Dobson Centre sits among world’s best university business incubators
The McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship has secured a spot in UBI Global’s Top 20 University Business Incubators for 2019–20.
According to UBI Global, the universities that made the list surpass their global peers in regard to the value they provide their innovation ecosystems and client startup programs.
Dobson startup tour showcases Desautels entrepreneurial spirit
In fall, the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship went on the road as part of its annual Startup Tour. The six-week tour provided an opportunity for 10 teams to generate a buzz around their projects and network with industry experts and potential investors.
Sonder Becomes Dobson Centre’s First Unicorn
Sonder, a hospitality startup founded by former McGill student Francis Davidson, is now a billion-dollar company. Sonder competed in the 2014 McGill Dobson Cup Startup Competition, where it attracted the attention and investment of judge Tim Tokarsky (BSc ’99).
Read more in the McGill Reporter
Holt Accelerator welcomes fresh batch of fintech startups for training
Montreal’s Holt Accelerator welcomed its second class of fintech startup executives to a rigorous 12-week training program.
Like McGill’s X-1 Accelerator, offered by the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, the Holt Accelerator plays matchmaker between promising entrepreneurs and industry investors.
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Ethics: The next wave in AI development
Renjie Butalid, Associate Director of the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, sees an opportunity for Montreal to lead the charge in the development of ethical AI frameworks. Discover the strides that the Montreal AI Ethics Institute, which he cofounded, is making in this endeavor.
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McGill’s top startups win big at McGill Dobson Cup
Entrepreneurial spirit is abounding on McGill’s campus as evidenced by the impressive lineup of finalists in the 2019 McGill Dobson Cup powered by National Bank.
With a pool of over $200,000 in seed funding up for grabs, discover who the winning teams are this year.
Read more in The Dobson Chronicles
Meet the Tesla of snowmobiles
McGill Dobson Cup winners Taiga Motors discuss the path to commercialization of the world’s first electric snowmobile, which boasts 0-60 mph in just three seconds and zero emissions to boot.
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Montreal puts stake in ground for ethical AI
If Montreal has already emerged as a global AI leader, the city continues to forge new paths by articulating its ethical framework. Renjie Butalid, Associate Director of the McGill Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship and Co-founder of the Montreal AI Ethics Institute, shares his perspective on this important aspect of AI’s development.
These headphones can read your thoughts
Dobson X-1 Accelerator participants Orbityl are on a mission to develop a set of headphones that can be controlled by sensing your brain’s activity.
“A lot of the research that we’ve done is in brain-computer interface applications — looking for discrete thoughts that an individual is having as a mechanism to be used for control [of a device],” said Orbityl co-founder Sean Kaiser.
“No one ever says you can create your own job”: Catalyzing women’s big ideas
Randi Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media recently spoke at Place des Arts in Montreal about empowering fellow women to pursue their entrepreneurial ambitions without qualms, particularly in the tech sector.
Meet the women shaking up the startup scene
Hear from the women who have founded successful startups through the McGill Dobson Centre as they share their advice for navigating the heady world of entrepreneurship.
Read more in the Dobson Chronicles
Can AI improve depression treatments?
Montreal startup and McGill Dobson Cup winners, Aifred Health, has developed a system that uses artificial intelligence to help doctors treat their patients struggling with depression more effectively by developing personalized treatment plans for them.
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Mastercard Foundation in support of the Dobson Cup
The McGill Dobson Cup powered by National Bank is pleased to announce a new prize, the Mastercard Foundation-Dobson Startup Awards, which total $23,000 and will focus on innovations in Social Enterprise.
The award will be divided as follows: First prize at $15,000, Second prize at $5,000 and third prize at $3,000.
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The road to greatness for McGill startup
McGill Dobson Cup participants Aifred Health won first place and a $35,000 Milestone Award in the latest stage of the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE. By doing so, they also became one of 30 teams to qualify for the next phase of the four-year, $5-million competition whose final winner will be announced in 2020.
Meet the Dobson Cup semi-finalists
After receiving countless applications from across McGill University and much deliberation, the 108 startups moving to the 2019 McGill Dobson Cup semi-finals have been selected. Learn more about their big ideas.
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