Dalhousie University’s Launchpad accelerator graduated 10 teams of entrepreneurs in a ceremony last week. During the ceremony, Professors Mary Kilfoil and Ed Leach outlined a series of new initiatives that together will be known as Launch Dal.

The Dal Launchpad ended up with 10 teams who divided $100,000 to fund the development of their lean business model. Most were IT companies and several had been in the university’s Starting Lean program.

The highlight of the ceremony was the announcement that the university would enhance the program that up to now has been known as the Starting Lean Initiative.

“The demand for more entrepreneurial opportunities from university students is growing and it is such a privilege to be able to rise to that challenge and help student entrepreneurs build the skills they need to launch their businesses” said Kilfoil, academic lead for Dal’s Starting Lean Initiative and the LaunchPad accelerator.

She said the Launch Dal program will do more for students interested in entrepreneurship. First off, the university has renamed the large multi-purpose room in the Killam Library where the Starting Lean classes met. From here on, the space will be known as the Collider and it will be the hub of the entrepreneurship programing at the university.

The university announced it will work in the future with a range of partners to support its entrepreneurial teams. Futurpreneur, a group that supports young entrepreneurs, is now recognizing  Dal’s LaunchPad as an accredited Canadian accelerator. Dal also said the Volta startup house in Halifax will give space to teams coming out of the accelerator that have traction. The university will also work with Fusion Halifax to jointly hold more events together.