Second-year Commerce students transformed ideas into ventures during the Winter 2026 GR0wth Venture Showcase. Across two dates in March, the showcase brought a hands-on approach to the second-year student experience and development course.
As part of the GR0 program, which complements the Commerce curriculum, students build essential skills like creative problem‑solving, critical thinking and collaboration through hands-on, technology‑supported learning. This venture design challenge asked each student team to create a new business centered around one of two themes: Social Impact or Sustainable Futures. These themes are also reflected in two new learning hubs that will be located in the new McLean Centre for Collaborative Discovery.
From building prototypes to designing displays and pitching to judges, students turned their ideas into tangible solutions. The hands-on experience encouraged them to try things out, learn from feedback and develop possible solutions to real‑world problems.
Check out the two-day event below:
Students pitching and networking at the Tuesday, March 17 showcase.Faculty and staff circulated throughout the showcase, connecting with and offering support to students as they prepared to pitch on Tuesday, March 17.Group Two from Tutorial 12, with their business venture AlgaEx, won both Best Overall Venture and Audience Choice at the March 17 showcase.Group Five from Tutorial Eight, with their business venture Green Sole, won Best Social Impact, while Group Four from Tutorial 10, with their business venture Spark, won Best Visual at the March 17 showcase.Students pitching to Cansu Ekmekcioglu and Shane Saunderson at the March 19 showcase.The vibes were high on the final day of the 2GR0 Venture Showcase as students shared their ideas, connected with judges and celebrated weeks of hard work.Entrepreneur‑in‑Residence Tej Sandhu and Dean Khaled Hassanein joined in on the fun at the winter iteration of the showcase, spending time with students and taking in the energy of the event.Moments from the Winter 2GR0 Venture Showcase, where second‑year Commerce students connected, collaborated and celebrated their ideas after weeks of hands‑on work bringing new ventures to life.Group Four from Tutorial Three, with the business venture idea DeGreene, won Best Sustainable Impact, while Group Four of Tutorial Two, with the business venture Soule, won Audience Choice at the March 19 showcase. Best Visual went to Group Five from Tutorial Four, with the business venture Eco-Nomics, and Best Overall Venture went to Group Three from Tutorial Three, with the business venture Smart Sort.
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