‘I am an innovator’ — Welcome to Global Entrepreneurship Week

Global Entrepreneurship Week starts today. It’s a time to empower entrepreneurs and encourage innovators to continue seeking better, faster, smarter ways of doing things.

At McMaster, student and faculty groups have put together a week full of activities, competitions and events aimed at making it easier for anyone with innovative ideas or an entrepreneurial mindset to start, scale or grow a company.

Besides workshops, seminars, networking opportunities and virtual challenges, budding entrepreneurs can hear from some of  McMaster’s  successful student innovators, who have turned their bright ideas into real-world solutions — and startups.

Lianna Genovese, CEO of ImaginAble Solutions

This fifth-year Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering student is also the CEO of her own company. Genovese turned a prototype from a first-year design project into Guided Hands, an assistive device that helps people with limited hand mobility write, draw and use a touch screen. She has won numerous awards for innovators and entrepreneurs, including this year’s Canadian James Dyson Award.

Nazli Bostandoust, Ruben Biack and Michelle Ragany, co-founders of Kinisi Technologies

Started by three graduate students from McMaster’s W Booth School of Engineering Practice and Technology, Kinisi Technologies uses real-time data analytics to help athletes improve their training and performance.

Tancred Yip, founder, MyPalate

MyPalate, an early-stage startup launched by a McMaster graduate, aims to help people with dietary restrictions find foods that align with their tastes and cultural preferences, optimizing their favourite recipes to match their circumstances.

Vinay Patel, founder, Phosphosens

This startup is developing a low-cost phosphorus monitoring system that will enable waste-water treatment plans to detect phosphorus without requiring complicated and time-consuming lab work.

Pallavi Dutta, founder, Protagonist Health

Protagonist Health, founded by Master of E-Health graduate Pallavi Dutta, provides data-driven, personalized behaviour feedback to help women implement lifestyle changes to decrease risk and lead a healthier life. As well, it’s building a supportive community to empower women to share their experiences, challenges and successes.

Follow business incubator The Forge all week on Instagram or Twitter to learn more about student startups.

Click here to learn more about Global Entrepreneurship Week at McMaster.