About Esch

The Norman Esch Awards has continuously promoted a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within Toronto Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science (FEAS). Through these awards, FEAS students continue to be enabled to explore their potential - whether that be by pursuing their own startup idea, or making an impact in their communities. Since its launch in 2013, Norman Esch winners have raised $15.6 million, reported more than $2.14 million in revenue, and employed 67 paid individuals in 2019. 

To further support the Norman Esch community, the Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CEIE) has developed an ecosystem that helps to nurture innovation and creativity in students by breaking the barriers into entrepreneurship, and supporting every step of the student startup journey. Through this collaborative ecosystem between the Norman Esch Foundation and CEIE, students are able to explore their potential beyond academia and gain an entrepreneurial perspective during their academic endeavours.

The Norman Esch Awards is made possible with the generous donation made by the Norman Esch Foundation and the 37 members of our Esch committee who volunteered to review each and every application. 

For more information about the Esch Awards – please see our Esch Governance document (external link) .

Each Norman Esch Award application is carefully considered and reviewed by three independent reviewers in our committee. We take pride in our diverse committee that is composed of professionals representing various specializations within the startup ecosystem. Our members range from serial entrepreneurs, first-time founders, investors, all the way to Toronto Metropolitan University’s professors that are experts in both the technical and entrepreneurial realm.