Last Fall, the Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre signed an agreement to be the Regional Lead Atlantic Canada partner in Experience Ventures, a national program led by The Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking at the University of Calgary and funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Innovative Work-Integrated Learning Initiative. Experience Ventures pairs students with businesses, giving students real-world placement opportunities and businesses access to emerging talent.
For students in Atlantic Canada, the program delivered 161 outstanding experiential learning placements with 47 businesses, ranging from startups to established enterprises. While the businesses were many and varied, all were dedicated to mentorship, training and experiential learning and keen to connect with and benefit from students’ fresh thinking and current knowledge. By participating in Experience Ventures, students added work and learning experience to their resumes and made valuable connections with industry leaders.
The collaboration extended beyond Saint Mary’s University, with post-secondary students throughout the region from Acadia University, Cape Breton University, Dalhousie University, Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia Community College, University of New Brunswick and more participating in this dynamic initiative.
Lasting impact on students and businesses
Matthew Orr, a third-year University of New Brunswick student, worked with HomeschoolToGo, a New Brunswick company whose mission is to make bilingual, holistic homeschooling accessible to families worldwide. As part of his project-based experience placement, Matthew worked closely with HomeschoolToGo’s leadership team, assisting in financial management, auditing processes, and market analysis.
He played a key role in refining the company’s financial operations—collaborating with bookkeepers and CPAs to address accounting discrepancies, building financial models and developing strategic projections. Matthew’s dedication and talent led to a continued role with HomeschoolToGo after completing the placement.
Matthew shared, “This program broadened my skill set, especially in venture capital and startup operations, investment rounds, projections and forecasting. It also helped me build a great relationship with my employer.”
“I am so grateful to have been considered for this program,” says Houlie Duque, CEO and founder of HomeschoolToGo. “Finding valuable talent is difficult to do while simultaneously operating a demanding business. Thanks to Matthew, I have been able to cut fractional CFO expenses for my company. He is a dedicated young professional who brings great strengths to the Financial Department at HomeschoolToGo! I look forward to continuing to work with him for many years”.
Experience Ventures: a community of collaboration
Experience Ventures owes its success to the collaboration and support from businesses that contributed their time and expertise in mentoring students and university faculty and staff who promoted the program to students and, in some cases, even participated. The Arthur L. Irving Entrepreneurship Centre team extends a special thanks to the University of Calgary’s Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking, who were instrumental in helping deliver this program, and to the students who seized the opportunities to put their learning into action, make valuable connections, and gain relevant experience for their resumes.
