Students receive 4K through Nigel Stokes E-Launch Scholarships to fund new ventures
Recipients of the Nigel Stokes E-Launch Scholarships have been announced as Enterprise Co-op kick starts the winter term with a record number of students enrolled to pursue new venture creation.
Five $4,000 scholarships were up for grabs, and more than a dozen students presented business ideas to a panel of judges with hopes of attaining one of the awards. The panel comprised of local entrepreneurs, industry leaders, faculty and alumni, selected the following student recipients:
Helena Cao, Gainsters Inc. – a startup with ambitions of helping businesses better understand their customers and create meaningful and engaging loyalty programs.
Matin Esfahani, TeeGuise – a community-centered online apparel store allowing users to submit designs and slogans related to universities.
Peter Pagacz, MyPharmacy Patient – an educational tool that provides pharmacy students with interactive, accessible, and easy-to-use virtual patient cases, in a safe environment.
Yazan Sinan, ParentingTech – a new venture looking to capitalize on the next generation of tech savvy parents.
Josh Varty, Jukebox for Me – an online music streaming service that simplifies the experience of finding and organizing collections of music.
“We have hundreds of entrepreneurial-minded students at the University of Waterloo. However, it’s difficult for them to choose E Co-op over a steady paying gig during their co-op term,” says Michelle Berelowitz, Enterprise Co-op Coordinator. “The E-Launch scholarships were created to ease the financial woes of these students by providing them a lump sum for which they determine how to spend – some consider it seed funding, others use it to pay the rent.”
Established in 2011, the E-Launch Scholarships were the result of a donation from Waterloo graduate, entrepreneur and longtime supporter of student entrepreneurship, Nigel Stokes. The scholarships were created specifically for students enrolled in the E Co-op program. Up to five are awarded each term.
