Module 2

7. Entrepreneurship

What is Entrepreneurship in WIL?

Entrepreneurship-based work-integrated learning (WIL) allows students to start and grow their own business while receiving mentorship, guidance, and academic credit. These experiences are often supported by campus incubators, accelerators, or entrepreneurship programs and can involve students from any discipline.

Students may:

  • Develop a business plan or pitch
  • Launch a product or service
  • Collaborate with start-ups or local entrepreneurs
  • Conduct market research, prototype testing, or early-stage branding

This model supports student innovation and contributes to community business development.

Key Features

  • Can be self-directed or involve working with a start-up
  • Often connected to campus incubators or accelerators
  • Supervision may be provided by a mentor, instructor, or entrepreneur-in-residence
  • May be full-time or part-time
  • Usually for credit and may be mandatory or elective
  • No competitive job posting required

Why Choose Entrepreneurship?

Entrepreneurship WIL experiences offer unique benefits to employers and mentors:

  • Access innovative ideas from entrepreneurially minded students
  • Mentor or coach emerging talent
  • Contribute to early-stage projects and help test or refine business models
  • Partner on short-term or research-based initiatives
  • Engage students who are self-directed and adaptable 

Employers and mentors can participate in a range of roles:

  • Mentor: Offer guidance, answer questions, or coach teams.
  • Partner: Work with student entrepreneurs through embedded classroom experiences.
  • Supervisor: Bring students into your start-up or scale-up to support business growth.

Project Lifecycle

Entrepreneurship WIL experiences typically follow one of several formats:

  • Onboarding: Students join through entrepreneurship courses, incubators, or special project calls. Mentors and partners are matched based on their industry knowledge or alignment with student ideas.
  • Midpoint Check-In: May include coaching sessions, pitch reviews, or guided checkpoints to review progress or support project pivots.
  • Final Assessment: Students often complete a business pitch, a capstone project, or a demo day presentation. Assessments focus on creativity, execution, problem-solving, and alignment with course objectives.
  • Offboarding: Review student contributions and offer feedback. Some organizations continue to stay involved as future mentors, funders, or collaborators.

Real-World Examples

  • At Simon Fraser University, the Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship runs an Embedded Mentor program. Mentors-in-Residence participate in interdisciplinary classrooms to support student-led ventures throughout development.
  • At the Université de Sherbrooke, the Desjardins Entrepreneurship Accelerator connects students across all faculties with local start-ups for hands-on project collaboration.
  • The University of Toronto runs a course called Exploring New Ventures through its Centre for Entrepreneurship, where students apply entrepreneurial concepts in collaboration with local organizations.