Our Program
Coaches and special advisors
MakerLaunch surrounds startups with a support system of coaches and special advisors who are all industry experts.
Coaches:
MakerLaunch startups are paired with coaches for the duration of the program. Startups and coaches connect regularly throughout to ensure that milestones are met and surpassed.
Special Advisors:
MakerLaunch Special Advisors are available to support the unique needs of each startup for a short-term problem solving. Special Advisors are available to assist startups in different areas.
Time
MakerLaunch is a 9-month structured program, starting in March 2019. There are 6 scheduled meetings every 6 weeks to assess the progress of the teams and the milestones. The milestones are setup in the first month of the program with the coaches and are intended to help the teams achieve important targets to accelerate the growth of their startups.
A MakerLaunch Demo Day will take place at the end of the program to celebrate the achievements of the participating teams and to aid them to receive further funding and exposure.
MakerLaunch Startup Grants
Access to initial seed grant of $50,000 earned over the course of the program based on achieved milestones.
There are also other opportunities to receive funds and grants for talent acquisition via the RBC uOttawa CO-OP Entrepreneurship Program and SELECT (new government) programs.
Co-Working Spaces
Access to “Hot seats” in the MakerLaunch co-working space as well as event, meeting and collaboration space in uOttawa’s new STEM Complex. Our state-of-the-art STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Complex houses the design facilities of Centre for Entrepreneurship and Engineering Design (CEED) and the uOttawa Entrepreneurship Hub.
Design and prototyping facilities
Use of rapid design and prototyping facilities and services from the Faculty of Engineering’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Engineering Design:
- Brunsfield Centre a dedicated space to build and test complex prototypes
- uOttawa’s Richard L’Abbé Makerspace offers latest digital infrastructure and state of the art equipment and encourages students from all fields of study, including health sciences, arts and humanities, to join the “invent-build-play” movement.
- Simon Nehme Design Commons offers a space to meet, brainstorm and visualize ideas.
- Manufacturing Training Centre offers training on a variety of traditional manufacturing equipment.
- MakerLab offers training on rapid prototyping facilities.
- An allocation of hours to use with uOttawa Design Services.
Network and talent
Access to a network that boosts a startup’s potential for success in key areas like:
Enhanced support
Startups can access a global community of more than 210,000 uOttawa alumni in over 155 countries around the world.
Refine the tech
Startups can work with uOttawa research centres and institutes to fine-tune their technologies.
Pre-launch product validation
Startups can connect with industrial partners to turbocharge their liftoff.
Build the crew
Fast track productivity by acquiring motivated uOttawa talent via programs like RBC uOttawa Entrepreneurship, SELECT and MITACS.
