People Creating Possibilities & Prosperity
Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Social Impact
Generating knowledge, leadership and capacity to create a better world.
Humanization and sustainability are at the core of everything we do. We aspire to create careholders not just shareholders, focusing on changing lives and perspectives by tapping into hearts as well as minds.
We will achieve this by inspiring and supporting the success of new ventures, building innovation capabilities in people and organizations, and fostering research, education and community engagement on responsible leadership and social impact.
- Supporting the success of new ventures
- Building innovation capabilities in people and organizations
- Fostering research, education and community engagement on responsible leadership and social impact
Programs & Initiatives
The Centre is devoted to creating a generation of responsible leaders and entrepreneurs. We foster leading-edge education and hands-on learning opportunities.
Programs
Our programs afford students the opportunity to gain invaluable business venturing experience. We believe that no one should graduate from Smith School of Business without having been exposed to leading edge thinking and practice in the entrepreneurial context.
Explore opportunities
Certificate in Social Impact
The world needs responsible leaders who are passionate about making a change and are ready to tackle challenging issues. The Certificate in Social Impact connects you to the networks and knowledge you need to be a change leader in modern business.
Learn more about CSI
Certificate in Professional Impact Analysis
While it's well-understood how to assess and report financial returns, few understand how to report their social impacts with similar rigour and credibility. Learn how with the Certificate in Professional Impact Analysis. Distinguish yourself in this fast-emerging and important discipline. Learn the best practices, tools, and methods to define, quantify, and report impact across the lifecycle of organizations, projects, or policies.
Learn more about CPIA
Events & Competitions
The Centre supports a number of exciting events and competitions throughout the year which provide excellent opportunities to connect and network with mentors and peers.
Dare to Dream
The “Dare to Dream” internships are the latest additions to a slate of programs at Smith School of Business, designed to encourage and help entrepreneurs launch their new ventures. These internships are specifically focused on providing critical resources to help School of Business graduates turn their new venture business plans into reality.
Kinnear New Venture Competition
The Kinnear New Venture Competition is open to all Smith undergraduate students who either have an ongoing company or are in the process of establishing a venture. The top team will be awarded $10k that can be used towards creating or ongoing operations of the business.
Innovation Hackathon
The Social Innovation Hackathon is an engaging immersion into the world of social innovation and its implications for using business as a catalyst for social change. Participants work in teams to create innovative solutions for social impact challenges that growing dynamic organizations are facing today.
TriColour Venture Fund
TriColour Venture fund (TCVF) at Smith is Canada's first student-advised venture capital fund. Guided by experienced entrepreneurs and investors, TCVF fund allows Full-Time MBA and Commerce students to gain the ultimate experiential learning opportunity through managing a multi-million dollar fund.
UPstart Venture Challenge
The UPstart Venture Challenge is a pitch competition designed to accelerate success and give alumni and students the opportunity to deliver creative business plans to a panel of experienced judges. Event attendees, including potential angel investors, will also be given a chance to take an advance look at up-and-coming Queen’s/Smith entrepreneurial ventures.
Thought Leadership
The latest in entrepreneurship and social impact research expertise and thought leadership from Smith Business Insight.
The Centre works on the world stage to better understand the challenges associated with globally responsible leadership, and to develop new educational models for responsible management education.
Global Advocacy for Responsible Leadership
Smith School of Business is a founding member the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) and was one of the first 100 business schools to sign the UN's Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). Both of these initiatives are supported through the joint efforts of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) and the United Nations Global Compact.
Our membership in these initiatives is helping to support the development of the next generation of globally responsible leaders through the development of innovative curriculum and community partnerships.
Learn more
Merger of Two Centres
CEISI is building on the successful programming of the Centre for Business Venturing and the Centre for Social Impact at Smith School of Business.
There’s a strong argument that a savvy combination of innovation, entrepreneurship and impact is the future of business success. And it’s with that idea in mind that two longstanding Smith Centres have merged. The combination addresses the evolving dynamics of business today in which social impact plays a bigger role in the mission and operations of companies big and small.
