UPEI's Department of Computer Science and Information Technology (CSIT) and the School of Business are teaming up with Timeless Technologies, a local software and web development company, to present to its students 'The Big Pitch'-Venture Capital Funding.

CSIT and Business students will work together in teams of four to develop a concept and a business plan for the 'next killer mobile app.' Students will have the opportunity to be mentored by Timeless Technologies and UPEI faculty members as they develop their ideas over the next month in preparation for 'The Big Pitch' event in March. A panel of judges, with representatives from Timeless, UPEI, and the Innovation and Technology Association of Prince Edward Island, will select the winners.

Alan Duncan, Dean of UPEI's School of Business, is thrilled that Timeless Technologies is offering students the opportunity to take their ideas to product. 'They are offering to share their experience and expertise to assist in this project,' he said. 'This is an unrivalled opportunity for UPEI faculties to collaborate, and for students to experience a real world situation, which will likely be a highlight of their careers with UPEI.'

The students' pitches must be focused on the worldwide mobile device market, must be Internet-based businesses, and must have a defined revenue stream immediately upon launch.

Timeless Technologies will hire the winning team, provide them with salaries, and a budget of $50,000 to execute their business plan and develop their mobile application with Timeless' Development, and Sales and Marketing teams over the summer. The winning team will also share in the profits once the mobile application gets to market!

For more information, contact thebigpitch@timelesstech.com, or visit http://www.facebook.com/timelesstech.

Robyn Christensen, a fourth-year science student at UPEI, went on a trip to Uganda last year that forever changed her. Since that trip, Robyn created and leads UPEI's International Charity Club, a group dedicated to helping the less fortunate in third world countries.

This May, the club will embark on a three-week journey to Uganda with the Watoto program, a holistic care initiative that helps orphaned children and vulnerable women in Uganda. The club will work on various infrastructural projects in order to better the quality of life for infants living in African baby homes. They will also be responsible for bathing, feeding, and most importantly, loving these children.

Christensen recalls the thin, tiny children, sitting on the sidewalks in the African country, and describes their eyes as 'lifeless' with 'every last vestige of hope and idealism drained from them.' She believes that it is people from her generation, and from Canada, that will make an impact on the world. 'This club is as much about helping the less fortunate as it is about educating UPEI students to appreciate their wealth, and make poverty a concern, so that they too can be a part of the solution.'

February is a time of fundraising for the club. Valentine's Day (February 14) events include a bake sale from 11:00 am-2:30 pm in the Robertson Library as well as a 'Spread the Love' musical event at the Dunk in Breadalbane at 7:30 pm. On February 28, the club will show a film screening in conjunction with Invisible Children (http://www2.invisiblechildren.com/) at 7:00 pm in McDougall Hall, room 242. The club will host a musical event on February 29 from 8:00-11:00 pm in McMillan Hall, at the W.A. Murphy Student Centre, with musical talents, Meaghan Blanchard, Colour Code, and Bad Habits.

The group also has an ongoing 'Loonie for Love' campaign, where they seek one loonie from every Islander. The team's great sense of humour and passion to raise funds is demonstrated as they roam campus and PEI dressed up in loon costumes to secure loonies from locals.

UPEI's International Charity Club consists of approximately 13 student members, seven of whom will travel together to Uganda. Those traveling to Africa include: Robyn Christensen, Jenny Vessey, Christen Vessey, Kristyn MacKenzie, Lucas MacArthur, Sarah-Lynn Boyle, and Ryan Gallant.

The group has raised $7,500 so far and hopes to raise an additional $10,500 before May.

For more information on the events and how you can help out, http://www.indiegogo.com/UPEI-Goes-to-Africa or contact Robyn at (902) 394-5629 or rchristensen@upei.ca.

The UPEI Panthers men's basketball team announced today the addition of 6'6' Three Oaks Senior High star, Lucas Coughlin.

UPEI Head Coach Tim Kendrick is thrilled to add Coughlin to the roster, 'We are very excited to have Lucas play with the Panthers. We believe that he has tons of potential, and that he will be a very solid player for years to come. He is a fine young man that we know will fit in great with our program.'

The excited TOSH basketball player can't wait to join the Panthers, 'I am very excited to play for Coach Kendrick at UPEI. I would like to thank my family and my coaches who have helped me reach my goal!'

As of February 13, the UPEI Panthers, with 32 points, are currently tied for first place with the StFX X-Men in the 2011/2012 AUS rankings. TOSH leads the PEISAA league and recently won the 29th annual Confederation City Classic tournament in January.

Prostate is the most common cancer amongst Canadian men, with one in seven developing the disease in their lifetime. Often undetected until it is too late, prostate cancer is expected to kill more than four-thousand men this year in Canada alone.

Every year, motorcycle enthusiasts from across the country join together to raise funds to fight prostate cancer in the TELUS Motorcycle Ride for Dad. This year, some of the money raised by the PEI chapter will support the research of Dr. Robert Hurta, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Dr. Hurta is examining compounds found in blueberries, seeking to understand any potential that could affect the behaviour of certain cells, including prostate cancer cells.

'Prostate cancer cells exist within a network of different matrix proteins,' explained Dr. Hurta. 'In order for them to spread, cancer cells need to activate certain enzymes which allow them to break down this protein network to which they are tethered and which enables the cancer cells to potentially migrate to other parts of the body.'

Blueberries have often been touted as a natural source of beneficial compounds for battling cancer. Dr. Hurta is seeking to further validate this possibility. If and when he finds the compounds responsible, he will seek to understand what mechanism is involved whereby blueberry compounds can inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

'We're extremely proud of Dr. Hurta's research, and grateful for the contribution of each participant in the TELUS Motorcycle Ride for Dad,' said Dr. Katherine Schultz, Vice-President, Research and Development at UPEI. 'This contribution allows Dr. Hurta to hire a student to aid him in his research. To each person who took part in the Ride, and to everyone who donated, UPEI offers our sincere thanks.'

'It's amazing to see that the donations brought in by our local riders and supporters are being used right here in Prince Edward Island for innovative prostate cancer research,' said Steven Peckett, co-chair of the PEI chapter. 'Our ride is fun but it's for a serious cause, and raising awareness and helping to fund this type of research is exactly why we ride each year.'

In the past ten years, more than 250,000 Canadians have participated in the TELUS Motorcycle Ride for Dad and have raised more than $9 million. The event is national in scope, but funds local research and awareness in the communities where the funds were raised. Strong supporters of the PEI Chapter include the 2CAV Canadian Army Veterans, CMA Christian Motorcycle Association, and members of the PEI Sportbikes. For more information, visit RideForDad.ca.

The University of Prince Edward Island men's basketball team has secured former Nova Scotia Canada Games and Citadel High point guard Deontay (D.J.) Smith for this coming fall. Smith will reunite with Panthers head coach Tim Kendrick who helped lead the Nova Scotia Canada Games team on a thrilling run to a silver medal at the 2009 Canada Summer Games held in PEI.

Smith was a standout when he played for Citadel High School in Halifax, the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation high school runners-up to Horton High-and where Kendrick formerly coached-in the 2010-11 season.

'We are very excited to add D.J. to the Panthers line-up. He is a skilled player who is very tough and competitive. He brings a history of hitting the huge shots, and has the potential to be a lock-down defender. This fine young man will be a great fit with our team,' said Kendrick.

D.J. Smith is equally enthusiastic about joining the UPEI Panthers. 'I can't wait to get there! I am going to be reunited with a great coach and be going to a great university.'

In the past year, Smith has been consistently ranked among the top 30 high school players in the country.

In a dramatic double-overtime finish, the UPEI men's hockey team beat Acadia 6-5 Monday night in Game 3 of the best of three quarterfinal series to advance to the 2012 Subway Atlantic University Sport men's hockey semifinal playoff. Matt Carter scored the game winner before a capacity crowd at MacLauchlan Arena. The win sends the Panthers to the semifinals for the first time since 1996. (Read The Guardian article.)

The best 3-of-5 series will begin Friday, February 24 against the number one-ranked UNB Varsity Reds in Fredericton. Game 2 will also be played at the Aitken Centre, while Game 3 and Game 4, if necessary, will be played on home ice at MacLauchlan Arena.

Semifinal Series #1 (Best 3-of-5): UNB (1) vs. UPEI (4)

Game 1: Friday, February 24th - UPEI at UNB, 7:00pm
Game 2: Saturday, February 25th - UPEI at UNB, 7:00pm
Game 3: Wednesday, February 29th - UNB at UPEI, 7:00pm
Game 4: Thursday, March 1st - UNB at UPEI, 7:00pm*
Game 5: Sunday, March 4th - UPEI at UNB, 4:30pm*
(*if necessary)

The UPEI Box Office will open on Wednesday, February 29, time TBA.

Here's your chance to prove your spelling prowess. The UPEI Writing Centre is hosting its 2nd Annual Spelling Bee Smackdown on Tuesday, March 6, in the W.A. Murphy Centre's McMillan Hall. If you can spell "tchotchke" in 10 seconds or less, get your team together for some good old fashioned competition.

The UPEI hockey teams and men's basketball team are competing in playoffs this week and will face some tough competition, but they're up for the challenge.

The men's hockey team will once again face the top ranked reigning national champions, the UNB Varsity Reds, on Wednesday, February 29 at 7 pm at the MacLauchlan Arena. If the Panthers can come out with a win, they will play the fourth playoff game on Thursday at 7 pm. UPEI finished off the regular season in fourth place.

The women's hockey team will compete in the 2012 Subway Atlantic University Sport Women's Hockey Championship hosted by Dalhousie University, from March 1-4, at the Dalhousie Memorial Arena. UPEI will play on both Friday and Saturday at 3:00 pm. UPEI is currently ranked in 4th place heading into the playoff weekend.

On the basketball side, the Panthers will also head to Halifax this weekend, where they will first compete against 6th place contenders, Saint Mary's University Huskies. The game will take place on Friday, March 2 at 8:15 pm at the Halifax Metro Centre. The winner of the match will face second place Acadia on Saturday. UPEI heads into playoffs in third place.

He has often been called Canada's finest living English-language poet. No, not Leonard Cohen. And you won't spot Don McKay garbed in urban black; rather, in a parka, watch cap or khaki fedora, and hiking boots on a headland trail on the Newfoundland coast. But Don McKay's poetic music, imagery, and metaphors are every bit as luxuriant, unique, and memorable as Cohen's, and his insights into the natural world and human mind and spirit are spellbinding. He has mastered the art of writing poetry that is both clearly accessible and exquisitely crafted, that seamlessly blends elegant and everyday language.

Don McKay, birdwatcher, rockhound, baseball aficionado, warm and generous human being, and poet extraordinaire, will read from his works at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery on Monday, March 12, at 7:30 pm as part of the UPEI Winter's Tales Authors Reading Series.

As a poet, essayist, and teacher, McKay has been a primary inspiration in Canada for what is loosely called 'eco-poetics.' For those who love nature poetry, his writing is essential reading. Moreover, though nature is omnipresent in his writing, human experience is rarely absent. His poetry doesn't rely on blatant environmentalist 'messages.' Instead, he gracefully reveals his own and others' experience of the natural world, from the wilderness to the city and suburb, even in a Canadian Tire store! Through his poems, we experience the natural world on its own terms, apart from the impact of civilization. Often, he shows us the interaction of nature and our human needs, tools and striving, euphoria and discontents. McKay sees his writing as 'nature poetry in a time of environmental crisis.'

Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, and raised in Cornwall, McKay taught creative writing and English for nearly three decades, including at the University of Western Ontario and the University of New Brunswick. He has published 12 books of poetry, won the Governor General's Award for Poetry twice, and won the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2006. His influence on Canadian poetry includes his roles as co founder of Brick Books, one of Canada's leading poetry presses, editor of the literary journal The Fiddlehead, and associate director for poetry at the Banff Centre for the Arts Writing Studio. He has also edited many books by fellow poets.

In 2008, McKay was made a Member of the Order of Canada, and now lives in St. John's, Newfoundland. His reading is co-hosted by the UPEI English Department and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, with funding from the Canada Council for the Arts. Admission is free. A book signing and reception will follow.

UPEI's executive MBA program offers a high-quality learning experience for working business professionals. Starting September 2012, classes will be offered bi-weekly on Fridays and Saturdays, with the option to complete the program in 20 months. Specialized streams of study are offered in Innovative Management and Biotechnology Management & Entrepreneurship.

To learn more about the program and these changes, and to meet with staff, faculty, and students from the School of Business, we invite you to drop by our information session on Tuesday, March 6, any time between 4:00-6:00 pm in the Provinces Room at the Rodd Charlottetown Hotel.

Please call (902) 566-6474 or email mba@upei.ca to reserve a seat. For more information, visit http://business.upei.ca/mba.