Entrepreneurship Graduate Internship
eGrad
Open to all current SFU Graduate Students … any Faculty, any Master or PhD degree program.
The Entrepreneurship Graduate Internship is a unique and valuable opportunity for students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and take part in paid work integrated learning through exploration, launch and/or growth of an idea, startup or venture with support from SFU’s Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship.
Value
The significance of this opportunity goes beyond the paid salary – with access to workspace, mentoring, workshops, service providers and other business development opportunities, the cost to the Chang Institute to provide you this experience is significantly beyond the paid salary, and the experience you gain and networks you build is invaluable.
Eligibility
Domestic or international graduate students from any faculty in good academic and financial standing at SFU. As an eGrad applicant, one of the following situations will apply and the associated approvals will be required:
- For Faculties with graduate Coop programs as part of the degree requirements, registration in Co-op and completion of required Bridging Online (BOL) courses. If you are not already registered, talk to your co-op office about fast-track for eGrad.
- For Faculties with no graduate Coop programs or there is no requirement to register with a Coop office, approval will be required from your Faculty and/or Department Head that eGrad satisfies the work/internship requirement for your graduate degree.
- For graduate students with optional or no requirement of a work term as part of their degree program, approval from your academic supervisor and/or Department Head will be required.
Minimum 25% actual / intended ownership or management control of the business held by SFU students, staff, faculty, or recent alumni (within 2 years of graduation).
The business will not have exceeded $500,000 annual revenue or received $1,000,000 in total investment to be considered eligible.
All paid team members must be the legal age of majority in BC (i.e. 19 years or older).
Responsibilities of the Graduate Student
Note:
Academic Advisor – university administration staff who are responsible for understanding degree graduation requirements and providing advice to students on course selection and other activities in order to fulfill their degree requirements.
Academic Supervisor – generally university Faculty who conduct research and recruit students to conduct their research. These students are accepted into a Masters or Doctorate of Philosophy program.
Key Steps prior to Applying:
Completion of SPARK and approval from a Mentor.
Secure approvals or permissions from their academic supervisor or appropriate advisor to apply to the eGrad internship.
Confirm eligibility to work in Canada (e.g. Canadian citizenship, current work permit, etc.).
For MANDATORY work placements as part of their graduate degree requirements – the applicant confirms with the appropriate Faculty administrator or Academic advisor that the eGrad Internship will satisfy these requirements.
For OPTIONAL work placements as part of their graduate degree requirements – the applicant acknowledges and confirms that accepting and completing the eGrad Internship will extend their convocation date.
Criteria
What do we consider when reviewing your application? We look for:
- Applicants that have a properly structured and well thought out idea or business. It should be clear how your idea or business will serve customers (or societal need, if a not-for-profit). Back up your idea or business with credible statistics, market research, or first-hand customer discovery that proves there is a need for your product/service.
- We also pay close attention to the progress you’ve made so far (you do not need to be in revenue, but we like to see some growth or traction since you started), your goals for the future, and the uniqueness and innovative qualities of your product or service.
- Other things we consider are the overall impact of your venture, how coachable you are, and the suitability of the market you have chosen.
- Prior engagement with the Chang Institute is helpful and showing a need for the resources offered (i.e., is this an opportunity you would be able to access without the paid work term, workspace and mentoring?). Startups in significant revenue will be considered but may instead be offered an unpaid eGrad term (all other resources still apply).
MITACS Accelerate Entrepreneur Program
Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur funds graduate students to further develop their research or technology at the core of their start-up business.
For eligible graduate students, there is an opportunity to submit a project proposal to be considered for additional funding support from Mitacs for a combined total eGrad salary of $13,000 ($6,500 Chang Institute + $6,500 Mitacs). The project proposal is a separate process and must be submitted directly to Mitacs and will be evaluated as part of their process.
There are specific eligibility and criteria to be eligible for the Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur program – click to learn more and to download the template for an Accelerate Project Proposal. The Chang Institute is working with Mitacs on this collaboration but specific questions should be sent to: accelerate@mitacs.ca. (Being granted an eGrad work term does not influence the decision or change the criteria for applicants to the Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur program – this is a separate approvals process).
Applications closed.
eGrad includes a $11,500 salary while you work on your entrepreneurial venture. For questions, please email us at ops_changinstitute@sfu.ca.