By Craig Leroux, Senior Communications Officer

Queen’s University announced that it has become an official academic partner of The Next 36, a national program that supports budding undergraduate entrepreneurs.

Principal Daniel Woolf and Claudia Hepburn, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Next 36, made the announcement on September 10 at the university’s Agnes Etherington Arts Center. The event also gave students interested in entrepreneurship the opportunity to learn more about The Next 36 program.

Principal Daniel Woolf announcing Queen's partnership with The Next 36.

“Queen’s is home to exceptional students who have strong potential as innovators and entrepreneurs,” says Principal Woolf. “The university is committed to providing opportunities for them to hone their skills and develop as leaders.”

As an academic partner, Queen’s has affirmed its commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and will help identify and refer top students to the program.

Five Queen’s students took part in the 2013 cohort of The Next 36. Gordie Best (Sc’13), Nicholas Klimchuk (Com’13), Joshua Levitan (Sc’13), Lauren Long (ArtSci’13), and Michael Warshafsky (ArtSci’15) each worked in teams to develop an innovative mobile app.

Queen’s has a long history of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship through many academic programs and initiatives such as the Queen’s Innovation Connector and its Queen’s Summer Innovation Initiative (QSII). The QSII is a partnership between the School of Business and the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, which offers paid summer internships, mentorship and instruction for students who would like to create a business or corporate innovation.

“The QSII provides an exceptional experience for Queen’s students, supporting them as they develop an innovation over the course of an intensive summer program,” says Principal Woolf. “The program attracts top students each year and, in fact, a number of students have done both the QSII and the Next 36 program.”

More information for students interested in applying to the QSII and The Next 36 is available on their websites.