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Posted on\u00a0November 15, 2018<\/time><\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Eleanor MacLean<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A pilot project meant to encourage more young people to stay in Greater Saint John and pursue entrepreneurship has evolved far beyond its initial concept.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year we were trying to figure out how to best help young people look for careers and entrepreneurship in Greater Saint John. We started the high school accelerator as a pilot project. We knew there were kids who wanted to pursue ideas at a faster rate than a traditional classroom could offer. I worked with Ries Van Beek with St. Malachy\u2019s high school and the Anglophone South School District and the kids and program far exceeded our expectations,\u201d says Michele Lodge of Enterprise Saint John\u2019s, Emerging Entrepreneurs Program and the IDEA Centre.<\/p>\n

The high school accelerator is now called the IDEA Centre, which stands for Innovation, Development, Entrepreneurship and Action.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur main target is high school students and fancier terms like accelerator needed more explanation. Idea Centre is exactly what it suggests. If you have an idea, bring it here and we\u2019ll help you make it real,\u201d adds Ries Van Beek, a teacher with St. Malachy\u2019s high school and co-lead with the IDEA centre.<\/p>\n

Last year 12 students were involved in the one semester pilot program to work on business ideas with educators, business leaders and companies. This year, in partnership with Brilliant Labs, more than 30 students can do the same things but also access a maker space with 3D printer, screen press, soldering kits, virtual robot and other technology.<\/p>\n

Graham Wallace is a student from last year\u2019s program who has been hired by\u00a0Brilliant Labs<\/a>\u00a0to document the Maker Space and help other students. At the same time, he is pursuing his business of creating adjustable hockey socks that don\u2019t need hockey tape. He\u2019s developed the product, tested it with the Saint John Sea Dogs and other hockey players, has a provisional patent and recently secured a manufacturing deal with local manufacturer. With all of that excitement going on in his life, he is still anxious to build excitement among other would-be entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the aspect of helping others, through my experiences but also showing other youth in schools that they can start their own business and grow their own ideas. Now that we have a Maker Space anything is possible. 3D Printers, a soldering kit, heat press for logos, t-shirts, mugs and hats, game development, video editing, green screen studio. I\u2019m so excited for the students and the community as whole to partake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some students are exploring more than one idea at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have one student who is getting help with coding and app building to match pets in need of a home with people interested in adopting a pet. Her other idea involves research with 4 high schools to solve hallway congestion with a program to address it and improve school culture,\u201d says Van Beek.<\/p>\n

This type of innovation and ideation is exactly what program coordinators want to see.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids will rise to amazing heights without limits. One of the things we want to do is engage them in the community, so they will stay. They don\u2019t have to go away, or they can go away and study and come back,\u201d says Lodge.<\/p>\n

The Idea Centre<\/a>\u00a0and Brilliant Lab\u2019s maker space will be open for participants with Startup Weekend to check out during November 16-18.<\/p>\n

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Posted on\u00a0November 15, 2018\u00a0by\u00a0Eleanor MacLean A pilot project meant to encourage more young people to stay in Greater Saint John and pursue entrepreneurship has evolved far beyond its initial concept. \u201cLast year we were trying to figure out how to best help young people look for careers and entrepreneurship in Greater Saint John. We started […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-technology"],"yoast_head":"\n