Innovation that drives progress
McGill is a powerful incubator of new discoveries. Our students and faculty have an unquenchable drive to improve the world around them by bringing their creative ideas from the classroom or the lab to the marketplace and the community. We must prepare students to operate at ‘future speed’ by creating a vibrant innovation ecosystem on campus – one that leverages McGill’s unique culture, strengths and global community.
Supporting innovation across our faculties
We will provide support for seed funding, innovation training and related programs aimed at creating a culture and practice of innovation across our campuses, including the creation of a nexus for technological innovation through Engine, the Faculty of Engineering’s innovation and entrepreneurship hub.
We will recruit innovation professors of practice: real-world innovators who will be appointed to share knowledge, teach and serve as advisors and mentors.
Creating a robust support system for student and faculty innovators
In 2024, McGill launched 28 research-based startup companies, more than any other university in North America. We want to build on this success.
We will provide targeted funding for early-stage innovation, designed to close the gap between research, discovery and proof of concept, and prepare new products, services and ideas for the market.
We will offer mentoring and support through a McGill innovation ecosystem that includes alumni and industry partners.
Improving access to entrepreneurship training and experiences
We will enhance and expand the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, the world-leading centre based in the Desautels Faculty of Management, offering startup competitions, accelerators, mentorship and other programs that help nurture commercial and social enterprises by students and faculty members from across McGill.
The Desautels Faculty has also established an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Initiative with the goal of promoting entrepreneurial mindsets and competencies across the McGill community, and removing barriers for self-directed learners to build their own businesses.
We will also create expanded entrepreneurship curricula and discipline-specific entrepreneurship training and opportunities across faculties, including through Engine, the innovation and entrepreneurship hub in the Faculty of Engineering.
The McGill Innovation Fund
Since its inception in 2021, the McGill Innovation Fund has become the launchpad for many companies. As the largest entrepreneurial competition at McGill, it brings together a powerful ecosystem of McGill researchers, alumni volunteers, and professional service providers, it has catalyzed entrepreneurial activity across the University.