New undergraduate certificate delivers entrepreneurship for everyone at SFU

A new certificate from Simon Fraser University will allow any undergraduate student from faculties across the university to add innovation and entrepreneurship training to their education.

The Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), will teach students skills such as creativity, adaptability, teamwork, collaboration, communication, and implementation – skills that are increasingly sought after by potential employers.

It will also develop the innovation and entrepreneurship skills necessary for students interested in establishing their own startups.

Using a unique, interdisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship, the CIE has been designed to build the multi-faceted teams required for realistic entrepreneurship experience, while teaching students that entrepreneurship belongs in every discipline.

Launched this fall and with an official kickoff event at the SFU Surrey campus later this week, the CIE is designed to be customizable and work with the student’s primary degree.

“By partnering with faculties across SFU we are able to offer students the interdisciplinary teams and skills that realistic, practical innovation requires,” says Sarah Lubik, SFU’s Director of Entrepreneurship and lecturer in the Beedie School of Business.

“To be successful in business, the ability to innovate and make new things happen is no longer optional. SFU’s certificate is a uniquely collaborative answer to that need, and we’re seeing great enthusiasm from both students and faculty members.”

The CIE is offered by SFU’s Beedie School of Business in partnership with the faculties of Applied Sciences; Communication, Art and Technology; Environment; Science; and Health Sciences.

After completing a new introductory interdisciplinary entrepreneurship course, participating students take foundational courses delivered by the Beedie School of Business.

Following this, they take courses delivered by partner faculties to provide sector specific knowledge and experience, such as The Science of Brewing, Mechatronics Design, Interaction Design Methods, or The Canadian Health System.

The program concludes with one of several entrepreneurial capstone courses where students execute their own projects.

Lubik says the CIE’s interdisciplinary model utilizes new experiential teaching methods. Students work to solve sustainability problems in their communities, develop and launch real products, and work with real life entrepreneurs, including clients of SFU’s student incubator Venture Connection.

Students are also able to work alongside existing SFU entrepreneurship programs including Tech Entrepreneurship@SFU and Change Lab.

Lubik adds: “Through this experiential approach, students will learn to find market-driven solutions to social and environmental challenges.”