A Magazine for Alumni and Friends
Laurier’s Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation recently hosted the grand opening of its Community Innovation Hub in downtown Brantford. The newly designed location will be the focal point for entrepreneurship and social innovation activities on Laurier’s Brantford campus.
The innovation hub is designed to provide students, staff, faculty, alumni and Brantford community members with a collaborative space to facilitate social innovation and entrepreneurship activities.
The Schlegel Centre’s programs will be facilitated from the hub. “The Community Innovation Hub provides a space to take a trial-and-error approach in a low-risk environment,” said Joanne Benham-Rennick, executive director of the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation.
“Students and community members have access to mentors, advisors, tools and technology that can support their learning. These types of work-integrated learning programs help people develop the skills they need to gain meaningful employment or start their own enterprises.”
Programming available through the Community Innovation Hub is strategically aligned with the university’s mandate of “inspiring lives of leadership and purpose” and supports a broader culture of entrepreneurship and social innovation at Laurier.
“Community collaboration is a hallmark of Laurier’s Brantford campus. I’m pleased that many programs at our new Community Innovation Hub will be open not only to our students and alumni, but also to members of the broader community,” said Brian Rosborough, senior executive officer of the Brantford campus. “We look forward to continuing the rich tradition of innovation and socially minded projects that this campus is known for.”
The Community Innovation Hub was made possible by a generous donation from the Wilfrid Laurier University Alumni Association.