Faculty of Business Enactus team places in virtual competition
Students from the UPEI Faculty of Business recently competed in the Enactus Canada Regional Exposition. The regional competition was held virtually this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Enactus UPEI team participated in three categories and took home hardware in each.
Students submitted five-minute video presentations for each challenge, narrated by two students from the team. The results were announced in a live stream hosted on Enactus Canada’s Facebook page.
Enactus UPEI was named runner up in both the Scotiabank Climate Change Challenge and the Scotiabank Youth Empowerment Challenge, each of which earned the team a $1,000 prize. The team was named second runner up in the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge, earning a $500 prize.
Drs. Sophia Yao and Andrew Carrothers are the faculty advisors for Enactus UPEI.
“We are incredibly proud of our Enactus UPEI team,” said Carrothers. “Building on last year’s success, and despite the challenges of competing in a virtual exposition this year, our team brought home hardware in every challenge round in which we participated.”
“The team deserves all the credit—it is our great pleasure to work with this group of independent and motivated students. Our best and brightest truly shine!” said Yao.
Enactus UPEI is preparing to compete again, this time at the national level in early May. The team is preparing a twelve-minute video showcasing all aspects of its “Bury & Bloom” project, which was founded in 2018. Bury & Bloom is a student-owned, non-profit company that makes and sells greeting cards with seeds embedded in the paper. The cards are created using wastepaper from the University. A portion of the company’s revenue is directed toward an educational component, in which the students involved visit elementary classrooms to teach children about the importance of the environment.
“Thanks to Enactus UPEI, I’ve had the chance to meet many amazing people,” said Daniel Timen, co-president of Enactus UPEI. “Our project has something to offer to students from all disciplines. It has been a phenomenal learning opportunity to work together with engineering, biology, computer science, and more students as one big team.”
“I am extremely proud of my team and what we have accomplished over the past two years together,” said team member Ashley Doucette. “Enactus UPEI continues to grow its successful social enterprise, Bury & Bloom, while supporting the personal and professional development of its students. We have made a huge impact on our community, which we plan to continue in the years to come.”
Enactus UPEI had a terrific year in 2019–2020, being named the Society of the Year by the UPEI Student Union. The Student Union also named Doucette Executive Member of the Year for her work with Enactus UPEI. Timen was awarded the Founder’s Bursary by Enactus Canada. Enactus UPEI received funding for the second consecutive year from 3M. The club also became a resident of the Charlottetown StartUp Zone, which gave students access to resources such as sales coaching, marketing events, and workshops.
Enactus is an international organization committed to shaping generations of entrepreneurial leaders passionate about advancing economic development, and social and environmental responsibility. Each club utilizes the power of conscious capitalism for positive change and rallies students who see business as a way to address social issues. Enactus teams create and implement community-empowerment projects and business ventures in communities coast to coast. Enactus Canada has 75 academic institutions and more than 3,500 participating students.
