The University of New Brunswick’s J. Herbert Smith Centre, the Fredericton university's entrepreneurship hub, has announced a partnership with Harvard University to bring the Ivy League institution’s prestigious public and planetary health accelerator to Canada.
Created by Harvard College's Lemann Program on Creativity and Entrepreneurship and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the HealthLab Accelerator, or H2A, program is aimed at teams of two or more people trying to solve public and planetary health challenges at a global scale.
Participating in the program, the first Canadian cohort of which will run in 2025, will involve attending events, meeting with an assigned mentor, pitching to the accelerator’s board and participating in virtual workshops, among other program elements.
"We are thrilled to partner with Harvard HealthLab Accelerators to bring H2A Canada to life," said Dr. Dhirendra Shukla, chair at the J Herbert Smith Centre.. "This initiative embodies our commitment to nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs who are not only driven by innovation but also by the desire to make a meaningful difference in the world. H2A Canada will provide our students with exceptional opportunities to develop their ventures while contributing to a healthier, more sustainable future.”
The program is open to teams of current students and postdocs from faculties across UNB, and at least one team member must be a student at the university. Priority will be given to multidisciplinary teams that bring together diverse perspectives to tackle global problems.
The organizers said the program will focus on building ventures that contribute to a healthier, more sustainable world, aligning with the United Nations sustainable development goals.
“Each team has access to mentors-at-large and is assigned a personal mentor,” say organizers. “In addition, each team gets networking opportunities with members of the H2A Venture Board and industry experts.”
You can learn more and apply here. The deadline is Sept. 30.
