The Arena is an online pitch competition running throughout March
The Arthur L Irving Entrepreneurship Centre will welcome 64 enterprising students from across Canada to The Arena, where they will compete for a total of $17,000. Modelled after the NCAA March Madness, students compete in dynamic head-to-head pitch competitions, presenting their innovative ideas to panels of expert judges.
Now in its fifth year, The Arena continues to grow its national reputation and appeal, attracting applications from 37 post-secondaries across Canada, including the University of Toronto, McGill University, Queen’s University, University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Waterloo, as well as schools throughout Atlantic Canada. The first-place prize is $10,000; the runner-up prize is $5,000, and third and fourth-place competitors each receive $1,000.
The Arena runs fully online from March 3 to April 1 and includes six rounds of competition. The entire competition can be followed on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. The entire Saint Mary’s community is welcome to join in! Find match and streaming details on the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre website.
“The Arena is an adrenaline-pumping showdown where student entrepreneurs showcase their ideas and compete for the title of the nation’s top innovator,” says Michael Sanderson, Director, Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre. “This competition is transformational and lucrative—students get valuable, immediate feedback and the chance to win a total of $17,000 in prize money for their business.”
The Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre is grateful to Metronomics, The Arena prize sponsor. Metronomics was founded by Saint Mary’s University alumna Shannon Byrne Susko BComm’89 BSc’92, a successful serial entrepreneur who has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Inspirational Women Leaders and one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.
The first round of competition starts March 3 at 1 p.m. Atlantic time and features four Saint Mary’s University students. Arts students Brad Gilmet and Stuti Sandhu, science student Samih MohamedAli and commerce student Hasib Ahmed are among the top students selected. Hasib kicks off the pitches from Saint Mary’s on Monday at 4 p.m. Atlantic time.
Visit here for details on all 64 competitors and the dates and times for each round of competition.