Ideas to Impact: Entrepreneurship for Arts Students


DATE
Tuesday January 20, 2026 - Tuesday March 31, 2026
COST
Free

Are you an Arts student interested in starting your own venture? Are you keen to brainstorm your idea with mentors and peers? Are you curious about what it takes to get a venture off the ground?

This customized training for UBC Arts students, offered in collaboration with Innovation UBC, provides support to research, design, and prototype a start-up, B Corp, service, agency, social enterprise, venture, product, business, or not-for-profit. You’ll learn from experts at Innovation UBC, receive mentorship from Arts alumni, and get feedback on your ideas—all in a comfortable, supportive, curiosity-driven small group environment.

By the end of the program, you’ll know what steps to take to launch or expand your venture, and you’ll have the support from mentors to ensure you feel ready. You’ll get to know other Arts students interested in entrepreneurship. And if you complete all of the sessions of this program, you’ll receive a digital badge that you can include on your Linked In profiles and other channels, and reference on your resume.

There is no cost to participate.


The Details:

  • Kickoff Event (Jan 20, 4-6pm) at this event, you’ll meet the instructors and your cohort and learn more about how we’ll approach entrepreneurship together.
  • Workshop 1 (Jan 27, 4–6pm) is all about developing your concept, translating those ideas into reality, and discovering potential clients and customer bases.
  • Workshop 2 (Feb 10, 4-6pm) will focus on understanding your market. You’ll clarify your idea by creating positioning statements that identify your value and you’ll learn how to map the marketplace and distinguish your venture from available alternatives. .
  • Workshop 3 (Feb 24, 4-6pm) will explore economic models and pricing strategies and help you determine how—or if!—you’ll generate income from your work.
  • Workshop 4 (Mar 10, 4-6pm) in this session we’ll talk about how to build and maintain a brand identity.
  • Workshop 5 (Mar 24, 4-6pm) in this optional session, you’ll have a chance to prep with your peers and mentors for the final showcase event.
  • Final Showcase (Mar 31, 4-6pm) in this final meeting, you’ll share and receive feedback on your venture from peers and mentors..

Additional required meetings

  • 3 x 15-minute meetings with the Arts alumni entrepreneur-in-residence (to be scheduled individually)

Entrepreneurship for Arts Majors is part of a series of events in The Compass: Arts Students Engagement Hub. Offered in collaboration with Innovation UBC, it offers Arts students support to conceive, research, design, and prototype a start-up, agency, venture, project, product, or service, or to kick-start running an initiative, business or not-for-profit society.