The University of Victoria Engineering Department has teamed up with the University of Victoria Business Department along with government and corporate sponsorship to create Engineering Entrepreneurship@UVic. Students enrolled in Entrepreneurship@UVic work towards the creation of their own company and will also have the opportunity to own a portion of the business that they have created.
The Alacrity Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps to fund Engineering Entrepreneurship@UVic. Many contributors have helped to form this foundation including the British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC) and Wesley Clover.
The BC Innovation Council (BCIC) develops entrepreneurial talent and commercializes technology through startup companies and partnerships between industry and academia. BCIC focuses on competitively positioning British Columbia in today’s global knowledge economy in order to provide significant employment opportunities and a high standard of living for British Columbians. BCIC is a Crown agency of the Province of British Columbia.
MITACS is a national research network which connects academia with industry, government and not-for-profits through short and long-term research projects.
Wesley Clover is an investment and management company with assets in Technology that invests in talented, bright, motivated teams with superior innovative ideas, providing the financing and resources to develop their ideas into valuable companies.
The Government of Canada has contributed greatly to the program with investments from Western Economic Diversification Canada and the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP).