Helping You Become Future Ready
Work-integrated learning that empowers students with entrepreneurial and innovation experience.
Start Your Journey as a Changemaker
Experience Ventures enables undergraduate students to make an impact alongside innovators through entrepreneurial thinking placements. Our goal is to inspire your creativity, resiliency and future vision – so you can seize your future with the right skill set.
We believe an entrepreneurial mindset isn’t limited to a personality type, discipline, or to business owners. It is an accessible set of skills everyone can leverage to make an impact, big or small, in any career. The hallmarks of an entrepreneurial mindset will be critical factors in ensuring Canada’s success today and tomorrow.
Experience Ventures is powered 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 (I-WIL).
There are five different types of placements
An entrepreneurial thinking placement is a structured, short-term opportunity (with honorarium) with a startup or social venture that has partnered with a student’s school. Placements are flexible, part-time, and mostly remote.
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Hackathons
A one- to two-day event in which ventures present students with real world challenges and ask them to provide innovative solutions.
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Challenges
Taking place over several weeks, these require students to build out more complete solutions to social, business, design or community challenges.
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Projects
Ventures present students with a specific project, and the school matches it to talent from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds.
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Student-in-Residence
Students selected by the incubator receive unique opportunities to work with several ventures over the course of a term.
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Interdisciplinary Team Projects
Incubators create teams of students from more than one discipline and provide them with a project for a venture or group of ventures.
Explore the placements available at UCalgary
Scroll through to see what Experience Ventures opportunities are available at UCalgary through the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.
1. Experience Ventures Hackathon
What is the Experience Ventures Hackathon?
It is a hands-on, team-based placement where UCalgary undergraduate students will work together for 16 hours to design innovative solutions to a real community issue. Students learn from mentors, build entrepreneurial thinking skills, and pitch their ideas for a cash prize.
Fall 2026 Hackathon
This Fall, step into a hands-on innovation experience designed to challenge your thinking and grow your skills. The 2026 Experience Ventures Hackathon invites UCalgary students to collaborate on creative, actionable ideas to help address a community issue that will be announced soon!
Over just 2 days you will:
- Work in teams of 4–5
- Learn from mentors
- Explore community insights
- Build skills in innovation and problem-solving
- Pitch your idea to a panel of judges
- Compete for a team prize
- Receive an honorarium for participating
Mark your calendars:
- The hackathon will take place over November 9-10, 2026.
- A full program schedule will be released soon.
Applications are opening soon! Subscribe to the Hunter Hub newsletter or follow us on social media for program announcements and updates.
Hackathon Frequently Asked Questions
Applications will be opening soon and the deadline will be announced at that time.
Any UCalgary undergraduate student who is eager to explore entrepreneurial thinking, build future ready skills they can bring into their respective careers, and expand on existing ideas are encouraged to apply for the program.
Open to:
- Current undergraduate students at the University of Calgary (all faculties are welcome!)
- A Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
- A limited number of spots are available for international students. Participation of international students is supported by the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.
No! This hackathon focuses on creative thinking, collaboration, and developing innovative ideas, not building software. Students from all faculties and experience levels are encouraged to participate.
No! We will place participants in teams of 4-5 students.
16 hours over 2 days:
- November 9-10, 2026
Fill out the application form and take the first step toward shaping Calgary's future.
Applications are not yet open but keep up to date through the Hunter hub newsletter so you are the first to know when they go live! Successful applicants will be notified by before the program start date.
You will be provided with contact details to connect with event organizers. If you experience any problems during the hackathon, we encourage you to get in touch with us.
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges who will score student submissions against the evaluation criteria.
2. Experience Ventures Solutions Lab
What is Solutions Lab?
The Experience Ventures Solutions Lab is a challenge that invites UCalgary students to participate in developing innovative solutions to a local or regional issue.
Students will spend a maximum of 40 hours working on their solutions and pitches.
Fall 2026 Solutions Lab
Experience Ventures Solutions Lab is coming up and this year you'll be tackling one of Canada’s most pressing issues today: bias in Canadian healthcare.
Join a multidisciplinary team to explore innovative ways to address bias in Canadian healthcare. Work with fellow UCalgary students, mentors and community members to tackle a real-world challenge and help imagine a more equitable healthcare system. Plus, you’ll earn a $550 honorarium for your work!
Why Join?
✔ Gain hands-on experience outside the classroom
✔ Build entrepreneurial thinking skills that employers value
✔ Expand your network with industry mentors
✔ Make an impact on one of Canada’s most relevant issues today
✔ Part-time commitment (40 hours over 8 weeks)
✔ Open to undergrads from any discipline
Applications close October 2, 2026.
Solutions Lab Frequently Asked Questions
Any UCalgary undergraduate student who is eager to explore entrepreneurial thinking, build future ready skills they can bring into their respective careers, and expand on existing ideas are encouraged to apply for the program.
Open to:
- Current undergraduate students at the University of Calgary (all faculties are welcome!)
- A Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
- A limited number of spots are available for international students. Participation of international students is supported by the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.
The challenge workshops will be held in-person on Wednesday afternoons in the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking on the 4th floor of the Hunter Student Commons. Students are free to meet with their teams in person or online. The finale will be held in-person on the evening of December 2nd.
No. Participants are not able to register as a team.
The challenge will kick off with a keynote speaker who works in this space and students will be provided with additional information and resources to support their work. Teams will be provided an opportunity to attend sessions with mentors to support their progress and work.
You will be provided with contact details to connect with event organizers. If you experience any problems during the challenge, we encourage you to get in touch with us.
Each team will be asked to submit a final project proposal that aligns with the scoring rubric. The submission will include a five minute video and 1 page project brief guidelines for which will be provided at the same time as a copy of the scoring rubric.
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges who will score student submissions against the evaluation criteria.
Previous Solutions Labs
Hunter Hub Solutions Lab: Sustainable Campus challenges students to create impactful sustainability solutions for their campus, culminating in a finale where winning teams are recognized.
Hunter Hub Solutions Lab: Addressing social isolation in the Calgary area challenges students to create impactful solutions, with winning teams recognized at the finale.
Hunter Hub Solutions Lab: Climate change solutions for Southern Alberta challenges students to develop and present impactful projects addressing climate change.
Hunter Hub Solutions Lab: Resilient Food Systems Challenge invites UCalgary students to develop innovative, sustainability-focused solutions for a community challenge unveiled at the start of the event.
Students were invited to propose feasible and impactful solutions, connecting with fellow students to aid UCalgary in achieving its ambitious goal of becoming a zero waste campus by 2030.
3. Experience Ventures Projects
What are Experience Ventures Projects?
They are hands-on placements where UCalgary undergraduate students work with real organizations to tackle real-world challenges. Students apply their skills, build career-ready experience, collaborate with professionals, and contribute to meaningful projects while earning an honorarium.
Fall 2026 Projects
Put your learning into practice through an Experience Ventures Project.
Work directly with a real organization to tackle a real-world challenge, contribute to meaningful work, and gain hands-on experience beyond the classroom. Projects span a range of industries and disciplines, from technology and healthcare to engineering, business, marketing, sustainability and more.
Whether you’re looking to apply skills from your degree, explore a new field, or build experience for your future career, there’s a project for you. No entrepreneurship experience is required, and students from all faculties are encouraged to apply.
Why Join?
✔ Work on a real project with a real organization
✔ Apply your classroom learning to real-world challenges
✔ Build career-ready skills through hands-on experience
✔ Collaborate with professionals and students from different disciplines
✔ Expand your professional network
✔ Explore your interests and discover how your skills can be applied
✔ Receive an $850 honorarium for participating
Ready to find your project? Explore the project opportunities in the project guide to learn more about each one.
Applications close September 21, 2026.
Projects Frequently Asked Questions
September 21, 2026
Any UCalgary undergraduate student who is eager to explore entrepreneurial thinking, build future ready skills they can bring into their respective careers, and expand on existing ideas are encouraged to apply for the program.
Open to:
- Current undergraduate students at the University of Calgary (all faculties are welcome!)
- A Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
- A limited number of spots are available for international students. Participation of international students is supported by the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.
No! Experience Ventures Projects are not just for business or entrepreneurship students. Projects are available across a wide range of disciplines, including technology, engineering, healthcare, marketing, communications, design, sustainability, data science and more.
Every project is different. Depending on the opportunity, you could conduct market research, develop a marketing strategy, build a prototype, analyze data, research customers, design a website or user experience, develop technology, explore commercialization opportunities or contribute to another real-world challenge.
80 hours total from September to December.
We recommend applying for the project or projects that are the best match for your interests, skills and availability. You can apply to multiple projects but you will only be selected to work on one (1) project if your application is successful.
Yes! You don’t have to be studying exactly what the project description lists. The programs listed are examples of areas that may be a good fit, but students from other disciplines are encouraged to apply when they have relevant skills or interests.
Some projects specifically welcome students from all faculties.