Ready for Entrepreneurial Thinking: UCalgary to offer Canada’s first entrepreneurial micro-credential course for university students

The University of Calgary’s heart is entrepreneurial thinking — everyone contributing to innovation that has a real impact on the world. It’s in this spirit that UCalgary has launched Ready for Entrepreneurial Thinking, a free micro-credential open to all students.

The new program is about much more than business creation and startups. The 12-hour course takes students through identifying problems, finding innovative solutions, managing uncertainty and identifying ways to bring an idea to life. 

“The future is uncertain, and Ready for Entrepreneurial Thinking prepares students to face any challenges and turn them into opportunities to make our world a better place,” says Dr. Sandra Davidson, PhD, provost and vice-president (academic), emphasizing the value of entrepreneurial thinking for the success of students at UCalgary and beyond.

“I’ve seen first-hand how UCalgary students have used entrepreneurial thinking to become changemakers in all areas of society. In science, engineering, medicine and business, and also in the creative and cultural sectors, where perspectives from the arts, history, philosophy, social work and education lead meaningful change.”

Ready for Entrepreneurial Thinking features examples of innovative ideas from across the campus community, from innovations in health care to student-created tech startups. The emphasis is on giving students human-centred skills to succeed in an everchanging world, no matter where the future takes them.

Benafsha Tughra, a psychology student in the Faculty of Arts, participated in the pilot run of the course in winter 2026. She says the course taught her to embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and grow. “Failure doesn’t have to be the worst thing,” she says. “If I want to learn something new, I have to become uncomfortable. And that’s okay.”  

In alignment with UCalgary’s strategic plan – Ahead of Tomorrow – to educate transformative leaders, the micro-credential gives students more opportunities to engage with entrepreneurial thinking, defined by the university as “taking initiative, exchanging knowledge across disciplines, learning from experience, and resourcefully engaging with creative and cultural literacy.”

After a successful pilot, the course is now open for registration to all university students — first  and second years are especially encouraged to sign up. Ready for Entrepreneurial Thinking helps students not only gain new understanding of how they can apply entrepreneurial thinking to their own lives, but gives them the confidence to get out there and Start Something.

Learn more about Ready for Entrepreneurial Thinking.