Memorial University’s Research Innovation Office is accepting applications from startups for its Insight Business Consulting Program, which will see its master of business administration students consult for early-stage technology companies.

The program represents a broader rollout of a model first tried by the university last year in the form of a $278,000 pilot project. The pilot and the full-scale program are both funded by the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Killick Capital CEO Mark Dobbin, a Memorial alum.

“The program is designed to help businesses access knowledge, perspective and ideas from enthusiastic MBA students, which can be invaluable,” Sid Eskandari, CEO of St. John's-based fintech startup Hyke, told the Memorial University Gazette. Eskandari's company was among those to participate in last year's pilot.

“We participated in the program to take advantage of this opportunity and also get a direct line to future-ready talents.”

Under the pilot program, 27 graduate students worked with startups to help retool their business models.

“We noticed that these early-stage startups have an incredible amount of technical knowledge but sometimes do not have the expertise or the time to deal with business-related challenges, such as marketing analysis, setting up accounting systems or financial projections,” said MUN Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Paula Mendonça at the time, also speaking to the Gazette.

“Memorial business students have the skillsets and insight to help startups with their business-related problems.”

On its website, Memorial says students will benefit from work experience and networking opportunities, while startups can benefit from not only consulting services, but also the opportunity to evaluate possible future employees.

Insight Business Consulting is free for the startups that participate, and the students receive a $4,500-per-semester fellowship.

To be eligible, though, startups must have a connection to one of Memorial’s affiliated startup support programs, such as Genesis, the Memorial Centre for Entrepreneurship and the Ocean Startup Project.

Information about how to apply can be found here.