Entrepreneurs-in-residence (EiR) are startup creators who have been granted office space at the ACE Project Space along with access to a dedicated team of students working on bringing their business ideas to life. If you become an EiR, your term is equal to one academic term (four months) that is renewable subject to a mutual agreement between you and the ACE Project Space.

If you would like to become an EiR, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Come up with a project idea

Industry projects are ideas often proposed by the owners of these ideas: the entrepreneurs. If your startup involves criteria that fit within one or more of our disciplines, we encourage you to prepare a summary proposal of your project idea.

Step 2: Get in touch

Contact us by phone or email. Explain your idea and provide some other information about the technology you would like to use. Let’s discuss the idea together and come up with a project for a minimum viable product (MVP) that can be completed in one project term.

Step 3: Submit an online application

To apply, complete the ACE Project Space Application form. In your application, be sure to include the details you were provided in the previous steps.

Step 4: Wait for the results of project selection

All industry projects are assessed on a number of factors, including student experience, project scope, social impact and economic potential. Applied Computer Education (ACE) faculty will examine all proposals submitted and select the ones that align with the students’ skill sets and interests. Selected projects are made available for team resourcing in a future college term.

Step 5: Investigate and apply for funding opportunities

If your project is selected for the ACE Project Space, as an EiR, you may be eligible for grants or other funding that would enable you to provide remuneration to students dedicated to your project. We will connect you with our funding partners and provide you with guidance on how to apply for funding.

Step 6: Finalize project commitment

If your project is selected, you will be contacted to have a meeting at the ACE Project Space. During the meeting, ACE instructors and researchers will ask questions to better understand the scope of the project proposed. They will also inform you about the space and the services you will have access to.

Step 7: Move to the ACE Project Space

As an EiR, you’ll have access to one of dedicated EiR office spaces. During the project term, you’ll be able to manage your startup from there, while collaborating with students in the project development. All details will be provided by our staff prior to your move to the space.

Step 8: Start your Entrepreneur-in-Residence term

Our project terms last four months at a time and teams have the opportunity to find solutions to each project’s problem domain. Project terms start every January, May and August. Project teams are selected by faculty representatives to match student skills to projects, additionally matching faculty advisors who help direct each team. Each multi-disciplinary team is typically made up of two to five students. During the entire term, students will be assisted by ACE Project Space faculty and staff. You’ll also have access to our in-house experts.

Step 9: Develop your Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

Under the guidance of an ACE Project Space project manager, our students follow an agile methodology with daily stand-up meetings, development sprints every one to two weeks and meet with project sponsors at the end of each sprint to consult on the progress and direction of their projects. Throughout the term, faculty, educational assistants and other support staff provide regular student monitoring and mentoring to ensure project success.

Step 10: Complete your project

At the end of the project term, your MVP will be complete and students will showcase the results of their work in a day of student-led presentations. Anything confidential will be omitted from the presentation. You will have the opportunity to continue developing your solution on your own or you can reapply for additional student assistance should you need it.

External clients are entrepreneurs, businesses, non-profit organizations or government entities that have a project in the ACE Project Space and do not require dedicated office space for their staff. If you would like to become an external client, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Come up with a project idea

If you represent an organization from our community and have a project idea with criteria that fit one or more of our disciplines, we encourage you to prepare a summary proposal of your project idea.

Step 2: Get in touch

Contact us by phone or email to arrange a consultation. Explain your idea and how it fits with your organization’s goals and objectives. If you have specific technology that you plan to use, provide us with details about your technology requirements. We’ll discuss project ideas for an MVP that can be feasibly completed in one project term.

Step 3: Submit an online application

To apply, complete the ACE Project Space Application form. In your application, be sure to include the details you were provided in the previous steps.

Step 4: Wait for the results of project selection

All industry projects are assessed on a number of factors, including student experience, project scope, social impact and economic potential. Applied Computer Education (ACE) faculty will examine all proposals submitted and select the ones that align with the students’ skill sets and interests. Selected projects are made available for team resourcing in a future college term.

Step 5: Finalize project commitment

If your project is selected, you will be contacted to have a meeting at the ACE Project Space. During the meeting, ACE instructors and researchers will ask questions to better understand the scope of the project proposed. They will also inform you about the process for working with students and holding project meetings at the space.

Step 6: Start your External Client term

Our project terms last four months at a time and teams have the opportunity to find solutions to each project’s problem domain. Project terms start every January, May and August. Project teams are selected by faculty representatives to match student skills to projects, additionally matching faculty advisors who help direct each team. Each multi-disciplinary team is typically made up of two to five students. During the entire term, students will be assisted by ACE Project Space faculty and staff. You’ll also have access to our in-house experts.

Step 7: Develop your Minimum Viable Product

Under the guidance of an ACE Project Space project manager, our students follow an agile methodology with daily stand-up meetings, development sprints every one to two weeks, and meet with project sponsors at the end of each sprint to consult on the progress and direction of their projects. Throughout the term, faculty, educational assistants and other support staff provide regular student monitoring and mentoring to ensure project success.

Step 8: Complete your project

At the end of the project term, your MVP will be complete and students will showcase the results of their work in a day of student-led presentations. Anything confidential will be omitted from the presentation. You will have the opportunity to continue developing your solution on your own or you can reapply for additional student assistance should you need it.

We have established partnerships with numerous technology-based organizations to help them run workshops and events in our physical space, such as North Forge, New Media Manitoba and more. If you would like to hold an event in our space, we’d like to hear from you.

With the support of our funding partners, collaboration between students, faculty and industry at the ACE Project Space becomes viable. This contribution is generating a positive impact towards innovative research and facilitating the development of entrepreneurial pursuits in our community. To find out how you can support the ACE Project Space, please give us a call.

The ACE Project Space is here to serve the community. If you would like a tour of the ACE Project Space or you are an industry professional and would like to reach out to our students, either by coming in for a question and answer period to presenting on what your daily activities are like and to share your wisdom, please contact us to arrange a visit. Our students thrive on receiving real-world advice from working professionals.

If your business needs space to hold a workshop event, we can arrange for your event to occur after working hours.