Are you interested in planning the largest youth entrepreneurship oriented conference in Canada?  If so, then why not join the Impact National Conference (INC) Team?

The 2010 Impact National Conference team is currently recruiting student leaders from across the country to help organize Canada’s premier youth leadership conference for over 500 post-secondary and secondary students. Hosted in November during Global Entrepreneurship Week, INC is one of Impact Entrepreneurship Group’s most successful events! Being a part of the INC team not only makes you a part of this unforgettable event but will provide you with valuable opportunities to network with Canada’s top youth and industry leaders! Check out the website for last year’s conference to find out more about the Impact National Conference.

If you are interested, contact Yue Liu (yue.liu@impact.org) to get more info!

Want to have easy access to all of the latest Impact news? You can now get the most current information about Impact sent straight to your smart phone! Impact Mobile is a free, easy-to-use app that helps you get up-to-date information about all of our initiatives.

It’s free.

Impact News on the go! Enjoy your daily dose of news from Impact, Canada’s largest student run non-profit student run organization without paying a dime for the app. Stay ahead of the curve and save your time for what matters most (data charges may apply; check with your mobile provider).

It’s fast.

Don’t wait for loading screens, error messages or other frustrations that plague the mobile world. Just the articles that count, when they count. New articles are downloaded automatically, so it’s ready when you are.

Get freedom.

Your work brings you to many places. Your smartphone should work there, too. Impact Entrepreneurship Mobile works wherever you work – even outside of network coverage.

Get the facts.

Get the news that matters, from one of the biggest youth organizations in Canada. Put the power and intelligence of Impact into the palm of your hand – anytime, anywhere.

Click here for more information.

Are you working on the latest, greatest, most fascinating new science and technology?  The OCE Student Video Competition is your opportunity to broadcast your project to the world; through the OCE Discovery website, YouTube channel, Facebook Page and on the big screens at OCE’s Discovery 2010.

Use your creative video skills to:

1. Tell your research story
2. Introduce your research team
3. Show us your technology
4. Explain the benefits and outcomes of your work
5. Connect to the Ontario innovation network
6. Attract investors
7. Inspire others
8. Promote collaboration

You could win cash prizes:

• 1^st Prize: $2,500
• 2^nd Prize: $1,500
• 3^rd Prize: $1,000

Competition Quick Notes:

When: Starting immediately. Entry forms must be submitted by April 1, 2010. Videos must be uploaded to YouTube before April 30^th, 2010.

How: Upload your video to www.YouTube.com (naming it as instructed, and informing OCE when your video is ready) and it will be added to the OCE Discovery 2010 Video Contest YouTube Channel.  The panel of judges will award cash prizes to the top three videos, but all finalists will receive a free pass to Discovery 2010.

Who: The video contest is open to all post-secondary students enrolled at an Ontario university or college during the period of April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010. Students must be working on an applied science research project with commercial potential.

For additional information, or to download the application form, please visit the student centre at ocediscovery.com, or contact Jamie Doran at (519) 998-2476 and james.doran@oce-ontario.org.

Are you a high school student interested in developing your competitive advantage and networking with some of Canada’s brightest entrepreneurs? If so, then why not register for the 2010 Back to Business Conference to be held in Guelph on March 6, 2010.

B2B is the brainchild of 10 students, 2 of which are Impact members. Last year, Susie Pan and Mitchell Schinbein were Shad Valley Interns for Impact, working together on the Impact National Conference, giving them the inside experience of planning and executing a national conference.

The goal of the B2B conference is to bridge the gap between business skills and knowledge, teaching valuable and essential business skills that cannot be learned through textbooks.

Impact will be highlighted at the B2B conference – promoting the Impact Microcredit Competition and the 2010 Impact National Conference. The 2010 Back To Business Conference will also feature student keynotes, interactive business challenges such as the first ever Business Olympics, an exhibition of local resources and opportunities, as well as lots of networking opportunities.

Some of the events at the conference include:
- Elevator pitch – An opportunity to learn to develop your 30 second pitch.
- Exhibition Scavenger Hunt
- Patent Pending – An interactive marketing sales pitch challenge.

In addition, B2B is offering a $500 scholarship to a high school student who has demonstrated tremendous business leadership in his or her community. B2B has established this scholarship to recognize the amazing work of youth and their tremendous potential as future business leaders. To apply, please go to the website: www.back2business.org

Please register online or find out more information on www.back2business.org or email Susie Pan at susie@back2business.org.

Are you interested in building your resume, networking with the top youth leaders and industry professionals in the country, and becoming a key contributor to Canada’s premier youth-run projects?  If so, then why not join the Impact team?

The Impact Entrepreneurship Group (www.impact.org) is Canada’s largest youth-run entrepreneurship organization that celebrates and encourages the entrepreneurial spirit in young leaders.

Students working at Impact will have the opportunity to develop a diverse range of skills by participating in different programs and departments within Impact.

Projects that you may be involved in include:

• I Am My Ambition video campaign (Featuring established entrepreneurs)
• Impact Apprentice (A university-level business competition)
• Impact National Conference (Canada’s most prestigious youth entrepreneurship conference)
• Impact Connect (Organizing competitions, networking events, and seminars at university campuses)
• Communications and Public Relations

Why should you apply?

• An amazing resume addition for scholarship and university applications
• An opportunity to gain an edge in the competitive job market
• An opportunity to develop entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial skills
• Personal mentorship and networking opportunities
• A chance to work with Canada’s top scholarship winners and youth leaders
• The venue to learn the secrets of managing time and running high-level, high-budget projects

Who are Impact members and alumni?

• Top 20 Under 20 Recipients
• Merit Scholarship winners and recipients of every major Canadian scholarship
• Top university students from across the country, studying every discipline
• High school students who have demonstrated leadership in their communities and nationally
• Currently or previously employed at companies such as: Google, Amazon, Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and more…
• Entrepreneurs managing million-dollar businesses
• Social and green entrepreneurs

Impact is looking for students who are resourceful and not afraid to try new things.  Our volunteers have good written and oral communication skills, and are self-starters who work well alone and in teams.  High value is placed on critical thinking skills and problem solving skills.

If you are interested in joining Impact, please send your resume and cover letter to Yue Liu, Director of Human Resources, at yue.liu@impact.org. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

As is becoming increasingly apparent at a local and global scale, society is facing a number of ‘big problems’. Problems bigger than choosing Starbucks or Second Cup for your morning coffee and even bigger than meeting next quarter quotas.

In the Waterloo Region, there are numerous organizations and new ideas being dedicated to solving the bigger problems of our local and global community by using innovative approaches. At 5:30pm on March 4th at the Kitchener Children’s Museum, these change-makers will come together to share their social innovations and seek support from this community as they continue to work towards finding new ways to solve old problems.

The event is called SEE: Social Entrepreneurship Exchange. It is a unique networking event bringing social entrepreneurship to the forefront, showcasing the innovative organizations and individuals who are using the principles of entrepreneurship to support a social or environmental injustice. This event is not only designed to help us learn about the social innovations through informal discussions and a pitch competition ($300 for winners!), but also features a poker-chip style exchange, where all participants become philanthropic investors in social change by receiving two $10 poker chips and one two-hour volunteer chip on arrival (from your $30 event fee). By the end of the night, as you learn about Social Innovation, if you hear something you like, support them with your chips. After the event the new ideas, or innovative organizations can turn those chips into real dollars (and contact information from donated time chips!) to help grow and develop their innovations.

This event is hosted by Students Offering Support (www.studentsofferingsupport.ca), a local turned national student-led social venture headquartered here in Waterloo. The event is sponsored by Capacity Waterloo Region and Laurier’s Centre for Sustainable Organizations. SEE’s community partners include: Manulife Financial, Leadership Waterloo Region, Communitech, DreamNow, Lime Events, and the Kitchener Children’s Museum.

When: Thursday, March 4th, 2010
Start Time: 5:30PM
Location: Kitchener Children’s Museum, 10 King Street West, Kitchener, ON
Tickets: $30 - Register now

To learn more about the event (check out our event video), and to register / participate – go to www.SEEinnovation.ca.

If you have any questions, e-mail seeinnovation@studentsofferingsupport.ca.  You canalso follow them on Twitter (@SOSnational) or Facebook (Students Offering Support).

With more initiatives then ever before, Impact is excited to present our upcoming lineup for 2010.

1. Impact Innovate (March 6)
   Impact Innovate 2010 will be a one-day discussion about innovative thought and the entrepreneurial spirit. You will gain critical new skills, ponder provoking ideas and meet your future business partners. 
    
2. Impact Microcredit (Spring)
   Impact Microcredit is Canada’s biggest high-school social entrepreneurship competition, reaching students in hundreds of schools across Canada and raising tens of thousands of dollars to worthy charities.
    
3. Impact Apprentice (Summer)
   Impact Apprentice is a real-life, challenging, hands-on competition that will test the business smarts and wits of Canada’s top entrepreneurial-minded students.
    
4. Impact Expo (Fall)
   Taking place in University of Waterloo, the Impact Expo is a conference attracting over 2000 students featuring case study competitions, keynote speakers and more.
    
5. Impact National Conference (Fall)
   Recognized as Canada’s Premier Youth Entrepreneurship Conference,  the Impact National conference attracts 500 of the top high school and post-secondary students from across Canada.
    
6. Impact Connect (Year-round)
   With a focus on connecting students interested in entrepreneurship with the industry leaders who can inspire them, the Impact Connect team will be organizing entrepreneurship competitions, networking events, and seminars throughout the year.
    
7. I Am My Ambition (Year-round)
   Exposing an interview series aimed at highlighting ambitious and successful entrepreneurs, philanthropists and politicians to shed light on their starting up stories, and transfer lessons learned through experience while emphasizing immediate action. 
    
8. Youth Canada (Year-round)
   Youth Canada is the top online resource for Canadian high school students to find insight and opportunities to further enrich their lives.
    
9. Impact.org Network (Year-round)
   The Impact.org network strives to build an online and in-person community around Impact’s people, programs, and partners.
    
10. Impact Speakers’ Bureau (Year-round)
    More information coming soon! 

Stay tuned for an exciting year!

Impact is coming to Kingston!  On March 6, we will be holding a one-day discussion about innovative thought and the entrepreneurial spirit.  We are bringing some extraordinary speakers who will talk about their journeys to success and their experiences as entrepreneurs.  Our speakers include, among others:

Bruce Poon Tip (Founder & President/CEO, Gap Adventures, Speaker @ TEDx Bangkok and TEDx Whistler)
Julie Mitchell (Founder & Owner, Parcel Design)
Lauren Friese (Founder & Owner, Talent Egg)
Bobby Umar (Founder & President, Raeallan Consulting)
Alyssa Richard (Co-Founder, Break into Business)
Dave Hale (Co-Founder & CEO, Re: Cognition Branding)
Peng-Sang Cau (Co-Founder & President/CEO, Transformix Engineering)
Michele Romanow (Co-Founder, Evandale Caviar)

If you are interested in building your entrepreneurial skills, then you should definitely come to this event.  With our great lineup of speakers, you are sure to learn a lot!  The best part is that this event is completely free!

DETAILS

Date:  Saturday, March 6, 2010

Time:  10:00 am – 4:15 pm

Address:  Ellis Hall, Queen’s University (58 University Avenue, Kingston, ON)

To register, click here or email jane.wu@impact.org .

The Impact social that Impact Connect held on February 2nd at the University of Waterloo was a huge success, leaving Waterloo students and Impact members alike to be motivated and excited!

The session was very successful, with over 50 Waterloo students in attendance. A number of  Impact members were also there to share their experiences of being part of Impact, as well as to outline Impact’s plans for the upcoming year.

At the end of the session, many students stuck around to network and mingle with the Impact members, and many expressed interest in becoming involved with Impact’s programs in 2010!

If you were unable to attend Tuesday’s Impact social but are still interested in becoming a part of Impact team, please feel free to contact laura.chelaru (at) impact.org.

To see more photos from the Impact Social, click here.