Paid to Innovate: a New Program for TMU Students from the SVZ

The Social Ventures Zone has developed a short, four-part course to help Toronto Metropolitan University students to take their initial idea or interest in a social issue and turn it into a path towards a social start-up. For the 2022/2023 academic year, TMU students will get paid as participants of the 12 week program.

The Ideation program (opens in new window)  is designed to allow students to develop their ideas around a social issue into a viable business. The Ideation Curriculum is presented in four sessions throughout the Fall of 2022. The focus of these sessions will be identifying the problem they are trying to solve, and developing a strong solution.

In addition to the educational sessions, students will attend industry networking events, fireside chats hosted by startup founders, workshops to grow their entrepreneurial skill set, and mentorship on their business idea development. 

In sum, students will spend approximately 72 hours over 12 weeks developing research skills required to deeply understand a problem, and creativity and problem solving to build a solution centering the target community. As students hone in on the problem, they will develop critical thinking skills to consider different approaches to their solutions and collaboration and teamwork skills as they work with their peers. 

Students can receive up to $1200 for their full participation in the program and will have access to further funding opportunities in the Winter 2023 semester should they choose to continue building their idea. Ultimately, the SVZ wants students to graduate with unique experiences that give them higher employability and the confidence that they can make impactful community change.