Trailblazers recognized at National Retail Innovation Awards

On Nov. 1, Saint Mary’s University and the David Sobey Centre hosted the National Retail Innovation Awards at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront hotel. The annual awards recognize young retail and support companies that offer innovative contributions to the Canadian retail sector. This year’s winners were Poppy Barley, Six Hundred Four, and Dash Hudson.

James Lepp, the owner of the Vancouver-based shoe retailer Six Hundred Four, received an Instagram message inviting him to receive the award in Halifax. The award, which is for innovative customer experience, is the company’s first-ever. Lepp and his wife excitedly packed their bags and headed to Halifax.

“It’s nice that someone of importance [...] is recognizing what we’re doing,” he says.

“Retail is extremely exciting today,” says Dr. Ramesh Venkat, director of the David Sobey Centre. “We see companies focusing on customer experience and data-driven decisions, so it’s a very vibrant environment where innovation is not optional. The companies that take the road less travelled seem to be the ones that are making their mark.”

Each winner this year is making a mark in their own way. Poppy Barley won the Award for Sustainable Retailing Innovation for its socially and environmentally conscious approach to luxury fashion. Shoe retailer Six Hundred Four won the Award for Retail Customer Experience for its unique sneaker gallery, as well as its virtual reality shopping experience. Lastly, Halifax’s own Dash Hudson won the Award for Technology Innovation for its AI-driven platform that helps companies with their visual assets to increase customer engagement.

“As a company that is based in Halifax […] who primarily does business in the United States, it’s great to be recognized by a Canadian institution, and a Halifax institution, like Saint Mary’s for the work that we’re doing,” says Thomas Rankin, CEO and co-founder of Dash Hudson.

Dr. David Sobey, Chairman Emeritus Empire Company Limited, praised the winners and their contributions. “The opportunity to honour innovators in the retail industry has been a great benefit to the Sobey School of Business and Saint Mary’s University, as well as to the students. This event gives us all a great opportunity to dialogue with leaders of industry, and in particular, the retail industry,” he says.

The David Sobey Centre was launched in 2015 with the support of Dr. David Sobey. The centre focuses on three main areas: research, innovation and education. The centre is a leading source of retail expertise and helps to prepare the next generation of industry leaders.

Industry leaders, like Poppy Barley, Six Hundred Four, and Dash Hudson, that will go on to further innovate and disrupt the retail sector.

MTEI grads win $75k in US business challenge

The Ashored founders: Aaron Stevenson, left, Ross Arsenault and Maxwell Poole. (Photo courtesy Peter Moreira, Entrevestor.com)

Saint Mary’s alumni Ross Arsenault BComm'17, MTEI'18 and Aaron Stevenson MTEI'19 along with partner Max Poole BComm'17 on their company, Ashored, have won $75k USD Platinum win at the MassChallenge in Boston.

The company was selected back in May as the sole Canadian company to enter the well-recognized accelerator program, one of 100 start-ups competing for funding.

"Headquartered in the United States with locations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Rhode Island, Switzerland, and Texas, MassChallenge strengthens the global innovation ecosystem by accelerating high-potential startups across all industries, from anywhere in the world for zero-equity taken." - MassChallenge.org

The MassChallenge Boston program provides training, collaboration space, connections to experts and mentors and is zero cost. Cash prizes are for zero equity. This isn't Dragon's Den, this is money to drive business growth, free of obligations.

Ashored Innovations were one of 12 companies awarded on October 24. Over $1 million USD in zero-equity prizes were awarded, provided via partnerships MassChallenge has with Boeing and the International Space Station National Lab.

This competition plants another flag in the Boston startup ecosystem, which Sobey School's Venture Grade and MTEI have been making inroads into for the last several years.

Ashored adds the winnings to their growing funding pool, including a recent $30,000 investment from Sobey School's Venture Grade group.

Celebrating the new Dr. Hari Das Commons

Saint Mary’s students now have access to a newly renovated space to study, connect, and relax - the Dr. Hari Das Commons. 

Completed at the end of September, the 1,725 square foot area, located on the second floor of the Loyola Residence building, is named after the late professor, Dr. Hari Das. The commons honours his connection with Saint Mary’s and was made possible by the family of Dr. Hari Das.  

Dr. Hari Das

“Dr. Das had a special connection to Saint Mary’s and it’s wonderful to see him recognized in this manner. His relationship with students and faculty, along with his contributions in the Sobey School of Business, make the naming of this space especially fitting,” said Saint Mary’s President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray.  

Sustainably designed, the Dr. Hari Das Commons was conceived as a hub of student activity. The modern, bright space includes 50 seats and a large meeting table for learning, socializing, and collaboration and features new comfortable furniture, a higher ceiling, new lighting and finishes.

Overlooking the quad, track, and athletics field, the Dr. Hari Das Commons is ideally located to bring students together from across all faculties, creating a sense of community in the space.

“The Dr. Hari Das Commons is a beautiful addition to our network of learning commons which are emerging across campus,” said Saint Mary’s Vice-President, Finance and Administration Gabe Morrison. “It reflects Dr. Das’s commitment to students and leading-edge scholarship. The renovation reflects the concept and design standards established for the adjacent and upcoming Sobeys Entrepreneurship and Innovation Hub.” 

A professor in the Sobey School of Business for 32 years, Dr. Das was deeply connected to students, faculty, and staff. While at Saint Mary’s, he taught several graduate and doctoral courses and continued his research in understanding human behaviour. His memory lives on at the university through the guidance and direction he provided for many business students. 

“Dr. Das had a tremendous impact on me and also influenced my own teaching,” says Saint Mary’s alumnus Dr. Scott MacMillan, Associate Professor in Management at Mount Saint Vincent University. “He was a brilliant teacher who knew what he wanted his students to know. He had very high standards, always worked hard, and demanded the same of others.” 

An eminent national and international scholar, Dr. Das received his MSc and PhD from the University of British Columbia and published several journal articles and textbooks. Dr. Das’s interest in human resources led him to co-author the best-selling textbook, Canadian Human Resource Management. Now in its 12th edition, with almost 300,000 copies sold, it is one of the most successful textbooks published in Canada and is used in over 70 universities in the country.

In addition to his work as a scholar, Dr. Das published two novels and several short stories; however, his passion was filmmaking. Active in the Atlantic Filmmakers’ Cooperative, he wrote, directed, and produced a number of documentaries and commercial films. His short films on child labour and female infanticide received recognition and won awards.

Dr. Hari Das passed away in 2010. In honour of his memory and relationship with Saint Mary’s, the family of Dr. Hari Das has funded several philanthropic investments at the university. “We are very grateful to the family of Dr. Hari Das. Their generous support of the university through the Dr. Hari Das Commons, Dr. Hari Das Conference Room, Dr. Hari Das Global Scholars Award, and Dr. Hari Das Memorial MBA Scholarship is extraordinary,” said Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray. “Dr. Das’s legacy will live on in this space, bringing students together to make important interdisciplinary connections.” 

Student team promote entrepreneurial thinking across faculties

Meet the new ENbassador team. Back row, l-r: Aaron Graham, Commerce; Jake Chambers, Science; Emaaz Amjid, Science; Guillermo Villerreal De Lara, Arts. In front, l-r: Solana Purdy, Commerce; Amina Khan, Arts; Sambridhi Trikhatri, Commerce.

Last week, the Saint Mary's University Entrepreneurship Centre welcomed a brand new team of Student Entrepreneurship Ambassadors to their ENbassador Program.

These undergraduate students come from all academic faculties. The goal of the ENbassador program is to ignite an entrepreneurial mindset in all students at Saint Mary's and help them to develop skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and resilience.

The team of students ENbassadors will work alongside the SMUEC to help plan, promote, and execute entrepreneurship events on campus throughout the year. These students are excited to share their passion for entrepreneurship and help other students understand the value that entrepreneurial thinking can have, not only for those eager to one day start their own business, but also for those who wish to work for an organization beyond graduation.

The ENbassador Program is a CASE (Community and Student Engagement) funded initiative that uses a multidisciplinary approach to create an entrepreneurial mindset.

2nd cohort graduates from SMU-BNUZ joint degree program

On June 29, the second cohort of business students graduated from a unique program offered by Saint Mary’s University and Beijing Normal University-Zhuhai (BNUZ).

Clad in academic caps and gowns, a total of 68 Chinese students received dual degrees that day: a Bachelor of Commerce from Saint Mary’s and a Bachelor of Economics from BNUZ. Among them was 2019 Valedictorian Ms. Yushan Xie, who graduated summa cum laude.

Academics and administrators from both universities attended the ceremony to confer the degrees and celebrate the graduates. Prof. Ailan Fu, Vice-President, BNUZ and Dr. Malcolm Butler, Vice President, Academic and Research served as co-presiders of the convocation.

Dr. Harjeet Bhabra, Dean, Sobey School of Business and BNUZ counterpart Prof. Xin Zhong Dean, International Business Faculty presented the graduands, and President Prof. Qingyun Tu and Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray conferred the degrees.

The presidents of both universities addressed their newest alumni, wishing them well and commenting on the successful academic partnership between the two institutions.

“Your graduation today is a further reflection of the blossoming of our (historic, cross-border) partnership,” said President Summerby-Murray in his remarks, speaking from a podium decorated with small Canadian and Chinese flags.

“You are uniquely positioned for global careers. You have experienced the thinking and the scholarship of both East and West as they relate to business and enterprise. And you value the person-to-person relationships, demonstrated here today, that are and will continue to be the foundation of successful cooperation between our countries, China and Canada”.

Many of the graduates plan to begin postgraduate studies in the fall, with 48 receiving offers from offers from universities in China and abroad. Some well-known schools include Columbia University, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Sydney.

New Saint Mary's space at Volta innovation hub

A new partnership between Saint Mary's University and Volta, an innovation hub in downtown Halifax, will see the university become the first post-secondary institution to provide its students and faculty direct access to Volta's community of innovators with a dedicated work space onsite.

Saint Mary’s will have a permanent office space at Volta, dubbed the Entrepreneurship Connector, that can house up to 6 people. The space allows SMU's community to build stronger relationships within Halifax's innovation district, while providing access to resources, help create new experiential learning opportunities, and enable Saint Mary’s faculty, researchers and programs to better reach and engage with the community and local businesses.

Volta, now in its sixth year of operation, tripled in size last year to 60,000 square feet. Spanning across three floors of the Maritime Centre, the innovation hub is creating a place for entrepreneurs and innovators to work, learn and connect with each other.

"Universities play an important role in driving innovation in Atlantic Canada, and they help attract the talent the region needs to thrive," said Jesse Rodgers, Volta's CEO. "This partnership will infuse Volta's community with the creativity, enthusiasm and innovative thinking that SMU students exemplify."

“We are passionate about helping our students, and our region succeed,” said Dr. Rob Summerby-Murray, President and Vice-Chancellor. “We know that it is by working together, with like-minded partners, that we will have the most impact and do the most good…where we will drive innovation and entrepreneurial thinking to the benefit of our province, and far beyond.”

“Saint Mary’s University is excited to have a permanent physical space at Volta,” said Michael Sanderson, Director of the Saint Mary’s University Entrepreneurship Centre. “At SMU, we believe entrepreneurship is for everyone, so this space and partnership creates a direct pathway for students, faculty and staff from across all disciplines within the university to engage in entrepreneurship and help grow and support the start-up ecosystem.”

See also:

Dr. Ellen Farrell releases research findings on Atlantic entrepreneurial ecosystem

Dr. Ellen Farrell releases research findings on Atlantic entrepreneurial ecosystem

Dr. Ellen Farrell

Global relationships key to healthy startup community says new research

A major research project from Saint Mary’s University suggests Atlantic Canadian startup businesses need to look further afield for innovation, information and funding.

A three-year, $210,000 research project exploring the startup community in Atlantic Canada has delivered its final report. The research shows that while the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is highly interconnected, companies can achieve greater benefit by reaching out globally for information on technology and product solutions. By relying more on “weak ties” or relationships outside of the Atlantic region or Canada, the Atlantic entrepreneurial ecosystem can improve innovation and results. The research also suggests firms explore venture capital availability outside of the Atlantic region.

“Our study looked at the “knowledge-seeking behaviours” of startups. We found that the Atlantic region is highly connected. One great opportunity lies in encouraging startups to extend their global reach for product and technology information, taking advantage of “weak ties” such as acquaintances, because this can help develop new innovations,” said Dr. Ellen Farrell. “As it is, the world is beating a path to our door to purchase our Atlantic Canadian equity,” she says, citing examples like the purchase of Atlantic businesses Radian 6 and Go Instant by Salesforce, and Quintiles IMS’s recent acquisition of STI Technologies.

The report points to more work to be done by mature firms to support growing businesses. A call to action in the report offers a long list of suggestions for ways these firms can support startups, including testing prototypes, lending talent or equipment, and providing an entry introduction into an industry network of contacts.

“Saint Mary’s University is dedicated to fostering both the foundational and community-engaged research efforts of our professors. This project of Dr. Farrell and her team is an excellent example of research that supports our community and directly impacts the health of our region’s economy,” says Saint Mary’s University Associate Vice-President Research, Dr. Adam Sarty.

“This applied research has already helped inform start-up founders, policy makers and other members of the ecosystem it describes. Dr. Farrell’s work complements her teaching in entrepreneurship, and is key in building a culture of innovation with an entrepreneurial approach to both business development and general problem solving.”

A team led by Dr. Ellen Farrell, a management professor at the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University, conducted the research, which was based on a study Dr. Farrell undertook in 2014. The team was comprised of eleven researchers plus graduate and undergraduate students from six universities across the region. Federal funding to support the project came from ACOA’s Atlantic Policy Research Initiative.