The Catherine Callbeck Centre for Entrepreneurship believes in nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit and empowering students to turn innovative ideas into impactful ventures. Our Entrepreneurship Centre is proud to host a range of exciting competitions designed to challenge, inspire, and support the next generation of business leaders, and there are additional supports in place like our Travel Fund to enable standout UPEI student companies to attend competitions outside of UPEI.

Pitch Battles
Ocean Startup Activator
MacLauchlan Panther Pitch

Pitch Battles

Join Forces with Experienced Entrepreneurs to Develop and Pitch Your Business Idea

Get ready to team up with seasoned entrepreneurs to transform your business idea into a compelling pitch over the course of one week! At the start of the event, we will pair you with other students and assign your team a mentor from the entrepreneurial community. Throughout the week, you and your team will collaborate to come up with, refine, and develop a pitch for an idea within the sector of the competition; the sector of the competition is a closely guarded secret that will only be revealed at the start of the competition on Wednesday, November 6! On Thursday, November 14 your team will pitch your idea to a panel of experienced judges for a shot at winning a portion of the $2,000 prize pool!

Important dates

• October 24 to November 4: Registration open
• Wednesday, November 6: Competition start date
• November 14, 5:00–7:00 pm: Pitches take place in the Catherine Callback Centre for Entrepreneurship (201 Robertson Library) in front of a panel of five judges. Pitches will be 3-5 minutes in length and feature a three minute Q and A with the judges afterwards.

Eligibility criteria

Open to any full-time UPEI or Holland College student!

Time commitment

• Approximately 4-6 hours over the November 6-14 time period, and must be available to participate in the final pitches on November 14 at 5:00–7:00 pm.
• You may request one person you would like to be paired with in your application. The other person must have submitted their own separate application to the competition, and we cannot guarantee that your request will be approved. Priority will be given to creating interdisciplinary teams. 
• Student teams are anticipated to be made up of 2-3 members, though final teams may have more than that depending on the amount of participants that register. 

On November 6, registered students will find out who their teammates are, who their assigned mentor is, and the sector of focus for the competition. A participant package will be sent to teams on the competition start date outlining the grading rubric judges will use to evaluate pitches to help guide teams on what they should include in their pitch, along with other helpful information and resources to assist with the idea generation, business case building, and pitch creation processes. Information around suggested mentor usage will also be provided in the participant packages. 

Prizes 
(Split evenly amongst team members)

• 1st Place Prize = $1,000
• 2nd Place Prize = $500
• 3rd Place Prize = $250
• Audience Choice Award = $250

Pitch Battles Winners 

• 1st Place: EcoBite (Ali Rizvi, Delphin Manzi, Diya Bubna, Oluwatobi Oriade) 
• 2nd Place: Eatzy Choice (Duy Nguyen, Harmandeep Kaur, Satilesh Beersing, Shaun Taylor) 
• 3rd Place: Food Save (Emmanuel Egorp, Habiebatou Sam, Kalkidan Gutura, Shubhi Sanwarey) 
• Audience Choice Award: Purely PEI Dog Treats (Erika Marcelo, Jimmy Hulton, Lika Kramarchuk, Myles Grant)

Ocean Startup Activator

The Catherine Callbeck Centre for Entrepreneurship is thrilled to present on behalf of the Ocean Startup Project the Ocean Startup Activator—an exciting opportunity for visionary entrepreneurs and innovators passionate about ocean sustainability and marine technology. This challenge is designed to inspire and support bold solutions that address critical issues facing our oceans.

About the Ocean Startup Activator

The Ocean Startup Activator is a prestigious competition that invites UPEI students to team up with local entrepreneurs to develop groundbreaking solutions for ocean-related challenges. Whether you’re tackling pollution, advancing marine conservation, or creating new technologies for sustainable ocean use, we want to see your ideas!

Why Participate?

• Make a Difference: Contribute to solutions that have a tangible impact on the health of our oceans and marine ecosystems.
• Gain Recognition: Showcase your innovative ideas to a panel of experts and leaders in the marine and environmental sectors.
• Access Resources: Benefit from mentorship and networking opportunities designed to help you refine your ideas and bring them to life.
• Win Exciting Prizes: Compete for cash prizes and other valuable rewards to support your project’s development.

How to Enter

Make Waves with Your Innovations

We are excited to see how your creativity and passion can contribute to the future of our oceans. Join us in making a lasting impact! 

MacLauchlan Panther Pitch

The MacLauchlan Panther Pitch is the headline competition under the Harry W. MacLauchlan Entrepreneurship Program. The competition tasks students to create business model canvases, business plans, and pitches for their business ideas with the opportunity of winning startup money for written and/or pitching awards. For more information on the MacLauchlan Panther Pitch, please visit the Harry W. MacLauchlan Entrepreneurship Program page. Information on important dates for the 2024/25 round of the competition will be posted soon!