The University of New Brunswick’s J. Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management and Entrepreneurship has announced the latest cohort of its Summer Institute accelerator for pro-social startups.

The five participating companies, which span a diverse array of industries from robotics to antimicrobial cutlery, will receive training and mentorship in sales, marketing and customer validation. The Summer Institute differentiates itself from other accelerators by selecting companies not based on their sector or financial performance, but rather based on their potential to effect positive social and environmental change.

The program also includes a demo day, to be held July 11 this year, during which the cohort companies will discuss how their very early-stage companies have evolved over the program.

Here's a look at the startups:

Fresh Start Farms 

Fredericton

Fresh Start Farms has designed a modular system for almost fully-automated vertical farming, based around a growing rack design that contains two trays of plants apiece, placed in a climate-controlled greenhouse.

Rodeska Robotics

Fredericton

Rodeska is developing semi-autonomous, mobile robots to work in warehouses, saving human workers from having to perform sometimes damaging levels of physical labour.

Storybox Mentor Connect

Antigonish, NS

Storybox is a platform connecting international university students with local mentors to offer unbiased guidance about how to transition to living in a new country while attending school.

Renata Souza

Weaver, NB

Souza is an entrepreneur selling “personalized wellness and lifestyle solutions.” She plans to diversify her business to include an online shop selling wellness-related goods, as well as a wellness retreat program.

Clean Cuts

Fredericton and Saint John

Clean Cuts is developing a food-safe, antimicrobial composite material to be used to make more hygienic cutlery products. The composite material includes wood, flour, other natural additives and copper nanoparticles.