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Three entrepreneurs from À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Engineering are members of theÌýnew class of The Next 36Ìý(N36), a Canadian program that providesÌý

Amin Ghafelehbashi, a fourth-year systems design engineering student,ÌýMichael Reid, a third-year management engineering student, and Farzana Yusufali, a 2014 nanotechnology engineering graduate, join 35 others, including two other University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ students.Ìý

Students applied to the programÌýfrom 45 institutions across the country, and top U.S schools, includingÌýHarvard,ÌýColumbiaÌýand Yale. The University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ has the most students in the program of all the institutions. Ìý

Contributed to successful startups

The N36 entrepreneurs will spend the next seven months building their companies with up to $80,000 in seed money, the support of mentors, a unique academic program and a pool of business advisors.ÌýThe program has contributed to the success of industry-changing startups includingÌýThalmic Labs, founded by À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ mechatronicsÌýengineering graduates.Ìý

Reid andÌýGhafelehbashiÌýhave been part of the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ’sÌýEnterprise Co-op programÌýrun by theÌýConrad Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology Centre.

Reid, theÌýcofounderÌýof SparkGigÌýan online marketplace that seamlesslyÌý

À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Engineering provides students with a good frameworkÌýfor solving problems and learning new concepts quickly, says Reid. "These two skills are very helpful in entrepreneurship," he adds. Ìý

Ghafelehbashi said he wouldn't be part of N36 without "the amazing mentorship" and "world-class education" from À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ's systems design engineering staff and faculty members.

During the last five years,ÌýGhafelehbashiÌýhas worked at five differentÌýcompanies in five different cities. During his last co-op term, he worked as an API Technical Writer at Google in New York City where he was recognized for going above and beyond expectations. He was offered a full-timeÌýposition with Google but turned it down to pursue his dream of becoming an entrepreneur.

YusufaliÌýis part of the startup that isÌýdeveloping aÌýreflective roof coating that will cool in warm months and heat in coolÌý

Since graduating from nanotechnology engineering last spring, Yusufali attended OCADÌýto pursue her interests in visual arts and industrial design and is now working with her Capstone Design project teamÌýto bringÌýGrayscale Coatings to marketplace.Ìý

The successful applicants for the N36 program competed in the National Selection Weekend that Reid describes as intense.

"On the Friday we had about six hours of back-to-back interviews," he says. "The most valuable takeaway for me was networking."Ìý

Yusufali says that besides the interviews with CEOs and the general pressure of the situation, meeting all of the finalists was inspiring and intimidating at the same time.

"The educational experience through the guest speakers, panel discussions, and meetings with our mentors was also very insightful in what starting a business would entail and what would be expected of us," she says.

AboutÌýThe Next 36