草莓污视频导航

Student fund hero
Mah Noor Imtiaz, left, Amit Patel, top right, and Rylea Yanke.

June 2, 2023

Class of 2023: New grads land jobs and discover their passions thanks to 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 student-run investment fund

How the UCeed Haskayne Student Fund supports students for post-grad life

This spring, 草莓污视频导航 business grads will see their career dreams come true through support from the UCeed Haskayne Student Fund.

New graduates Mah Noor Imtiaz, Dr. Amit Patel and Rylea Yanke are among those who will be joining a thriving alumni community of changemakers dedicated to improving their communities and making the world a better place 鈥 and they are well equipped to do so thanks to taking part in this unique experiential learning opportunity.

The first of its kind in Western Canada, the UCeed Haskayne Student Fund is a philanthropically funded, student-managed private equity fund. As part of the fund鈥檚 cohort, students engage with entrepreneurs, evaluate business models, assess risk and allocate capital while developing a comprehensive understanding of the startup ecosystem.

Learning by doing

Mah Noor Imtiaz, B鈥機omm鈥23, BSc (Eng)鈥23, plans on becoming an engineer and using her professional expertise to transition to a venture capital role with a focus on clean energy.

鈥淏eing new to the world of venture capital made me very curious to learn how I could use it to make an impact as an engineering and business student,鈥 says Imtiaz. 鈥淕oing through this process, I learned that it鈥檚 a way of being able to provide financial investment to groundbreaking startups that you think have potential. It鈥檚 a great way to support disruptive ideas that can address big challenges.

鈥淚 liked that you need to do a lot of strategic thinking and problem solving. And I really valued being able to lead a deal this year 鈥 it required a lot of leadership and time-management skills.鈥

Career pathways

While the Haskayne Student Fund is a great way to learn about the innovation and startup landscape in Calgary and beyond, it also funnels students into new, exciting career opportunities.

鈥淚 learned so much,鈥 says Dr. Amit Patel, DMD, MBA鈥23. 鈥淚 went from somebody who had very little knowledge of how fundraising works for early-stage companies and ventures to now doing it as a full-time job.鈥

Patel now supports the management of UCeed funds as health fund manager with . 鈥淲hat I do is look for promising early-stage companies that are looking to get funding to further develop their business and select the ones that have the highest potential, then conduct due diligence,鈥 says Patel.

鈥淪o, I look at their business strategy, their regulatory strategy, their intellectual property strategy, the leadership team, and the problems that they are trying to solve, and invest accordingly.

鈥淚 participated in the (Haskayne Student) Fund with the intention that venture capital would be my career and it worked out exactly as I鈥檇 hoped. I couldn鈥檛 ask for more out of that experience.鈥

Susan Anderson

Susan Anderson, CEO of Cannonball Capital

Lasting impact

Rylea Yanke, BA鈥18, MBA鈥23, JD鈥23, who is joining the law firm Burnet, Duckworth and Palmer as an articling student, is grateful for the transformative opportunity.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 thank the donors (who funded the program) enough because it allows students to experience the fund at its whole rather than as a simulation. There鈥檚 nothing cooler than sourcing companies, investigating them, pitching to them and offering them money,鈥 she says.

鈥(The donors give) students the most unique opportunity to experience something that they would never be able to, and it just opens so many more career paths. I hope in the future I can give back to the university because this was just a great experience for me. I hope more students can experience it, too.鈥

For Susan Anderson, CEO of Cannonball Capital 鈥 whose foundation is the principal backer of the UCeed Haskayne Student Fund 鈥 seeing this cohort of students cross the convocation stage is particularly rewarding.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been an absolute pleasure to work with the students on the UCeed Fund,鈥 says Anderson, BComm鈥84. 鈥淭he practical knowledge that students gain from the experience and the mentorship they receive is one that I wish I had as a student.鈥

About the UCeed Haskayne Student Fund

is supported by the generosity of the Cannonball Sport and Education Foundation, the Tamaratt Fund at Calgary Foundation, and other 草莓污视频导航 donors wanting to make an impact.

UCeed is a venture philanthropy fund accelerating 草莓污视频导航 and community-based startup companies to advance problem-solving research, create jobs and fuel the economy. A key program in the 草莓污视频导航 innovation ecosystem, UCeed bridges the gap between innovation, demonstration and commercialization. UCeed is managed by 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 knowledge-transfer and business incubator, .听听

Join our celebration as another class of enterprising 草莓污视频导航 students marks the milestone of graduation and begins making a difference in society, in fields such as health care, engineering, business and the arts. Spring Graduation and Convocation takes place May 29 to June 2, 2023.聽Learn more聽

Read more inspiring stories about the accomplishments and journeys of the聽Class of 2023.

A note for soon-to-be 草莓污视频导航 alumni: As you prepare to transition from student life, we encourage you to check out our聽聽鈥 custom-built to inform you about the programs, benefits and services available to you as a member of the 草莓污视频导航 alumni community.


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