THE NEXT 36 SELECTED: 36 OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATES MAY BE CANADA'S NEXT
GENERATION OF HIGH IMPACT ENTREPRENEURS

TORONTO, Dec. 17 /CNW/ - From a pool of more than 1300 students who registered to apply, the first 36 students have been chosen to take part in a unique national program that aims to transform Canada's most promising undergraduates into high impact entrepreneurs. A cross between The Rhodes Scholarship and Y-Combinator, The Next 36 aims to increase Canadian prosperity through entrepreneurship.

During a National Selection Weekend finalists described as "inspirational," "challenging" and "life-changing," 64 finalists were winnowed down to 36. The 36 students come from  a wide variety of disciplines and universities across the country including University of Western Ontario, University of British Columbia, Queen's, McGill, McMaster, Guelph, Waterloo, Bishop's, Dalhousie, Ryerson, Thomson Rivers, Ottawa, St. Mary's, University of New Brunswick, and University of Toronto.  The group includes social and serial entrepreneurs, academic award winners, campus leaders, accomplished artists, scientists and engineers, and elite athletes.

"The outpouring of support I have received since being selected as one of The Next 36 has been overwhelming, and only days into the program, it has already opened more doors than I could have imagined," says Ryan Brideau, a fourth year physics and economics student at University of New Brunswick. "I used to be just a kid from Miramichi with a lot of ambition. Today, I have access to a network of driven peers and experienced mentors to help me turn my ideas into results."

The program has two parts. The first is a venture challenge in which nine teams of four students each receive $50,000 of support, guidance from industry mentors and business leaders, and project development resources to build a business in the mobile environment. The second part is a four-month summer residency at Massey College where students study with internationally acclaimed faculty and prominent Canadian entrepreneurs while continuing to work on their mobile projects.

The Next 36is spearheaded by a founding group of high-profile business leaders, entrepreneurs, and academics.  The four co-founders are Tim Hodgson, Co-Chair, is Special Advisor to the Bank of Canada, previously CEO of Goldman Sachs Canada;  Ajay Agrawal, Peter Munk Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Rotman School, is Academic Director; Claudia Hepburn, social entrepreneur and education policy expert, is Executive Director;  Reza Satchu, Co-Chair, is serial entrepreneur, University of Toronto Professor, and winner of the "Top 40 Under 40" award.

An impressive group of founding donors is personally involved with the 36 students and program governance. They include: Nadir Mohamed, W. Galen Weston, Joseph Canavan, John Donald, Samuel Duboc, Charles Field-Marsham, Scott Griffin, Anthony Lacavera, Patrick Meneley, Francis Shen, Kevin Sullivan, Andrew and Valerie Pringle, Mark Wiseman and Marcia Moffat, The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, The John Dobson Foundation.  The University of Toronto is the founding academic partner of The Next 36; MaRS is another key partner and Rogers Communications is the first corporate partner.

For further information:

For more information about The Next 36
or to speak to a participating student, please contact:

Claudia Hepburn
Executive Director
The Next 36
[email protected]