econext (NEI Association Inc.) is a not-for-profit association of businesses that accelerate clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador, working on behalf of over 200 members to foster environmentally sustainable economic development.
econext partnered with the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship (MCE) to combine traditional co-operative education work term placements with the concept of an entrepreneurial work term. Students gained insight into the emerging clean energy sector in Newfoundland, and developed new business ideas – all while working as a member of a team embedded within a small-to-medium enterprise. At the conclusion of their placement, students presented their work to local stakeholders, including small-to-medium enterprises, government officials, and faculty at Memorial University to showcase the solutions and startup ideas developed over the course of their placements.
No only did this partnership result in 241 WIL opportunities, it also featured 5 hackathons. Each semester, participating small-to-medium enterprises defined an appropriate challenge or opportunity for the hackathon to focus on. Participating businesses provided staff to act as mentors to students for each of the hackathons, while econext and MCE evaluated solutions proposed through the hackathons, and consider what supports could be offered to students to continue the pursuit of promising ideas pitched going forward.
