The Faculty of Engineering offers an eight course minor in entrepreneurship that can be taken by undergraduate students in all faculties (the exception is engineering, which has an Option in Entrepreneurship) at the University of Waterloo. It is designed for students with a passion for entrepreneurship, who wish to leverage their academic and technical background with the business skills required to move ideas from concept to commercial, organizational or social success. It is built upon a uniquely Waterloo approach to entrepreneurship education that integrates academic and experiential learning to develop an individual’s entrepreneurial capabilities. This is achieved through a combination of co-operative or capstone project educational experiences and academic content tailored to the entrepreneur’s stage of development.
Because of the diverse backgrounds of Waterloo’s undergraduate students and different curriculum requirements of its various programs, the minor is structured to: (1) provide a foundation of core material that is generalizable to all forms of entrepreneurial interest, (2) ensure flexibility of choice in terms of type of entrepreneurship track selected, and (3) respect individual Faculty/Department desires that the entrepreneurial knowledge gained in the core of the minor be applied to the specific disciplinary content of the home faculty.
The minor’s innovative curriculum focuses on two tracks of entrepreneurship: venture creation and corporate entrepreneurship, and also allows students to pursue social entrepreneurship interests. While it is common to associate entrepreneurship with venture creation, there is an increasing demand for students who can act as ‘entrepreneurs within organizations’, sometimes referred to as corporate entrepreneurs, or intrapreneurs. Both aspects of entrepreneurship are critical to Canada’s competitiveness in global markets. Further, it is recognized that many members of the University community are interested in social entrepreneurship. Either of these two tracks may be tailored by students to pursue a social entrepreneurship venture or initiatives within firms.
Integration of experiential education is a critical component of the minor. As such, students in the venture creation track must participate in Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) or Entrepreneurial Experience Milestone, pursuing opportunities that lead to the formation of commercial or social ventures. Students in the corporate entrepreneurship track will be involved in a capstone style project, major project course, or a senior course containing a major assignment that could lead to a corporate enhancement or social contribution. Approval of capstone courses as an appropriate entrepreneurial experience will rest with the minor’s academic co-ordinator, referred to as the program co-ordinator in the remainder of this section of the calendar. This approval will be based on whether the proposed capstone project satisfies the experiential intent of the program, as well as, there being a faculty supervisor for the project.
Core to both tracks
Must earn credit for all of the following courses:
- BET 100 or equivalent
- BET 320
- BET 400
- BET 420
- Two electives intended to allow students to tailor their program through the choice of approved electives. Normally these electives would be chosen from the electives already accessible through the student's major program. A guiding principle for approval of elective courses is that they must support the student’s entrepreneurship experiential component.
Venture Creation Track
In addition to the core courses listed above students are required to successfully complete the following courses:
- BET 300
- BET 310 and
- One of the listed milestones:
- E Co-op Milestone: This milestone is awarded to students in a co-op program that complete an E Co-op term. Entry into an E Co-op term requires the program co-ordinator’s permission. The intent of the program is to permit students who are developing venture concepts to pursue during their co-op terms, or
- Entrepreneurial Experience Milestone: This milestone is intended for students in a regular program. It recognizes students who are pursuing venture creation concepts during either a study term or an off term. To achieve the milestone, non-co-op students must complete all the requirements normally expected from a student participating in an E Co-op term.
Conrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre offers information sessions to students that provide the details on the E Co-op or the entrepreneurial experience requirements, as well as, assisting students in planning their minor.
Corporate Entrepreneurship Track
In addition to the core courses listed above students are required to successfully complete the following courses:
- BET 411
- BET 412 or an equivalent course, approved by the program co-ordinator, meeting the experiential component requirements of the minor.
Successful Completion of the Minor in Entrepreneurship
To be awarded the minor in entrepreneurship, students must complete all courses (core and approved electives) with an overall average of 65% and no course with a grade less than 60%, as well as, milestone requirements for students pursuing the venture creation track.
Specification for the Milestone associated with the Minor in Entrepreneurship
E Co-op Milestone: This milestone is only available to students in a co-op program and requires successful completion of the following:
- Completion of an approved E Co-op term, approval based on an application and interview with the co-ordinator and demonstration that there is an accessible market, realistic potential to create and deliver the proposed product or service and a work plan approved by the co-ordinator.
- Attendance at 100% of workshops and presentations during the initial week of the term (this is for students on their first E Co-op term only, those in following terms are welcome to attend but it is not mandatory). These workshops and presentations will be available by Skype.
- Submission of an acceptable bi-weekly progress report based on the agreed term work plan as assessed by the E Co-op Co-ordinator.
- Submission of an acceptable end-of-term progress presentation (essentially a post-mortem analysis) as assessed by the E Co-op Co-ordinator.
Entrepreneurship Experience Milestone: This milestone is available to a student pursuing an entrepreneurial experience outside a co-op credit.
- Approval of the entrepreneurial experience, approval based on an application and interview with the coordinator and demonstration that there is an accessible market, realistic potential to create and deliver the proposed product or service and a work plan approved by the co-ordinator. Note: It is expected that the experiential portion of this term will require engagement in the venture for 35 hours per week for a full 12 to 16 week term.
- Attendance at 100% of workshops and presentations during the initial week of the term. These workshops and presentations will be available by Skype.
- Submission of bi-weekly progress reports based on the agreed term work plan as assessed by the E Co-op Co-ordinator.
- Submission of an acceptable end-of-term progress presentation (essentially a post-mortem analysis) as assessed by the E Co-op Co-ordinator.