie School of Business News

RADIUS, the Beedie School of Business’ interdisciplinary social innovation lab and venture incubator, has teamed with Vancity to co-host British Columbia’s first-ever Social Entrepreneur Failure Wake, a celebration of the failures and mistakes made by entrepreneurs trying to accomplish great things. The Social Entrepreneur Failure Wake has been organized in order to build an entrepreneurial community that celebrates audacious attempts, with mistakes and failures shared openly in order for others to learn from the experience. […]

Beedie School of Business News

The following article was published by Axiom News on July 15, 2013. Twenty-one-year-old Xinyan Chen took her first social entrepreneurship class at RADIUS (RADical Ideas Useful to Society) last spring. Now, she and four co-founders are launching EnableLife, an online community for people with disabilities and their support network to share tips and tricks to enable easier living. It’s this quick turnaround, from a useful idea to establishing a social venture, that a new Vancouver program […]

Beedie School of Business News

RADIUS, the Beedie School of Business’ new interdisciplinary social innovation lab and venture incubator, has appointed Donovan Woollard as Director of RADIUS Ventures. RADIUS Ventures aims to become a world-leading incubator and accelerator program for impact-focused ventures, nurturing the best and brightest ideas from SFU and around the globe. With financial support from Vancity Credit Union and SFU, it will seed the ecosystem with high potential social ventures, and help to maximize the collective impact […]

Beedie School of Business News

The Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University has established RADIUS, a new interdisciplinary social innovation lab and venture incubator that aims to change business education and launch high-impact solutions to social challenges. RADIUS (RADical Ideas, Useful to Society) will bring together students from all faculties across SFU to develop and nurture practical solutions to pressing social problems and provide opportunities for deeper learning. The initiative will employ an interdisciplinary approach to develop solutions […]

Beedie School of Business News

Over the last semester, students at the Beedie School of Business have been bringing to life projects to address tomorrow’s social, environmental and economic challenges with help from the new Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator (SEA) program. The brainchild of Beedie lecturer Shawn Smith, the program ran for six weeks at the SFU Surrey campus, with $10,000 in support from Vancity, and allowed students to enter as teams or individuals in order to generate a feasible business […]

Beedie School of Business News

As a result of economic uncertainty and a less-than-optimal employment outlook both globally and locally, some students at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University are taking an alternative path to growing their careers. In the process, they are making hands-on contributions to the economy and society through entrepreneurial activity, community engagement, and international development. A case in point is Education Generation, founded by Shawn Smith, a Beedie School of Business alumnus and […]

Beedie School of Business News

Contact: Shawn Smith, Beedie School, 778.782.9262, ssmithe@sfu.ca Derek Moscato, Beedie School, 778.782.5038, derek_moscato@sfu.ca Chantelle Buffie, 604.763.7211, clb14@sfu.ca Sonam Swarup, 604.809.5477, slswarup@sfu.ca Lorraine Wilson, 778.837.0394, mediarelations@vancity.com Students at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University can further their social venture ideas with the launch of the new Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator (SEA) program, starting this semester at the SFU Surrey campus. The program provides students with the resources to generate feasible business models, meet with clients to discuss project details, and gain an […]

Beedie School of Business News

The Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University is launching a new social venture accelerator program, the SFU Social Entrepreneurship Accelerator (SEA), designed specifically for entrepreneurial students with social impact ideas or an interest in helping teams launch social ventures. Sponsored by Vancity, the SEA will help students move ideas from concept to reality, and aims to develop entrepreneurs that will help address tomorrow’s social, environmental, and economic challenges. Designed for students looking to […]

Beedie School of Business News

It has been an extraordinary year for the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University – and the accomplishments of the school at SFU Surrey have helped to drive that success. As 2011 draws to a close, Beedie is celebrating such student accomplishments as SFU Student of the Year, the Surrey Green City Award, and selection to one of Canada’s most prestigious leadership programs for entrepreneurs.

Beedie School of Business News

5 projects by SFU students—all social ventures aimed at creating positive change—were chosen from 10 finalists to win Ashoka Canada’s Be a Changemaker Challenge Nov. 23. In October, SFU, UBC and Ashoka also ran a boot camp to train students how to build and fund sustainable ventures.

The contestants were eligible for up to $1,000 each in seed funding to launch their social ventures, in addition to incubation support through Ashoka Canada and Ashoka’s Youth Venture. Most of the entrants were from SFU Beedie School of Business lecturer Shawn Smith’s BUS 492 class in social entrepreneurship and innovation, which teaches the fundamentals of creating socially impactful ventures while coaching students through the process. “More than just community engagement I think it is entirely critical to instill a sense of responsibility, and possibility, in our emerging leaders,” says Smith.

Beedie School of Business News

Sam Thiara, Student Engagement Manager at SFU’s Beedie School of Business, is slated to speak at the upcoming TEDxSFU, the first event of its kind hosted at Simon Fraser University. Thiara, who is also an alumnus of the business school, will be joined by fellow BBA alumnus Shawn Smith, who is co-founder of Global Agents for Change and an instructor of social entrepreneurship at the Beedie School. The TEDxSFU organizing committee is also pleased to […]