eHUB Entrepreneurship Centre offers space for entrepreneurial students to learn and flourish

To cultivate a dynamic environment offering collaborative and interdisciplinary educational opportunities that enrich the entrepreneurial skills of U of A students: that is the mission of the eHUB Entrepreneurship Centre. Whether students seek to explore an idea or require mentorship during the early stages of a venture, Peter Keith, the centre's director, describes eHUB as a nurturing space within the College of Social Sciences and Humanities’ Alberta School of Business where like-minded individuals can come together and become inspired.

In this Q&A, the College got to chat with Keith and delve deeper into the centre, its offerings and the insights he's gained as its director.

Can you provide insight into eHUB's mission, work and who benefits from the services that the centre provides?

eHUB’s purpose is to advance the culture of entrepreneurship at the University of Alberta. We manage the eHUB Ideas Lab, a co-working office and event space in HUB mall. We run entrepreneurship workshops, host community meetups, support innovative student clubs and offer one-on-one mentorship for student entrepreneurs. We also offer micro-grants and awards to help founders get started, including specific awards for innovative startups and ventures seeking to develop rural Alberta. All U of A community members can take part in our services, but we are mainly focused on students, recent grads and post-docs seeking out support.

Our signature events are the SPARK pitch nights held each September and February, which offer all U of A students the chance to share their innovative ideas in a supportive, uncompetitive environment. Students already working with other UAlberta innovation centres like ICE and SIC, and more established companies are encouraged to enter our Ignition program, which helps accelerate both the company and the entrepreneur through mentorship and objective setting.

eHUB also manages the undergraduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a multidisciplinary, embedded certificate program that’s open to students from nine different faculties. Some of these students go on to become Mitacs supported student-entrepreneurs, with prestigious programs like the Cansbridge Fellowship and Next36, and go on to venture accelerators like Y-Combinator, Plug and Play, Techstars, Creative Destruction Labs and many others. 

What kind of ideas do you see coming through eHUB? 

One of my favourite aspects of entrepreneurship as a discipline is how broad and inclusive it can be. We’re supporting student-led food and beverage businesses, advanced hardware technology startups and everything in between. Lately, we’ve seen many interesting ideas in the generative AI space.

Is there anything exciting on the horizon for eHUB in terms of initiatives or news that you’d like to share?

We’re excited to collaborate closely with the University’s new “Innovation Fund,” building up the local ecosystem and connecting investors with promising student-led companies. We are also expanding programming for technology commercialization as the regional lead for the national Mitacs-supported Invention to Innovation (i2I) program for research scientists and engineers. These programs complement our eHUB Ignition program which prepares early-stage student founders for the next step: entry into startup accelerators and investment. On the social innovation side, we also have a new partnership with the Fyrefly Institute where we are seeking to enhance entrepreneurial possibilities for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. This is part of an effort to develop research and outreach on emancipatory entrepreneurship that focuses on breaking down barriers for various marginalized groups and enabling new career pathways.

How long have you acted as director for eHUB and what has this experience taught you?

I joined the eHUB team as centre director of the “Ideas Lab” in March 2023 — and the past year has flown by! I’m continually impressed by the brilliant ideas that U of A students bring to the table. My experience here has validated that an uplifting, dynamic community is the best way to help entrepreneurs thrive.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about the centre?

eHUB is a welcoming community and it’s a great place to connect with like-minded students! Even if one hasn’t realized an entrepreneurial idea yet, they’re welcome to join us at our next event. It’s never too early to start building a network and meet other innovators. Over the years, many successful entrepreneurs and community leaders have met their future co-founder or team members here at eHUB!