So you’ve just finished high school. You’ve got into the University of Waterloo (congrats!), enrolled in all of your classes, moved in to residence or figured out how you’re going to commute from home or off campus, and you’re ready to hit Orientation Week head-on. There are so many events happening that you don’t even know where to begin!
Take it one day at a time, this week is going to tire you out! You’ll meet so many people and go to so many events, from Monte Carlo to Black and Gold Day, that you’ll completely lose track of time. But maybe you can handle that. Maybe you’ll love the busyness of Orientation Week and want more. You might love the constant rush, meeting people and always being engaged and involved. Have you considered entrepreneurship?
The University of Waterloo and the city of Kitchener-Waterloo are renowned for their constantly growing entrepreneur and startup culture. Day after day, there are startups emerging from the University of Waterloo — startups run by students. They’re proving that entrepreneurship is a viable option for students and that now is the perfect time to get involved! People all over this city are coming up with innovative ideas and figuring out ways to start a company however they can. They are tapping into the many local resources available in K-W, like the Accelerator Centre and the Communitech Hub.
If you’re interested in learning more about entrepreneurship in Waterloo or have totally been bitten by the startup bug, here’s what you need to do:
- Check out the Communitech hub in downtown Kitchener. This is one of the central locations for startups and entrepreneurship in K-W. You can spend some time at the hub, get to know some of the startups working there and take in the atmosphere.
- While you’re there, stop by the Velocity Garage. The Velocity Garage houses University of Waterloo students and alum who are working on startup companies. Feel free to walk around and get more of a feel for how you could start a business while you’re in school and how there’s value in it.
- Velocity also has programming for entrepreneurial students right on campus. Check out velocity.uwaterloo.ca for more information on their campus events as well as the Velocity residence, a living space where 70 student entrepreneurs coexist and innovate every term.
- The UW Entrepreneurship Society has many events throughout the term as well that will let you see what entrepreneurship is all about. You can check them out at uwesociety.com.
- If you’re in a program that includes co-op, look into Waterloo’s Enterprise Co-op program. It gives students the unique opportunity to earn a co-op credit while figuring out how to start a company.
If you find entrepreneurship compelling, or you’ve always wanted to work for a start-up, or you want to start your own company eventually, you’ve definitely come to the right university. Take advantage of this awesome space and dip your feet into the entrepreneurial world. Who knows? You could be the next Mark Zuckerberg.
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