Students come to the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre from all disciplines and for many reasons. Some come with an idea they want to test. Others come to learn the habits and skills of an entrepreneurial mindset – skills like agility, resiliency, design thinking, and leadership. Some come looking for people like them – conscientious, ambitious – keen to make their mark.
Students connect with fellow students, professors, and entrepreneurs while participating in award-winning programs, services, and events. They find an energetic, supportive community where they learn, connect, and transform. The Centre is also where businesses tap into current, fresh talent and innovative, cost-effective solutions to business challenges. Businesses connect to students through training, mentorship, work placement, wage subsidies, coaching, and consulting activities.
With a focus on growth, innovation, and cultivating the entrepreneurial mindset, the Centre supports students and businesses – helping both grow and prosper.
In the last 5 years, more than 4,000 students and 3,000 businesses have engaged with the Centre.
Key Drivers:
- STUDENTS are the heroes – they get space and support to think, test, grow, and transform. The Centre’s vision is for every student to have an entrepreneurial experience.
- PARTNERSHIPS are an essential part of all initiatives.
- ALL ARE WELCOME – open for all Saint Mary’s students and students from anywhere.
- GLOBAL COMMUNITY – the Centre infuses CSR and the UN Sustainable Development Goals throughout
Programs and Partnerships
One of the Centre’s key differentiators is the breadth of programs, events, and partnerships. Highlights include the startup ecosystem, design challenges, sprints, Innovation Cup, Options Youth, RBC Talent Hub, TD Entrepreneurship Inclusion Initiative, robot prototyping, exploration funding, Enactus Saint Mary’s University, and more.
Every project is a collaborative effort with dozens of community or business partners, support organizations, other institutions, etc. This helps the Centre reach a broader demographic and enriches the student experience and network.
“The Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre helped me see what I was good at and helped me get better. It gave me a community.”— Gabe Martin, Faculty of Arts student and Enactus Saint Mary’s Co-President
Program spotlight
The Arena
Many universities host pitch competitions where students showcase business ideas. While pitch competitions display passion and innovation, the format is limiting and anything but innovative. Listening to one student after another tell their story in a predetermined time slot makes it challenging for judges and audience members to remain engaged.
The Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre recognized the format needed changing and asked the question, “How can student pitch competitions be more engaging?
To find the answer, the Centre looked to the world of sports. Just as sports fans become highly engaged following their favourite teams, the Centre sought to bring some spectator enthusiasm to their “arena.”
In 2021, the Centre launched ‘The Arena’ – a pitch competition modelled on the NCAA March Madness college basketball championship. Sixty-four student entrepreneurs from across Canada were selected to compete head-to-head in brackets, competing to be declared the best in Canada. Each match-up was supported with high-end production value and treated as its own competition where pitches and judges’ determinations happened live. The time requirement from audience members and judges is reduced to under 10 minutes per match. Using this format, The Arena has become the premiere pitch competition in Canada, attracting thousands of viewers.
in Kazakhstan in October 2024.
Saint Mary’s University dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship and innovation.
“The Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre has been a cornerstone in the development and success of EmployNXT. It provided us with crucial resources and support allowing us to bring our vision to life.”—Shubhra Singh, MTech, MTEI’23 SMU, Founder and CEO, EmployNXT
In 2023, The Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre relocated to the new Sobeys Inspiration Hub. The Centre has over 7500 square feet of innovative and collaborative spaces including a digital prototyping lab, podcasting studio and modular collider space – easily configured for events, classes, competitions, pitch training, etc. This ‘entrepreneurial superhighway’ is open to all students from Saint Mary’s and elsewhere as well as industry and community. Come visit and meet “Carly” – the Centre’s robot greeter.
machine on campus.
“Working at the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre as both a Student Entrepreneur and Project Assistant provided me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone. I learnt to think freely for myself, think outside the box and face uncomfortable situations head-on. I also got to learn more about the entrepreneurial ecosystem and contribute to fostering entrepreneurship amongst students all while meeting so many professionals who have helped in my personal and career goals.”—Queen-Esther Okundonor, Bachelor of Commerce student at SMU, Owner, QTress Beauty Supplies
About Saint Mary’s University
For generations, Saint Mary’s has been at the heart of the Atlantic Canada community and economy, stimulating prosperity and innovation and educating today’s and tomorrow’s leaders. One of Canada’s top three undergraduate universities, SMU is known for international collaborations, entrepreneurship, and extraordinary student support and experience.
With thanks to the Arthur L. Irving Family Foundation and Irving Oil
In 2023, a $5 million transformational gift was provided to the Centre from Irving Oil, the Arthur L. Irving Family Foundation and the late Arthur Irving, his wife Sandra and daughter Sarah Irving. The gift supported their deep dedication to student success and educational excellence, accelerating the Centre’s expansion with a goal of sparking innovation and inspiring entrepreneurial collaboration.
